Blistering Beans: The Science Behind Roasting Coffee Beans
In Blistering Beans: The Science Behind Roasting Coffee Beans, presenter Cherry Healey visits a coffee roaster. Learn about the physical and chemical changes that occur when coffee beans are roasted for differing amounts of time, creating the light, medium, and dark roasts that we see in coffee stores. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in the factories that make our favorite products.
Lesson Express
Q: What happens when coffee beans are roasted?
A: The flavor of the coffee beans is released.
Q: What happens to the green coffee beans as they heat?
A: Their color changes from green to brown. Water is forced out and sugars and proteins create new flavors. The oil is forced out of the bean the longer it roasts.
Q: How did time impact the coffee product?
A: The longer the coffee was roasted, the more burnt and bitter it tasted.
More Like This

In Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: Climate Change and Coffee Beans, presenter Cherry Healey visits a coffee historian to learn how climate change is impacting one of the most popular coffee beans, the Arabica bean. Then she looks through a coffee archive to learn how the coffee of the past might help us create a coffee bean that can withstand and thrive in a hotter climate. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in the factories that make our favorite products.

In A Cuppa Joe: Caffeine and the Brain, presenter Cherry Healey visits the University of Bristol to learn more about how her daily cup of coffee impacts her brain. Then she stops drinking coffee cold turkey to see how she feels. Learn how caffeine impacts the receptors in the brain, and why it feels awful when we stop drinking caffeine. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in factories that make our favorite products.

In Breakfast Hacks: The Science of Common Food Reactions, host Harith Iskander presents some simple science behind everyday breakfast tips. Among these great tips: Why drinking orange juice right after brushing your teeth tastes awful, how to remedy bitter coffee, and even how to tell if an egg is fresh or rotten. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Got Science?, a science magazine series that explores and explains science in everyday life.

In Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: Climate Change and Coffee Beans, presenter Cherry Healey visits a coffee historian to learn how climate change is impacting one of the most popular coffee beans, the Arabica bean. Then she looks through a coffee archive to learn how the coffee of the past might help us create a coffee bean that can withstand and thrive in a hotter climate. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in the factories that make our favorite products.

In A Cuppa Joe: Caffeine and the Brain, presenter Cherry Healey visits the University of Bristol to learn more about how her daily cup of coffee impacts her brain. Then she stops drinking coffee cold turkey to see how she feels. Learn how caffeine impacts the receptors in the brain, and why it feels awful when we stop drinking caffeine. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in factories that make our favorite products.

In Breakfast Hacks: The Science of Common Food Reactions, host Harith Iskander presents some simple science behind everyday breakfast tips. Among these great tips: Why drinking orange juice right after brushing your teeth tastes awful, how to remedy bitter coffee, and even how to tell if an egg is fresh or rotten. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Got Science?, a science magazine series that explores and explains science in everyday life.