ROASTING RESOURCES

 

The culinary art of roasting is the next link in the supply chain after us as importers. Our role is to not only source the best coffees in the world and ship them around the globe, but also to connect our roaster clients with those specialty coffees and the producers from whom they come. We acknowledge that after the coffee is bought, there is still plenty of hard work that must be done by the roaster themself, and mastering that craft requires practice, discipline, dedication, and curiosity.

Among our diverse staff of coffee professionals are several trained and highly experienced coffee roasters who are more than happy to share not only their knowledge but also their journey toward constant improvement. (A roaster’s job is never really done.) At our offices around the world, we have fully functional sample-roasting labs, as well as a full production-roasting setup in our U.S. location.

In addition to education and advice we can offer through our relationships with roaster clients, we are also happy to make available a wealth of online written, recorded, and video material to you the roaster or the roaster-in-training who is thirsty for more information about the beautiful alchemy in the process of turning green coffee brown.

 

TRAINING & EDUCATION

BOOT COFFEE

Boot Coffee – https://bootcoffee.com/

Boot Coffee in California has several options for eager students of roasting, including webinars, in-person SCA module education, and their own courses such as Advanced Coffee Roasting (5 hours), Coffee Roasting Theory (1.5 hours), and Mastering Roast Profiles (3.25 hours)

COFFEE MIND

CoffeeMind – https://coffee-mind.com

This coffee-knowledge group is based in Denmark and offers regular coffee classes, from foundational to intermediate level, all the way to professional

COFFEE ROASTERS GUILD CAMP

Coffee Roasters Guild Camp – https://www.crgcamp.coffee/

This three-day event brings together roasters from all over the world to get hands-on training and experience, attend workshops, have conversations with fellow roasters, cup coffees, and participate in the SCA Coffee Skills Program on-site

COFFEE ROASTING INSTITUTE

Coffee Roasting Institute – https://cri.coffee/courses/

Learn about roasting, cupping, buying green coffee, and more at this coffee-roasting school for professionals

MILL CITY COFFEE ROASTING TRAINING CLASSES

Mill City Roasters Coffee Roasting Training Classes – https://millcityroasters.com/coffee-roasting-training-classes/

Our friends just down the road offer online and in-person coffee-roasting training, including a guided walk-through of the roaster-seasoning process and a quarterly project focusing on creating a profile for two different coffees

SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION COFFEE SKILLS PROGRAM

Specialty Coffee Association Coffee Skills Program – https://sca.coffee/education/programs/coffee-skills-program

Roasting is one of the 6 course modules in this SCA-sanctioned education catalog; in the roasting module, you’ll learn about the basics of the roasting process and the transformation of green to roasted coffee; defect identification, roast levels, and production as well as workflow management

These courses are available on-site at several locations around the country

VIDEOS

HOW WE SAMPLE ROAST

How We Sample Roast – https://www.cafeimports.com/north-america/coffeeeducation/roast/sample-roasting

While Cafe Imports now uses a different range of roasting equipment to conduct our sample roasting, this video from 2017 is still relevant for anyone who wants to learn the basics of sample roasting

HOW TO MAKE EVERYTHING: THE ROAST, DECONSTRUCTING COFFEE

How to Make Everything: The Roast, Deconstructing Coffee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5Rr-XT7AA

This brief but fun and informative explanation of roasting features Cafe Imports’ own Dan Jensen, sales representative for Asia

MILL CITY ROASTERS EDUCATION VIDEOS

Mill City Roasters Roasting Education Videos – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfpTQQtvqLhHG_GWhk3Xp4A

A free, wide-ranging series of videos from Mill City Roasters covering everything from cupping to sample roasting to blending to dialing-in and more.

ROASTING CONCEPTS

Roasting Concepts – https://www.cafeimports.com/north-america/roasting-concepts

An 8-part video series exploring roasting theory in some depth, hosted by former Cafe Imports director of education Joe Marrocco

Trade Organizations & Support

COFFEE ROASTERS GUILD

Coffee Roasters Guild – https://crg.coffee/

A guild dedicated to coffee roasters, offering classes, resources, community, and more, which is affiliated with the Specialty Coffee Association

SHE'S THE ROASTER

She’s The Roaster – https://shestheroaster.org/

Grassroots support network for roasters who are self-identified as womxn

BOOKS & MAGAZINES

THE BOOK OF ROAST

The Book of Roast: The Craft of Coffee Roasting from Bean to Business https://www.roastmagazine.com/bookofroast/

A compilation of articles about coffee roasting, edited and published by the team behind Roast Magazine

COFFEE ROASTING BEST PRACTICES

Coffee Roasting Best Practices, by Scott Rao – https://www.scottrao.com/products/coffee-roasting-best-practices

This is an advanced-level follow-up to the author’s Coffee Roaster’s Companion, and features more information about controlling roast curves, troubleshooting rate of rise and baking, and more.

THE COFFEE ROASTER'S COMPANION

The Coffee Roaster’s Companion, by Scott Rao – https://www.scottrao.com/products/coffee-roasters-companion

A comprehensive how-to for roasters that is accessible enough for newer entrants to the profession to understand

MODULATING THE FLAVOR PROFILE OF COFFEE: ONE ROASTES'S MANIFEST

Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee: One Roaster’s Manifesto, by Rob Hoos – https://hoos.coffee/book

This technical book breaks the roasting process into 5 elements, exploring the variables that affect a profile and exploring the ways that the roast impacts flavor development

PROFILING PRACTICUM: A METHODOLOGY FOR BUILDING BETTER COFFEE ROASTING PROFILES

Profiling Practicum: A Methodology for Building Better Coffee Roasting Profiles, by Rocky Rhodes – https://store.sca.coffee/collections/books-library/products/profiling-practicum?variant=16284617801830

This book is pricey, but author Rocky Rhodes has collected and compared data over hundreds of roasting hours in order to understand, explain, and correlate roasting progression

ROASTING FOUNDATION

Roasting Foundation, by Morten Münchow – https://coffee-mind.com/product/book-roasting-foundation/

This concise book is perfect for anyone who lacks coffee or roasting experience but wants a crash-course on the basics (and some of the just-beyond-basics)

ROAST MAGAZINE

Roast Magazine – https://www.roastmagazine.com/

Roast is the trade magazine for coffee roasters, published bimonthly and featuring articles about everything from coffee production to green sourcing to profiling to business management. The Book of Roast is a compilation of articles from the printed magazine. The magazine also runs the fantastic coffee website https://dailycoffeenews.com/

CONSULTANT RESOURCES

BREWED BEHAVIOR

Brewed Behavior – https://www.brewedbehavior.com/roaster-training/

Longtime coffee consultant Tracy Allen offers private roasting classes and more

COFFEE MIND

CoffeeMind – https://coffee-mind.com

The CoffeeMind team, including Morten Münchow, offers in-person and distance consultancy

EQUILIBRIUM MASTER ROASTERS (EQMR)

Equilibrium Master Roasters (EQMR) – https://www.eqmr.com.au/

This Australia-based roasting consultancy is headed by Anne Cooper and offers in-person and online roaster education and consulting

ROB HOOS

Rob Hoos – https://hoos.coffee/schedule

The author of Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee is available to schedule for consultation

SCOTT RAO

Scott Rao – https://www.scottrao.com/consulting

The author of The Coffee Roaster’s Companion offers consulting services