What colour is your coffee?

Yesterday, Andrew and I went to The Green Beanery in Toronto to buy a half pound of beans for our home roasting experiment. When faced with a wall of choices, we were unable to make a firm decision and bought six different types. I justified the purchase in various ways.

• It will be a long time before we’re in Toronto again
• The beans were inexpensive (3 pounds cost $18)
• Variety is the spice of life
• I had to learn the difference between “Especial” and “Supremo”

Once home, I noticed colour variations between the different bean types. Most are a light olive/khaki tone, like the Venezuela Tachira on the left. The Indian Robusta Cherry, on the right, looks like it’s already spent a few minutes in the roaster, while the Sumatra Organic Gayo is as deep green as pumpkin seeds.

I’ve no idea if the initial colour will affect the shade it turns when roasted, but if the popper holds out, we’ll roast them all and do a taste test at the end of the week. In the meantime, I’ll stick with my Cook’s Italian roast and hope that Murphy stays in Kingston.