How to Roast Laos Coffee Beans: A Visit to Laos Coffee Roasting Factory & How Laos Coffee is Produced

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The Hidden Truth Behind Coffee Quality

Every time I purchase coffee, I maintain the high standards of home roasting and do not allow any defective beans in the mix. Of course, the coffee beans presented to consumers are plump and full, with a sweet aftertaste and distinct fruity aroma. Everyone might assume that all the coffee beans we purchase are of this quality, right?

Of course not. The coffee beans we encounter are selected from hundreds or even thousands to achieve such high quality. So what about those lower quality beans? They naturally remain for consumption in the producing countries! Because all the good ones are exported for foreign exchange—that's what matters most! Would you like to know what kind of coffee locals drink? Let me show you—

A Visit to a Local Laotian Roasting Facility

In Laos, I had the opportunity to visit a local roasting facility. The raw materials they use are all secondary and even tertiary-grade coffee beans that we would reject. The probability of finding stones and other debris is so high that you could grab a handful of raw coffee beans and find a certain proportion of foreign matter or defects.

Look at this bag of raw beans—the variety of colors inside is truly remarkable. Notice the black beans, insect-damaged beans, moldy beans, twigs, small stones...

Take a closer look. See that? There are even moldy beans still in their husks...

Even closer—I wouldn't dare use these beans even if you paid me—

Traditional Roasting Methods

And here's our main character—this bucket of butter is the secret ingredient that makes the coffee fragrant and rich! Before putting the coffee in the roasting pan, they scoop a ladle of butter. When heated, the butter coats the outside of the coffee beans. After cooling, this layer of oil gets absorbed into the beans. When brewing coffee, it releases again upon heating. This way, the coffee you drink has a rich, milky aroma! (Just imagine the taste of fermented butter after the coffee sits for a while...)

An "International Scandal" Discovery

Here I discovered an "international scandal"—the white rice donated by our Red Cross to Laos was actually sold by local government officials to civilian roasting facilities! What for? It turns out that the rice aroma is used to cover up the miscellaneous flavors in the coffee. I heard that the more white rice mixed in, the more aromatic the taste—

The words "Taiwan World Vision" are still displayed on the outside of the packaging bag—

Once roasted and cooled, they immediately grind it into powder. So the appearance doesn't need to be too good (even the grinder is rusty).

Surprising Roasting Techniques

What surprised me most was that they actually use cypress wood (that pile in the middle, in pieces) as firewood—such a waste! (Laos is rich in timber, so what we consider precious wood, they probably think nothing of!) I really wanted to steal a few pieces back—

The wood is ignited here and then dragged inside and placed under the roasting machine for roasting.

Raw beans are poured in from this opening. They can roast 100 kilograms at a time—

A closer look at the bean inlet.

The full view of the roasting machine. The person on the far left is the roaster. He is explaining the roasting process...

ALAN introduces the local coffee culture to everyone at the entrance. He said this roasting facility is the second largest in the area. The grade of coffee is determined by how much white rice is mixed in to decide the price. (I never thought white rice would be used this way here.)

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse varieties of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services: https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473