When to use a heat soak?

Sometimes it can be convenient to use a heat soak when you’re roasting. But what does this really mean? And when exactly is this necessary? We will tell you all about it!

Heat soak

In a heat soak profile, you’re allowing the coffee beans to absorb the radiant heat from the drum, up until the point of creating an endothermic reaction. This point is called the turning point in a roast.

Be very gentle with the temperature and your heat supply in the initial phase of the roast. In some roasts there is no heat supply for the first minute and a half. When you’re ready to add more heat, do this gradually. For example, first increase the power to 40% and then to 80%.

The perfect moment

Sometimes you can benefit from doing a heat soak. Below we mention some of the situations it can be helpful to use one.

1. The coffee density

If your coffee has a low density you could benefit from doing a heat soak.

2. A fresh harvest

A freshly harvested coffee can still have relatively high-water activity. And doing a soak can be beneficial. This is actually part of a larger discussion on how moisture is distributed in the cellular structure of the coffee. But by using the heat soak technique, the distribution of the moisture will be evened out.

3. Very delicate coffees

Roasting some delicate coffee? A saok can be beneficial.

You want to know more about this topic? Find out everything you want to know in our Webinar 3.

Join us in this unique monthly webinar starring Willem Boot, Marcus Young and David Sutfin. Covering topics like the perfect profile and how to achieve this, together with live roasting sessions and exploring the features and functionalities of our coffee roasters and related equipment.