Roasting your own
Capacity,
labor
intensity and
maintenance
are some of
the issues
with in-shop
roasting���
but the
payoff can be
spectacular.
BY BRENDA G. RUSSELL
Small batch roasters can be labor-intensive and
balky, but the payoff is improved product.
A
small roasting machine can give coffee operators a new
revenue stream���and maybe better yet, a new creative
outlet.
���Like the barista who pulls the perfect shot, the roaster gets a
similar satisfaction from the perfect roast profile,��� says Mike Perry,
chief executive of Klatch Roasting, Upland, Calif. ���But roasting is
also a business of its own, much like baking fresh pasties.
���Sure, most anyone can drop a scoop and bake into a small
oven, or bake off a premade and frozen pastry. But it���s not the
same quality as a true baker. Both roasting and baking are a
profession at the highest level and require training, dedication
and a passion.���
Brian Bergeson developed his passion as a home roaster
before starting Bergies Coffee Roast House four years ago
with his brother Brian, in a house in the downtown Heritage
District of Gilbert, Ariz.
���I was working down at the airport part-time so I could
get flight benefits,��� Bergeson says. ���My son was a gymnast in
college, so my wife and I could fly around. And one of my
supervisors saw me drinking Starbucks and said, ���You need to
come up to my office tomorrow and taste some real coffee.������
Bruce Bergeson���s boss turned out to be a hobbyist who
made his own Guatemalan roast. He taught the brothers how
to spin beans in a hot-air popcorn popper.
14
���Well, we started playing around,��� Bergeson says. ���Then we
moved on to a small single home-roasting machine. Now we
have a small-batch roaster. We roast our own because it���s that
much better than any other coffee. We do a lot of city roasts,
we do some in cinnamon roasts, and we���ll do light���some
beans taste the best with that.���
LOGISTICS
There are easier ways to keep fresh coffee on hand. Suppliers
with better sources and more expertise can ship a new supply in
a day or two, without adding a batch of cash-flow and logistical
issues. ���I started in shop with a 24-kilo roaster,��� Perry says. ���A
bit big, but I got a deal, so I went with it. With a few-pound
[capacity] roaster, you will spend more on labor than you save,
so it���s really not worth it till you get a 5-kilo or larger.
���Yet I honestly believe a small-shop roaster is a great tool
to educate the public, build up retail bean sales and add
some ambience. But the owner will face challenges,��� he adds.
���Maybe also the small roaster is a first step to learning the craft
of roasting and growing.���
Decorators might add a roaster to their designs simply for
extra brushed-metal bling and ambient buzz. ���Some studies
suggest that water fountains, falls or fireplaces, or roasters as
a focal point, can actually stimulate spending and actually
