Coffee is from Africa, yet the way we think of and enjoy coffee today is largely separated from the roots that produced that original fruit. The disparity we see in the value stream today, where those growing coffee do not receive the fruit of their labor, is the consequence. Today we get to talk with someone who has been laboring …
RoR #29 : A Coffee Roaster’s Career Journey, Leigh Wentzle, Cedar Coffee
As a roaster your career can go through many different unique phases, all of which will tech you different things about the craft, the business, leadership, and even entrepreneurship. Not least among the things you learn is how to use both resources and constraints as opportunities to serve others and grow as a roaster. These are the kinds of experiences …
451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee
When Martin Mayorga first entered the coffee industry it was not as someone whose singular passion was the product, but the people and communities behind it that were unseen and more often that not, un rewarded for their work. Born in Guatemala City to a Nicaraguan father and a Peruvian mother, Martin’s early life was a mosaic of Latin American cultures and …
RoR #28 : Ease and Accessibility in Sample Roasting w/ Andrew Stordy, Inventor/Founder of IKAWA
Sample roasting empowers people with the knowledge of possibility locked in the coffee. Bringing sample roasting that provides for more continuity and better communication to more professionals in the value chain, especially at origin, is critical not just for how coffee’s potential is achieved but how the value of that coffee is distributed. Today we explore this dynamic through the …
RoR #26 : How to Approach Roasting Fine Robusta w/ Cleia Junqueira | Consultant + Q-Robusta Grader
Fine robusta has been the hot topic of conversation in the specialty industry these last few years and for good reason. What was once relegated to the sidelines has been showing up on offering sheets and coffee menus of some of the world’s best importers and roasters. With this in mind, knowing how to approach and roast this species …
RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe
Effectively training up an apprentice roaster is key not only to your succession, the growth of your business, and the consistency of your quality, -but providing a great learning environment and approach to education and coaching will push the whole industry forward. The key is to not only deliver processes, rules, and systems, but also opportunity for contribution, conversation, and …
ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic
Roasting for espresso is a tricky business. Not only are there multiple variables that inherently complicate the extraction process but there is also a wide variety of opinion is and preferences for what the final flavor experience should be like. On this Rate of Rise episode we will be talking about how one world renowned roastery roasts for espresso and …
ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
As an industry, our flavor preferences turn into what we market, which turn communicates a message about quality and what people should care about when it comes to “the best” coffees. Too often we are content to let the our message be incredibly narrow regarding flavors and preferences. Without context this leaves a lot of great coffee that may be …
RoR # 22 : Master Insights on Roaster Maintenance and Care w/ Doug Graf, Vintage Coffee
Setting up and maintaining a roaster for functionality, safety, and quality output is perhaps the biggest challenge of roasting. There are many variables and trades that go into it and it is easy to skip some steps, be less than detailed, and rush the project. I don’t need to tell you, that is s a recipe for disaster. Perhaps nobody …
412 : Founder Friday! w/ Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage of Black and White Coffee Roasters
It’s Founder Friday! Partnerships in coffee bars can be tricky things. You really have to make sure you have complimentary character traits as well as a unified s12et of values to help guide you through the ups and downs of business in a the cafe and roastery. Today we are talking with a couple of guys who have combined forces …