Roasting

[CakeBoy]

Welcome to the forum coffee_mad

I'm always interested when manufacturers claim that their machines are capable of'smoke/odour free roasting', especially without the use of external venting. Have you any experience of the linked IMEX? Many on the forum have used their smaller home roasting offerings and enjoyed them very much.

[Steve]

Again great idea but I don't feel roasting belongs in the retail environment unless you have kind of space to do it properly with considerations for safety and for and with design of the building appropriate for smoke and mess, and green storage. And why would you want to turn over that kind of space that could be for covers?

[leecb]

An Iroast in a glass Case Leigh I seem to remember

Yup, that was the one!!

[tap]

unless you have kind of space to do it properly with considerations for safety and for and with design of the building appropriate for smoke and mess, and green storage.

shoproasting can work. but you need all this Steve mentioned plus a some quiet time to roast.. can't really do it place full of customers. most cases agree with Steve but dream about my own little self sufficient universe of coffeeshop...

[JulieJayne]

Steve, you are a roaster... so you would say that wouldn't you.

You refer to covers... i.e. seats. In a CoffeeShop (cafe) you would be right, but that sort of establishment makes its money from food more than from coffee anyway.

In a real shop that sells coffee beans (we also serve coffee, but not food) then a shop roaster would be great. What better than roasting coffee for a customer, to their preferred spec, while they sit and enjoy an espresso or 2. Perfect.

[Steve]

Its not about saying it because I'm a roaster its about saying it because the producer, miller, exporter and importer do everything they can to make the coffee the very best it can be. To not make it the best it can be at the point of sale is not fair on every one else's effort.

These air shop roasters in my experience will not perform as well as a gas powered larger ambient heat roaster. They are often under powered and take an age to roast or flash roast it. Roasting as the home roaster understands takes lots of efforts and input to make it the very best it can be. Pushing a button and hoping for the best I think is like setting up the very best coffee shop and adding super Auto's. Sure they will give you ok maybe even good coffee but is it the best it can be? I say no.

They are gimmicks. As I say if you do it right with the right conciderations for shop roasting then it can be a sucess, but it has to be with a traditional roasting machine with the right setting.

[espressomattic]

I have seen several Cafes here with Big Old Probat Roaster etc in the shop. It certainly adds a certain ambience to the experience of going to the cafe. Thankfull these places have enough staff to have a roaster on site rather than rely on staff to do it 'when they can'.

As a gimmick, I see it as a waste of time, as a production tool it can really work.

Showing what a success it can be in one instance was a shop that had to open up a seperate roastery because it got too busy to roast in the shop.

[Steve]

Thats it Matt that when it works people then take them to a separate site, look at Monmouth also.

the first time customers see the roaster the second time a passing glance and the third they want good coffee and don't even see the roaster.

[CakeBoy]

This week I am mainly being blackmialed by my wife

That's what I like to read! She's a good woman . Well done Sara

[JulieJayne]

I don't follow you Steve. You say that

air shop roasters ...will not perform as well as a gas powered larger ambient heat roaster

You may be right. But you sell Home roasters and green beans! Why would a specialist shop not put in as much care and understanding as a home roaster?

And you miss the point of freshness. A big roaster, such as yourself, should be able to do a better job than home roasters or small shop roasters. But big roasters loose out on the question of freshness.

If I want to offer my customers exceptionally fresh roasted coffee, I have to use smaller roasters, sometimes I have to roast myself... on a Gene (until I have a Behmor or NeoRoast!).

My experience with customers is that most cannot tell if a coffee is well roasted or not. Sorry but it is true. But they can taste the difference between fresh and stale.

You also have to remember that the best grown coffee, perfectly roasted, freshly delivered to the customer, can and often will be destroyed by the customer, not brewing it correctly. But that is not something we can control.

[tap]

But big roasters loose out on the question of freshness.

oh, but this is pretty much a matter of a shop as well. like a sushi master doing the trip to fishmarket there is coffee "masters" who every morning go to the roaster for the fresh beans. either way it's pretty much an obsession towards the coffee giving you your perfect cup of... shoproaster for mere attraction doesn't really work. when you give everything you can roast your own or run for your fresh beans..

dedication the word i was looking for

[Steve]

I don't follow you Steve. You say that

air shop roasters ...will not perform as well as a gas powered larger ambient heat roaster

You may be right. But you sell Home roasters and green beans! Why would a specialist shop not put in as much care and understanding as a home roaster?
.

Because the shop is about selling cups of coffee and looking after the customer. I cant even answer the phone when I'm roasting as I'll just burn roastery down, let alone run a shop.

Why loose out on freshness? We Batch roast every day exactly what we need. (and please don't get me started on BIG roaster were a tiny speck on the roaster planet).

Its about making the customer taste the difference between good roasted coffee and not. Its like saying lets pull a 10 second shot of espresso as most people wont notice.

your right about the control but we SHOULD do everything we can to make sure our job is done correctly?

Sorry you got me on my hobby horse here . I keep hearing roasting, any one can do that and its true. But I've chewed my way through hundreds of tones in the few years I've been roasting and I'm still learning my craft (sorry all you guinea pigs out there). It frustrates me when I hear that I'm going to stick a roaster in the corner and roast my own, and think that its the best it can be.

I'll get my coat.

[JulieJayne]

Because the shop is about selling cups of coffee and looking after the customer.

A shop, our shop is about selling coffee beans not cups of coffee. But we do that too!

Why loose out on freshness? We Batch roast every day exactly what we need. (and please don't get me started on BIG roaster were a tiny speck on the roaster planet).

To us you are a big roaster. One of the best. You may be able to supply small shops like us in the UK, and I hope that you do. But far too many roasters will only supply larger quantities.

Fortunately we have multiple roasters here in the Netherlands, who are able to supply small quantities regularly.

Its about making the customer taste the difference between good roasted coffee and not.

I totally agree with you, but to do that the roast has to be repeatable and fresh.

Sorry you got me on my hobby horse here .

Steve roasting is your hobby horse, freshness is mine.

It frustrates me when I hear that I'm going to stick a roaster in the corner and roast my own, and think that its the best it can be.

Not the best, maybe, but I would still love a Neoroast, a heck of a lot better than a Gene, and I could roast during the day not after shop hours. And it would be fresh, and for coffees that are slow sellers the only other option is for us to stop offering them.

[ianboughton]

I do trust that my friend Steve will permit me to make a rare appearance on this forum to mention something which will make steam blow out of his ears. Someone is about to launch in the UK a retailer-roasting franchise; he supplies the roasting machine. He advises potential franchisees (and I quote) that 'It's no harder to use than an atm/cash machine and requires minimal training.'
Steve, I shall leave that there without daring to add any comment !!!
IanB, Coffee House magazine.

[radish]

I do trust that my friend Steve will permit me to make a rare appearance on this forum to mention something which will make steam blow out of his ears. Someone is about to launch in the UK a retailer-roasting franchise; he supplies the roasting machine. He advises potential franchisees (and I quote) that 'It's no harder to use than an atm/cash machine and requires minimal training.'
Steve, I shall leave that there without daring to add any comment !!!
IanB, Coffee House magazine.

I hope they provide the number for the local fire brigade in the franchise pack