No products in the cart.
Coffee
What is white coffee?
Roasting white coffee differs significantly from traditional coffee roasting techniques. Known for its light roast level and distinct flavor profile, this drink offers a nutty and sweet profile with lower bitterness. Despite its name, white coffee isn’t white—it’s just beans roasted to a very light level. In this Roasting 101 guide, Mike Romagnino breaks down what white coffee is and how he approached his first time roasting and brewing it.
Intro to White Coffee
White coffee is roasted at a much lighter level than traditional coffee. Unlike in light, medium, or dark roasts, this roast is halted before first crack. The process originated in 15th century Yemen and has since spread to other countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Lebanon. While it’s been adapted to local tastes, the drink is often served with a spice blend call hawaij.
I had never done a white coffee roast, so I decided to give it a shot! Since the tradition began in Yemen, I chose to work with an offering from Ethiopia.
White Coffee Roasting Approach
First, I decided to charge hotter than I normally would; I charged my first batch at 427°F off the bean probe with the burner set to 50%. As everything I have read about this roast mentioned a duration of 4–7 minutes, I followed those parameters. I made my first heat adjustment 2:02 into duration and increased the burner to 100%. Color change occurred 4:00 minutes into duration at 324°F, and I decreased the burner to 75% at 4:09.
Roast duration was 4:54 with an end temperature of 376°F.
Brewing
I started off by brewing a pour over. Dry fragrance aroma was nutty and herbal. The brew was light and thin, and there was sweetness in the cup integrated with heavy nut tones.
Espresso
The dry fragrance on the espresso grind was like the grind when I brewed the pour over, but it was more pronounced with a heavy peanut/almond butter aroma. I pulled an espresso shot, and the extraction time was 23.5 seconds. The shot was sweet with nut and herbal tones. Immediately, I felt the higher caffeine content.
Next was making an Americano. The texture was a creamy blend of almond and peanut butter with sweet herbal tones. After reading about drink construction for white coffee and drinking an espresso shot, I could see how adding milk would thicken up the texture and how adding flavoring would be appealing to coffee drinkers.
Final Thoughts
Exploring white coffee roasting for the first time was an insightful experience. The roasting approach resulted in a distinctly nutty and sweet profile with minimal bitterness and a noticeably higher caffeine content. Furthermore, this coffee’s smooth yet bold characteristics make it an excellent base for creative drink recipes, especially when paired with milk or sweetener. Whether you’re a coffee enthusiast or a casual drinker, white coffee offers an intriguing and flavorful experience worth trying.
