What The F**k ...Is The Maillard Reaction?

It’s just one of the elements you need to know about if you’re going to roast coffee successfully, as Edgaras Juška explains

- Edgaras Juska

When our ancestors discovered fire, and someone had the bright idea of throwing food on it, our expectations of aroma and flavor were changed forever. As the food is browned, new molecules are created and enticing flavors come to life. This process is referred to as the Maillard reaction. In the case of coffee, this reaction is what unleashes the varied and delicious flavor notes we know and love.

Louis-Camille Maillard was the French scientist who in 1912 first described the process whereby amino acids, carbonyl compounds, and sugars react to produce new molecules, which in turn react to form newer, often volatile compounds. In the real-world coffee roasting process, there are additional levels of complexity: intermediate molecules are produced, which are the precursors for further reactions. The Maillard reaction is a cascade of consecutive and simultaneous reactions that occur in many parallel pathways.

Lab conditions