About
Block Load Roaster
I had always been a casual coffee drinker for as long as I could remember. That was until I tried an excellent single origin fermented coffee from O’o Farms in Maui which opened my eyes to coffee’s true complex potential. I was intrigued at how many possibilities there could be with coffee. There is an entire complex system of the coffee ecosystem to explore from farmer to consumer and every step and variable of the process can alter the coffee’s flavor. I started exploring specialty coffee and as a very inquisitive person found that I wanted to learn and figure out how to create coffee that could live in the new world that opened before me.
Learning to Roast
Like many coffee roasters, my exploration with roasting coffee started with a stovetop popcorn maker, a drill, a thermometer, a lot of elbow grease, and YouTube.
I found out very quickly that I could roast my own coffee with a taste that far exceeded my expectations. I also found out very quickly that spinning a stovetop popcorn maker was not tenable for very long.
From Experimentation to Commitment
In comes a table-top drum roaster.
The freedom of the roaster invigorated me to experiment. Soon I had far more coffee than my partner and I could ever consume on our own and I started giving away coffee to my friends and family. The more I roasted, the more I dreamt of starting my own coffee roastery. Eventually, the dream became too powerful.
Science Meets Art
Coffee roasting is the perfect intersection of science and art
The endless number of variables run the gambit between what can and cannot be controlled, having to be being proactive and reactive during a roast, and understanding how to manipulate all available controls to really make any roast shine. Roasting coffee landed with me immediately by itching both the engineering and creative sides of myself.
