A Day in the Roastery
Heat, smell, sound, and a small window onto the beans. A day in the roastery is a lesson in paying attention.
A roaster spends most of the day looking at something that is changing color and listening for a sound.
Summary
- The roastery day starts with preparation, such as cleaning equipment and checking green coffee.
- Each batch requires close attention to temperature, time, and sound.
- Tasting and notes close the loop, so each roast can be improved.
Key takeaways
- Roasting is a sensory craft that rewards attention.
- Consistency comes from records and repetition.
- The roaster is the last person to shape the coffee before it reaches the cup.
The roastery smells different at each stage of the day. In the morning, it smells of clean metal and a little dust. By noon, it smells of toasted bread, then chocolate, then something deeper.
The morning
The day begins before any beans are roasted. The equipment is cleaned and checked. The roaster warms up. The green coffee for the day is weighed and set out. A notebook is opened to a clean page.
Preparation is half of good roasting. A dirty drum or a miscalibrated thermometer ruins a batch before it starts.
The roast itself
When the drum is hot, the green beans are poured in. The temperature drops at first, then slowly climbs. The beans, pale green at the start, turn yellow, then tan, then brown. A smell like hay turns into one like bread.
At a certain point, the beans make a cracking sound, called first crack. It is audible, like popcorn, and it marks a key moment. The roaster listens, watches the color, and decides how much longer to go.
Everything depends on timing. Thirty seconds can separate a bright roast from a dull one.
Watching and recording
The roaster notes the time, temperature, and events through the roast, and records them. Those records are how you repeat a good roast and improve a bad one.
When the batch reaches the desired point, it is dumped into a cooling tray. The beans tumble out, glossy and fragrant.
Tasting
After resting, the roasted coffee is cupped. We described cupping in A Morning at the Cupping Table. The results guide the next day's roasts.
Why we roast ourselves
All this care would be lost if the roast were done by someone else. Having the roastery close lets us connect the cup back to the field. It is part of the reason we describe ourselves as farm to cup, and why we keep most of the roasting in our own hands. See Why We Roast Most of Our Own Coffee.
A calm kind of work
For all the heat and noise, roasting is calm. You stand beside a machine, listening and watching. There are long stretches where nothing seems to happen, then a moment when everything does. It is oddly close to the lathe in that way.
Common questions
What is first crack?
An audible cracking sound that occurs when beans reach a certain temperature during roasting. Roasters use it as a milestone.
Why record each roast?
Records let roasters repeat successful batches and learn from mistakes.
Keep reading
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