end.
But coffees which vary greatly in moisture-content, in flinty or
spongy nature, and in various other characteristics, will puzzle
the operator until he establishes a personal acquaintance with them
in various combinations in repeated roasting operations. The
roasterman therefore must be able to observe closely, to draw
sensible conclusions, and to remember what he learns. Roasting
coffee is work of a sort which anybody can do, which a few people
can do really well, and no one so well but that further improvement
is possible.

There is no absolute standard of what the best roasting results
are. Some dealers want the coffee beans swelled up to the bursting
point, while others would object to so showy a development. Some
care nothing at all about appearance as compared with cup value,
while others insist on a bright style even at some sacrifice of
quality. Business judgment must decide what goods can be sold most
profitably.

The loss of coffee in weight in the roasting operation, or
shrinkage as it is called, is a matter which offers opportunities
for false claims of advantage in roasting processes. Anybody can
see that if just as good roasted coffee could be produced with a
lessened shrinkage there would be a chance for a decided increase
in profits. It is a sort of finding-money proposition which always
turns out to be too good to be true. The purpose of roasting coffee
is to produce an article entirely different from green coffee,
which is accomplished mainly by driving out moisture. If coffee is
roasted thoroughly, inside as well as outside, so as to give the
greatest roasted coffee value, it must sustain a proper loss in
weight which there is no legitimate way to avoid. The amount of
shrinkage varies a great deal with the kind of coffee and its age,
also with the kind of roasting desired.

Adding a little water to the coffee at the end of the operation has
the advantage of checking the roast at the desired point and
helping to swell and brighten the coffee, but it is a practice
which is sometimes abused by soaking the coffee with water so as to
reduce the shrinkage. This is done either dishonestly, to steal
coffee which belongs to somebody else, or foolishly; for the
heavier coffee has a lessened cup value which more than