STiR coffee and tea magazine

38 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2017 (December / January) I t was time for a change. After a successful career as a professional cyclist, Christian Meier was looking for something that equaled his passion for cycling. His new direction was as close as his morning coffee. Meier loved coffee and already was roasting beans as a hobby, something he started during his riding career. His wife Amber had experience working in cafes in Vancouver, B.C. They talked it over and decided to roast beans on a larger scale and open a café in Girona, Spain, their adopted home. "After I did the Tour de France (in 2014), Amber and I went through a 'what's next' period," Meier said. "My professional goal was the tour. But now what? We de- cided it was time to do something for ourselves." Girona is a popular cycling destination and "cyclists love coffee. They go hand in hand," he said. "We thought (a café) would be a great opportunity." They bought a Joper BPR-3 roaster and opened the La Fabrica café in 2015. A year later, once Meier retired from the professional bike circuit, they opened a second shop called Espresso Mafia. That dictated an upgrade to the Joper BPR-15. Now, instead of spending hours each day training, he focuses on how to roast the best coffee possible. The Meiers' story is not unusual. The growth of specialty coffee has turned many consumer connoisseurs into roasters seeking to make a perfect cup. And while there are no available industry studies, the growth of specialty coffee roasters is evident. "Anecdotally, we've seen growth," said Heather Ward, the Specialty Coffee Asso- ciation's market research manager. "There are always new roasters popping up. We get a lot of inquiries from people entering the industry." One way to track the growth is roaster sales. "We have been noting a steady increase in our shop roaster sales for the past five years with sales figures still going up globally," said Jens Roelofs, head of sales and service shop roasters at Probat. "There is an increase in interest in specialty roasters mainly due to the fact that consumers' demands shift more and more towards high- quality coffee roasted in small batches." Cyclist-turned-roaster Christian Meier manages a batch of beans with his Joper BPR-3 roaster in Girona, Spain Photo courtesy @paolopennimartellicycling Shop-Size Roasters by Dan Shryock

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