Lesson plan
Torrefacto
beans (roasted with sugar) Torrefacto refers to a particular process of roasting coffee beans, common in Spain, Paraguay, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina. The process involves adding a certain amount of sugar during roasting in order to glaze the beans. By adding the additional sugar to the beans it increases the effects of the Maillard reaction during the roasting process, thus giving the beans more of that distinct flavor. The glazed beans are then mixed with normal roasted beans. While originally a cheap way of preserving the coffee beans in the 1920s, due to the common use of low-grade Robusta coffee the process was also used to hide negative aroma taste characteristics of the coffee. The addition of sugar during the torrefacto roasting process increases the production of compounds with antioxidant properties. Both ground and brewed torrefacto coffee has higher antioxidant capacity than standard roasts, decreased pro-oxidant activities were also observed in a study. In addition, the espresso method of extraction yielded higher antioxidant activity than other brewing methods.
Article summary
beans (roasted with sugar) Torrefacto refers to a particular process of roasting coffee beans, common in Spain, Paraguay, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina. The process involves adding a certain amount of sugar during roasting in order to glaze the beans. By adding the additional sugar to the beans it increases the effects of the Maillard reaction during the roasting process, thus giving the beans more of that distinct flavor. The glazed beans are then mixed with normal roasted beans. While originally a cheap way of preserving the coffee beans in the 1920s, due to the common use of low-grade Robusta coffee the process was also used to hide negative aroma taste characteristics of the coffee. The addition of sugar during the torrefacto roasting process increases the production of compounds with antioxidant properties. Both ground and brewed torrefacto coffee has higher antioxidant capacity than standard roasts, decreased pro-oxidant activities were also observed in a study. In addition, the espresso method of extraction yielded higher antioxidant activity than other brewing methods.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.