Tuning up your
their own, the equipment is as much a part of their brand as the beans.
For shops that roast
A roaster samples a batch from the Probat machine at the Blue Bottle Coffee facility in Oakland, Calif.
BY BRENDA G. RUSSELL M
Calif., loſt warehouse with vintage roasting machines, including a Probat UG 22 from 1958 that he acquired with the building. "It was like getting your grandfather's violin and finding out it was a Stradivarius," says Freeman, a classically trained
The chief executive of Blue Bottle Coffee fills an Oakland,
clarinetist. Freeman appreciates mellow tones in both woodwinds and coffees, and he talks about his first Diedrich RX-7 roaster the way a car buff recalls a classic Mazda RX-7 roadster. Freeman is part of a chorus of coffee roasters who advise
usician-turned-coffee roaster James Freeman knows how to choose an instrument, and how to play it.
says Chris Wade, of Coffee Bean International, Portland, Ore., who was among the first Roasters Guild specialists certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Rise Up Coffee looked into roasting as a way to expand
choices at its cafes in St. Michaels and Salisbury, Md. "We have always understood and appreciated the fact that a coffee roasting business is very different than a coffee café business,
newcomers to rehearse their next steps and orchestrate purchases for maximum impact. "I would visit favorite roasting companies, cup their product and ask what roasting machine they are using," says Marlee
Benefield, a direct-trade marketer at Boot Coffee Consulting, across the bay in Mill Valley, Calif. "Not all roasting machines produce the same flavor notes, and it's important to know what profile you are looking for in a machine.
a brand that reflects your tastes and standards. "Roasting your own coffee brings a coffee shop into the front lines of quality,
20 | April 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com
Taking up the study of coffee roasting pays off in building "
"
industry publications and peer groups. We also took a great coffee-roasting course from Mane Alves at Coffee Lab International. From there, we've learned a lot through our own experiences and trial and error.
says managing partner Noah Kegley. "With that in mind, we researched the logistics behind operating a coffee roasting business. "Next we educated ourselves," Kegley says. "We follow
more than his musician's practice discipline. His roasting craſt started at the stovetop. Home roasting let him travel with familiar tastes. His roasting hobby soon grew to a sideline. For three years,
Freeman's performance-oriented approach comes from "
Freeman warmed up cold mornings with handcraſted coffees at Bay Area farmers' markets before opening a kiosk in 2005 and selling roasted beans to local restaurants and retailers.
" Photo by Clay McLachlan/ClayPix.com
