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Coffee lovers hate oily beans. The reason for this is that many people consider oily beans stale and old. So they are often looking for ways to dry oily coffee beans.
It is true the older the beans, the more oily they will be. As a result, it’s not uncommon for a coffee freak to do whatever it takes to dry their beans. But is it possible? Can you dry the oily coffee beans?
How To Dry Oily Coffee Beans?
There is no way to dry oily coffee beans. With time beans release their oils. It’s a natural process. Thus letting them rest in the air will only make them more oily. Washing coffee beans will make them bland.
Method 1:
Oil on coffee beans is natural. The oxidation process is responsible for oil production. Oxidation occurs when the lipids of beans react with oxygen to create an oil that appears on the beans. It is therefore impossible to dry bean oil by leaving beans out in the open.
However, it is possible to transfer oil from beans to something else. You are left with beans that are dry and oil-free.
Step 1: Transfering Beans to a Drying Environment.
The very first thing you can do to dry beans is to transfer them into a dry environment. If your beans have started to turn oily, store them in a dark place.
Oxidation occurs due to air. Thus, transfer beans into a vacuum container. This will prevent further oxidation of beans. By doing this, beans won’t get oilier anymore.
Step 2: Submerging Coffee Beans into an Oil-absorbing material.
The oil on beans cannot be dried but transferred to other materials like corn starch or salt.
I prefer salt. Because salt is granular, it is easy to remove from beans. In addition to this, if somehow salt remains on beans, they won’t taste too bad. Since many people intentionally suggest adding salt to java.
- Now take an air-tight container and cover its base with salt. Cover the complete bottom of the container.
- Spread an even layer of beans on the salt. Keep the layer even. Do not put too many beans in one place.
- Cover the beans with salt again. Pour enough salt to cover all beans.
Step 3: Transfer of oil.
- Now leave the beans and salt container for some time at least for an hour.
- After an hour, check the container to see if the salt has become greasy. If it has turned oil, it means salt has absorbed the oil.
- Carefully set aside some salt and see if beans have dried up completely. Cover them with salt again if they still have some oil on the surface.
Step 4: Cleaning Beans.
- When the salt has absorbed the oil and your beans are dry, take them out of salt.
- Beans will still have some salt. To remove this oil, toss beans in a plate or any bowl. By doing this, salt will set aside.
Method 2:
The above-given method is effective, but many will find it difficult. So, we also have an easy way to dry oily beans. Transferring oil from dried beans to absorbent materials is the principle for removing the oil from beans.
Thus, you can use tissue paper or paper towels to remove oil from beans. This method is more time-consuming and takes a lot of effort.
Step 1: Cutting air from Coffee.
The very first thing you can do to keep your beans oil-free is to keep them away from the air in a dark place.
Step 2: Sandwich Beans in layers of Paper Towel.
Now place two or three layers of tissues on a plane surface. Spread coffee beans evenly on it. Cover the beans in two-three layers of paper towel.
Step 3: Pat the Beans.
Pat the beans with your hands. The paper towel will start absorbing the oil.
Step 4: Change the Paper Towel.
Once the tissue has turned oily, replace them with new paper towels. Repeat step2 to step 3 as many times until beans are dry.
Why Does My Coffee Look Oily?
The lipids in the beans come to the surface as oil during roasting. Therefore, the beans look oily.
Coffee beans are seeds and not beans. So, during roasting, coffee beans release oils just like other seeds. Oily coffee beans are the result of a natural process called oxidation.
When the natural oil-producing components of an edible product react with oxygen, they release oils. The same thing happens with coffee beans.
The oxidation of beans starts as soon as we start roasting them. The longer you roast beans, the oilier they are. And this oil also results in the characteristic sheen of beans. Therefore, dark roast beans are more oily than medium roast.
Once initiated, coffee beans keep oxidizing perpetually, even when they are off from the roaster. Even if you bought dry beans and leave them for a long time, eventually, they will turn oily.
And because it is a natural process, it is almost impossible to prevent coffee beans from getting oily.
Are Oily Coffee Beans Good Or Bad?
While medium-roast lovers freak out on oily coffee beans, espresso fans seem okay with oily beans. So, are oily coffee beans good or bad?
The answer is not as easy as you expect. Oily beans are neither good nor bad. It all depends upon the way the roasting coffee.
Medium-roast Beans
Medium roast oily coffee beans mean they are stale. Beans only release oil when they are roasted dark or left to oxidize.
Dark beans usually roast much hotter than medium roast beans. So, these beans do not release much oil in the process of roasting. And come out of the roaster completely dry.
Medium Roast Oily Beans
- Roasted beans have been around for a long time.
- They have lost their flavor.
- Coffee is oxidized.
When Do Medium Roast Coffee Beans Turn Oily?
Medium roast beans turn oily when they are left open for a long time after roasting.
The oxidation of oily beans starts as soon as you put them in the roaster. However, the process is much slower due to the lower temperature. Thus, if the roasting process is not halted immediately, the beans keep-on producing oil while reacting with oxygen.
Surface oil is the symbol of freshly roasted beans when it comes to dark roasted beans. Espresso beans are roasted much longer than medium roast beans at higher temperatures. Therefore, they release more oil during roasting.
They stay oily after the roasting also. So, if your dark roasted beans are oily, they are super fresh.
The oil on the surface of dark roast beans causes them to be much shinier than light roast or medium roast.
How To Identify Bad Coffee Beans?
Now we still have left with one question. If oily beans are neither good nor bad, how can you identify bad coffee beans and avoid the?
Aroma: The easiest way to find good beans is their aroma. Aroma is the pleasant fragrance that freshly roasted beans emit. Fresh beans have nutty, fruity, chocolaty, and earthly flavor. You cannot find this kind of aroma in stale beans. If beans do not smell sweet, they are not good.
Flavor: Flavor is the best way to predict if the coffee is good or not. After a poor cup of joe, it leaves a bitter, burnt taste in the mouth. Fresh and nicely roasted beans have a sweet flavor, while poor-quality brew tastes like nothing.
How Do You Grind Oily Coffee Beans?
While oily beans are a nightmare for a medium roast lover, oil on dark roasted bean means it’s fresh.
But how do hard coffee lovers are going to grind their oily dark roast beans?
If you are also thinking about this, then we have a solution for you. The only problem with oily beans is they clog the coffee makers. Thus, if you use equipment that you can dismantle easily, grinding oily beans won’t be a task.
Yes, you can easily enjoy dark roasted java by using a burr grinder and a French press coffee maker.
Why Are Burr Coffee Grinders Better?
Burr grinders are small coffee grinding equipment. According to experts, they are best to grind oily coffee beans. The reason is their design is apt in all concerns to oily beans. They do not clog by them, and they are easy to clean.
Burr Grinders are best for oily beans because of the following reason:
- They are easy to take apart and clean. It means you don’t have to worry about clogging and oily inside of coffee makers.
- Burr grinders uniformly grind coffee beans. It ensures perfect grinding.
- Burr mill generates lesser heat than blade grinders. Thus, they keep the coffee flavor intact.
Burr grinder is also called Burr mill. They have two metal burr inside. It only fewer beans to enter the burr at a time.