Roasting at 2660 meters

Hot coffee beans in cold glacier ice

From Brazil to the ice: Claus Dalpiaz (left) and Max Bauer from Dinzler present the freshly roasted glacier special edition.(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

As part of the glacier day in Hintertux in the Tyrolean Zillertal, the Dinzler company roasted coffee for a special edition on Tuesday at 2660 meters above sea level. Master roaster Max Bauer introduced the "Krone" to the secrets of perfect roasting. 

The aroma of coffee mingles with the icy air blowing down from the glacier. The roasting machine grinds constantly. Hikers wait in line for a cup of the hot drink, while skiers make their tracks in the background.

From the green bean to the hot drink
The Tuxer Fernerhaus has never seen this before: Coffee is roasted here, at 2660 meters above sea level. Behind it is the Dinzler coffee roasting company, which has been working with the Hintertux Glacier for a long time. They have come up with something special for the glacier day on Tuesday: Visitors will be able to see, smell and taste at first hand how coffee is transformed from a green bean into a hot drink.

Master roaster Max Bauer at the drum roaster, which was specially brought to the glacier.(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

When they are ready, the beans have to cool down.(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

They are then processed into coffee.(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

More digestible coffee through gentle roasting
Dinzler master roaster Max Bauer is responsible for the right roasted aromas. "With our drum roaster, the coffee is roasted using the traditional long-term process," he explains. Specifically, the procedure takes 15 to 18 minutes. To achieve this, Bauer works with relatively low temperatures (200 to 220 degrees). "This preserves the aroma, and the longer roasting time means that irritants are lost. The coffee becomes more digestible," reveals the professional.

How the coffee tastes in the end is determined by the master with many parameters: roasting time, temperature and drum rotation speed are just a few of them. And who knows what the 2660-metre "roasting altitude" contributes to the taste.