Now that you have learned a little about me and perhaps visited our site, I'd like to share the fun part about being a roaster - especially one as fortunate as I am, who is able to make all the decisions.
1. OK the first one is that I get to select the best coffee beans. Like most things in life there is however a direct relationship to price and quality and yes, within reason, these restrictions have to be in balance. I only buy good quality or high-graded beans from all over the world but mostly East Africa (my favourite source) and some central American countries. We also sell single origin beans, right now we have three specific beans in stock which are highly recommended. A Burundi single origin microlot which is probably the best coffee bean that I have ever tasted; a long-bean naturally processed bean from the Harrar region in Ethiopia (the closest to a Yemenese bean that most of us will get) and lastly a SHG EP Honduran which holds it's own against beans of a far higher price.
Am I boring you? I hope not, this is only our second blog post and I am not too sure what readers are after so I will do my best. to keep things interesting.
2. The second advantage of being a roaster is that I get to taste so many different coffees. Each origin offers beans with different characteristics, some are sweeter, others add a chocolate flavour, others berry, others nut or citrus flavours. Some offer a better body than others; one might add aroma to a blend. Part of my job is to design a blend of four to five beans which together are able to offer coffee lovers an exceptional coffee, one which meets all the criteria.
3. I get to meet so many interesting people. I can't pinpoint it but there seems to be a strong camaraderie amongst coffee lovers, baristas, roasters and those running shops and restaurants. It's just so nice to chat about coffee. Please don't hesitate to make a comment on this blog-site or to send along any questions and suggestions. It really doesn't matter to me if you are a customer of ours or from where you hail, Tanzania to Timbuktu it really doesn't matter. If you're a coffee lover or in the industry, please join the conversation.
4. Roasting is fun ... each bean has it's own characteristics and performs differently at the different phases of the roast process. Some are more dense, some smaller and some react quicker than others. One gets to know these individual characteristics quite quickly and it's my job to develop each bean in the best way, a way which optimises flavour which, contrary to what many might suggest, is the most critical characteristic of a roasted bean. To quote a fellow roaster Kevin, "anyone can make a bean brown" but can everyone bring out the best flavour.
5. The last of my top five favorites is when we get the opportunity to cup with clients. Now "cupping" is an industry term for tasting. We usually cup blind in that we don't know which coffee we are tasting. We'll select two of ours, one that the customer might be using at the time and then one from a third source. We "cup" and assess these against each other. So far, we are very proud to say, is that our coffee has never come second...
Have a great day folks, if you would like to read a few more articles please sect the "article" menu option on our website.
EL Coffee -Articles
1. OK the first one is that I get to select the best coffee beans. Like most things in life there is however a direct relationship to price and quality and yes, within reason, these restrictions have to be in balance. I only buy good quality or high-graded beans from all over the world but mostly East Africa (my favourite source) and some central American countries. We also sell single origin beans, right now we have three specific beans in stock which are highly recommended. A Burundi single origin microlot which is probably the best coffee bean that I have ever tasted; a long-bean naturally processed bean from the Harrar region in Ethiopia (the closest to a Yemenese bean that most of us will get) and lastly a SHG EP Honduran which holds it's own against beans of a far higher price.
2. The second advantage of being a roaster is that I get to taste so many different coffees. Each origin offers beans with different characteristics, some are sweeter, others add a chocolate flavour, others berry, others nut or citrus flavours. Some offer a better body than others; one might add aroma to a blend. Part of my job is to design a blend of four to five beans which together are able to offer coffee lovers an exceptional coffee, one which meets all the criteria.
3. I get to meet so many interesting people. I can't pinpoint it but there seems to be a strong camaraderie amongst coffee lovers, baristas, roasters and those running shops and restaurants. It's just so nice to chat about coffee. Please don't hesitate to make a comment on this blog-site or to send along any questions and suggestions. It really doesn't matter to me if you are a customer of ours or from where you hail, Tanzania to Timbuktu it really doesn't matter. If you're a coffee lover or in the industry, please join the conversation.
4. Roasting is fun ... each bean has it's own characteristics and performs differently at the different phases of the roast process. Some are more dense, some smaller and some react quicker than others. One gets to know these individual characteristics quite quickly and it's my job to develop each bean in the best way, a way which optimises flavour which, contrary to what many might suggest, is the most critical characteristic of a roasted bean. To quote a fellow roaster Kevin, "anyone can make a bean brown" but can everyone bring out the best flavour.
5. The last of my top five favorites is when we get the opportunity to cup with clients. Now "cupping" is an industry term for tasting. We usually cup blind in that we don't know which coffee we are tasting. We'll select two of ours, one that the customer might be using at the time and then one from a third source. We "cup" and assess these against each other. So far, we are very proud to say, is that our coffee has never come second...
Have a great day folks, if you would like to read a few more articles please sect the "article" menu option on our website.
EL Coffee -Articles
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