How to Remove Coffee Bean Silver Skin - The Essential Role of Silver Skin in Coffee Flavor

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Silver Skin

What is silver skin?

Silver skin refers to an even thinner membrane layer inside the parchment that wraps around coffee beans. Due to its glossy and silver-colored appearance, it is called "silver skin." During the roasting process, the silver skin on the surface of green beans will peel off as moisture is expelled. It is then carried by air circulation inside the roaster's drum to the silver skin collection bucket.

When grinding coffee beans, people often see things that look like dandruff floating out. They might appear golden (for example, in washed processed light to medium roasts), yellowish-gray (for example, in washed processed medium to dark roasts, or natural processed light roasts), or might be invisible to the naked eye (for example, in dark roasts, or in various roast levels of honey-processed coffee). These are called silver skin, with a structure similar to the skin on peanuts.

They often end up in the filter cup along with coffee grounds for extraction. Some people dislike them intensely, considering silver skin to be dirty, and even try various methods to remove them.

During the roasting process, the "external silver skin" on the surface of green beans will peel off along with moisture expulsion, and is carried by air circulation inside the roaster's drum to the silver skin collection bucket. However, the silver skin trapped in the crevice of coffee beans remains inside and is called "internal silver skin."

If the external silver skin is not expelled in time, it will be scorched by the high temperature in the roasting drum. When extracting coffee with obviously burnt external silver skin under the same conditions after roasting, you will experience astringency. A roaster with basic knowledge should understand when external silver skin typically peels off in batches and use the damper to expel it.

However, most internal silver skin is not removed during the roasting stage. The internal silver skin is deeply involved in fermentation during the initial processing stage of green beans, carries regional flavor characteristics, and generally has a sweet taste.

Knowledge Point:

The so-called coffee silver skin is the final protective film covering the surface of the finished coffee beans that we consume. It remains attached to the green coffee beans in their unprocessed state.

In Summary:

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Important Notice :

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