No, in this case, RIP does not mean „Rest In Peace”, however, sipping a good coffee on your deathly bed may sound a good idea.
In fact, the term means „Roastment in Parchment”, that is to say, the coffee bean is roasted while still in its parchment and then all is ground and brewed.
When you roast at home, you usually work with coffee that went through a process where the cherry and the parchment surrounding the green bean was removed. In the RIP process, parchments stay at their place, which compose another layer between the heat source and the green part of the coffee bean. This will result in a different taste, sound and vision.
Differences in taste
First of all, relax! You don’t need to buy another equipment or use another technique if you want to try this method. Different beans have different roast profiles and roast differently. If you roast in parchment, your usual roast-monitoring sense will be dulled. Recalibrated. It might seem strange at first, but the habituation is only a matter of time.
In fact, RIP coffee is similar to Indian Monsooned Malabar. They are characterized by a low density with low chaff output. This means you may not have enough space to roast without spillover in some roasters, if you are measuring by weight. That means that you’ll have to lower the amount a little bit, or measure by volume.
Sound and visual differences
During traditional coffee roasting, you can hear the 1st and 2nd cracks. It is a little bit different with RIP coffee because the added layer of parchment dampens the sound of the cracking and thus you have to prick up your ears. It is quiter and crisper.
While you roast in parchment, you will see the parchment, not the green coffee, so your visual experience will also be different. It does darken, but not in the same manner as green coffee. The parchment will make the determination of the roast level harder so you should listen for the cracks. With time, you will get used to it and you won’t over-roast the beans.
Is it worth the effort? Try it and decide for yourself. Certainly, it will be different than what you have become accustomed: but do not be scared by the misleading name.