CFN – It has been 7 years since my last official training course in roasting coffee and I decided it was about time for another one. If you’re wondering why I would stress myself to attend a training session I would have to say that it is just to refresh my previous understanding of roasting, to find out what is new and exciting in the business and I also wanted to see some nice new and shiny roasters. An added bonus is to meet like minded people who are passionate about coffee. When I got the email from Robust Roasters that they were hosting a training session for roasters and wannabe roasters I signed up right away.
Robust Roasters (www.robustroasters.com) is located in Scarborough (East Toronto) and are distributors of Toper Roasters. Of course their decision to host the training is mostly based on marketing their roasters and what better way to demonstrate their product than to get your potential customers to actually use them. As a result, I am seriously considering an upgrade. Not only did they provide the facilities and equipment for the training but they also brought in an excellent instructor and highly qualified coffee roaster in the person of Stephen Armstrong of Speak Easy Coffee (www.speakeasycoffee.ca) .
.
There were only 5 students in the class but they were from across Canada, Jim from Vancouver, Tim and Dave from Richmond Hill, Shaw from Hamilton and yours truly from good old Ingleside. I guess if you counted Peter and Henry from Robust Roasters then there were 7 students because we were all motivated to learn everything we could from our instructor. We listened to the theory involved in roasting, we talked about the latest trends and gossip, we roasted different beans from different geographical locations and we cupped the results. I do believe everyone went home happy better informed about coffee roasting. Personally from what I learned, I am going to change my roasting profile a little and try to improve the performance of my 12 year old roaster. I have also developed a new respect for a lighter roast thanks to Stephen.
Why the bean eaters club you ask? Well, it is the habit of roasters to pick a cooled bean out of a newly roasted batch of coffee to crunch on and get an early estimate of what that coffee will be like to cup (evaluate in a cup). It certainly did feel like a club to have like minded coffee roasters go through a training session together and get really buzzed on caffeine.
Robust Roasters (www.robustroasters.com) is located in Scarborough (East Toronto) and are distributors of Toper Roasters. Of course their decision to host the training is mostly based on marketing their roasters and what better way to demonstrate their product than to get your potential customers to actually use them. As a result, I am seriously considering an upgrade. Not only did they provide the facilities and equipment for the training but they also brought in an excellent instructor and highly qualified coffee roaster in the person of Stephen Armstrong of Speak Easy Coffee (www.speakeasycoffee.ca) .
.
There were only 5 students in the class but they were from across Canada, Jim from Vancouver, Tim and Dave from Richmond Hill, Shaw from Hamilton and yours truly from good old Ingleside. I guess if you counted Peter and Henry from Robust Roasters then there were 7 students because we were all motivated to learn everything we could from our instructor. We listened to the theory involved in roasting, we talked about the latest trends and gossip, we roasted different beans from different geographical locations and we cupped the results. I do believe everyone went home happy better informed about coffee roasting. Personally from what I learned, I am going to change my roasting profile a little and try to improve the performance of my 12 year old roaster. I have also developed a new respect for a lighter roast thanks to Stephen.
Why the bean eaters club you ask? Well, it is the habit of roasters to pick a cooled bean out of a newly roasted batch of coffee to crunch on and get an early estimate of what that coffee will be like to cup (evaluate in a cup). It certainly did feel like a club to have like minded coffee roasters go through a training session together and get really buzzed on caffeine.
As for the nice shiny new roasters, I am impressed. The only bad part of the whole training session is that I became aware of the inadequacies of my current equipment and now I have to do some number crunching to see what size of nice shiny new roaster I can afford.
.
I guess my final point is that, like all professions, it helps to keep the skill and enthusiasm up to date by attending seminars or training sessions. I can’t wait for the next one. Who says you can’t reach an old dog new tricks. It just takes a little longer, with lots of repetition.
Remember you can chat with Reg and sample some of his fine Roasted coffee at the Long Sault Farmers Market every Friday afternoon!
I just finished a cup of Reg’s newly roasted espresso that will keep me energized on my 4am trip to the Montreal airport to a training session of my own. Thanks, Reg!
What wonderful coffee you sell Reg. You are certainly Master of your Art. Please keep up the good work.