All about White Coffee: what it is, its benefits and how I roasted and brewed my own cup…
White Coffee is one of the newer coffee trends in the specialty coffee community and its been capturing more and more attention.
I think I know the top question going through your mind right now. It’s probably, is white coffee really white? Well, the answer is no. While its color is a lighter tan than most dark roasted coffee, it’s not actually white.
Now that I’ve answered that question, let’s get into what exactly white coffee is and some benefits of drinking this type of coffee. I’ll also cover how I’ve roasted my own white coffee, how I brew it for the perfect cup and how you can do both at home too.
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Read on or skip around this article:
- What is White Coffee?
- What does White Coffee taste like?
- How I roasted my own White Coffee
- How do you brew White Coffee?
- Is White Coffee good for you?
- Where to find White Coffee beans
What is White Coffee?
In general, specialty coffee beans are roasted at 400-480°F for standard light to dark roasts. They taste bold and possess intense flavor profiles. However, white coffee is roasted at a much lower temperature at around 325-350°F and for a shorter roasting time. Because of the shorter roasting time, the caffeine content is considered to be higher than a dark roast coffee bean.
White coffee is roasted to a much effortless level than regular standard roasts. The light roasting process is what sets white coffee apart from a regular cup of black coffee. In fact, white coffee is like half-roasted coffee, or you can call it under-roasted coffee. By utilizing this unique roasting technique, the coffee roaster is able to reduce the bitterness and preserve the natural flavor characteristic of coffee beans.
As mentioned above, white coffee isn’t really white. The color of white coffee beans are light in color and look pale in comparison to the more popular black coffee. Once brewed, the coffee gives a whitish color with more of a yellow-beige shade.
Also I should note that if you’ve been to Malaysia, you might have heard of Old Town White Coffee. These are convenient packets of instant 3 in 1 coffee that’s deliciously sweet (and not to mention high in calories.) And this is not the same white coffee we’re discussing here.
What does White Coffee taste like?
Unlike regular black coffee that is usually bitter, white coffee has a notable nutty flavor due to the low-temperature process and shorter roasting time. White coffee does not taste like regular roasted coffee. It always tastes sweeter because caramelization won’t happen in white coffee during roasting. All the above factors bring in an extra smooth cup of coffee with noticeable acidity and very low bitterness.
So briefly, the taste of white coffee is:
- Smooth
- Sweet
- Nutty flavor
- Very low bitterness
Now that you know what white coffee is and what it tastes like, why not try roasting and brewing it yourself? I’ll show you how I did it.
How I roasted my own White Coffee:
Home roasting coffee beans can be rewarding if you are looking to brew a luscious cup of joe from the convenience of your own house. There are several ways to roast your own coffee, you can roast coffee beans in an oven, pan, coffee roasting machine, and you can even roast it in a hot air popcorn popper.
I started with single-origin unroasted green coffee beans from Colombia and roasted them at 325°F for 6 minutes.
You can see in this photo above that the lower temperature roasting yields lighter-colored coffee beans in comparison to regular city/medium roast coffee beans.
Once I was done with the roasting process, I let them cool and rest for 2 days before brewing. It is important to give the coffee beans time to release gasses and let the aromatic compounds to be developed.
How do you brew White Coffee?
Now that I had my white coffee beans, here’s how I brewed white coffee using an espresso machine in 4 easy steps.
Step 1
Grind the coffee beans fine. It is suggested to use a commercial size espresso grinder, as white coffee beans contain more water content, and they are significantly harder to grind.
So please do not attempt to grind white coffee beans with a common household coffee grinder as doing so may result in a permanently damaged grinder.
Step 2
Tamp the freshly ground white coffee with a tamper to approximately 30 pounds of pressure. Tamping squeezes the air out and compresses the ground coffee to promote even extraction.
Step 3
Brew your white coffee as you would for a normal espresso. You might notice the coffee is pouring faster than normal, and the viscosity is not as thick as regular espresso shots. It is completely normal!
Step 4
Serve your white coffee and drink it while it’s still warm.
Is White Coffee good for you?
Some experts say green unroasted coffee beans contain a high amount of chlorogenic acid, which is known to be a powerful antioxidant. Chlorogenic acid is a group of antioxidant compounds that researchers believe may provide numerous benefits and contribute to weight loss, lowering blood sugar, decreasing blood pressure and improving cardiovascular function. Read more from the NCBI.
Roasting coffee reduces chlorogenic acid content and the longer the coffee beans are roasted, the more the chlorogenic acid is lost. White Coffee retains more of these natural antioxidant elements due to its shorter roasting time. So white coffee could be considered healthier than black coffee.
Where to find White Coffee beans:
White coffee is a special beverage with a unique flavor and distinctive taste. I am sure it will treat your taste buds to something a little different. Coffee lovers who are looking for something disparate to their normal daily routine should give white coffee a try. It may just be the perfect drink you have been waiting for all these years.
Here are a few places where you can purchase white coffee:
- White Coffee from Abbey Roast
- White Tornado from Poverty Bay Coffee Beans (also available on Amazon)
- Wired Willey’s White Coffee
