How do I become a roaster

System

what are the logical steps in becoming a coffee roaster.

Unknown

I would consider going to work for someone who already roasts coffee.  It is not brain surgery, but roasting is part craft and part science - and can become as esoteric as you want.  If Australia has a coffee association - and I think you do - then join as a provisional member.  Subscribe to some trade journals.  You should ask yourself why you want to roast coffee - which may give you a basic philosophical approach. Write a business plan.  

Unknown

Brian, It is very surprisng how few people show interest in roasting.  If I were you, I would find my favourite roasting houses and just inform  them of your intentions.  It helps if you have some experience in coffee origins and blending.  Plant a seed with these roasters and get to know the product - especially their product.  Get to know all the roasts and origins and how they differ in taste and darkness.  Prove you are truly interested and keen, and you'll be roasting within a year or so. Keep at it. Good luck, Will

fad

It depends on what type of roaster you want to be. If you want to be someone who roasts coffee, then that's dead easy. Simply buy green beans and a method to roast them, then start roasting. Methods to roast include: heat gun, popcorn machine, wok and bbq grill. Plus commercially produced domestic electric roasters and gas roasters. Roast as many different types of beans as you can get. Roast them to differing levels. Vary the time taken to get to specific roast levels. Drink the results. It'll be the cheapest education in roasting you'll find. On the other hand, if you want to be a professional roast master, with an aim of eventually becoming a master roaster, then that's more difficult. Two ways of doing this are through apprenticeships and training. Find a roasting company that needs employees and see if they'll take you on as an "apprentice" roaster. Your job might officially be something else entirely, like storeman, and most of your day will be non- roast related. But you've got your foot in the door. If you can afford it you might try obtaining training first, and then go for a roasting job directly. The AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association (AASCA) (http://www.aasca.com) holds a 3 day conference each year. In it they have a 1 day intro to roasting and a 2 day advanced roasting workshop. The advanced workshop was hands-on, informative, and a lot of fun. (I did this years course just last month). Other avenues for training might be scarce in Aus. There are courses run all the time overseas (USA, Germany etc) if your budget can stretch that far. Your best bet would be to get your foot in the door and work your way up. Most companies are not large enough to have an employee standing around watching their roast master work. And they *certainly* won't want an untrained person running the roaster; loss of $xx worth of beans, lost time, possibilities of fire, etc. Some resources: Sweet Marias: http://www.sweetmarias.com/ HomeRoaster http://www.homeroaster.com/ Coffeebean Corral Coffee Matrix: http://www.coffeebeancorral.com/matrix.asp If you want ideas on home roasting methods and green bean supplies drop me an email. I occasionally hear about drum roasters as well, if you want to dive into the deep end. Cheers Paul

FreshCoffee2

Yes yes yes to nearly all of the above and here is my own personal slant on this. You need to run on an apprenticeship type basis with someone who has been roasting for years, as this is a black art that as someone already mentioned is part "method" and part craft. This means that you do not learn a lot of what is involved without letting nature run it's course through time and experience gained. Many people are not suited as they cannot pick up on the craft, and it is one thing to operate a coffee roasting machine, and an entirely different matter to be responsible for all that goes into producing roasted coffee to sell. This effectively means that if you want to learn something worthwhile you may wish to count out getting a job with all and sundry johnny come latelies springing up all over in the coffee roasting industry. You do not learn coffee roasting by suddenly adopting the so called "passionate" attitude (the old "passionate about coffee" cliche), reading a couple of books and attending an AASCA workshop. The trouble is that getting "in" with someone with the relevant experience is pretty hard as these people keep very much to themselves and keep their craft under wraps. They are also usually running family businesses and will not open up to outsiders. Anyone coming in to my business with a view to learning my craft would be asked to sign every possible legal document under the sun in order to protect my families business. Why? Well in yesteryear people took up positions and stuck with them for serious lengths of time and gave their employers (as long as the employers were honest, fair and honourable) many years of good service. Unfortunately in today's aggressive market you cannot trust that someone you take on today is not going to learn everything he/she can from you in the shortest possible time, and go into competition with you at the earliest possible time. If I were to take up someone with a view to passing on my experience and craft, I would also be looking at the possibility of profit sharing or partnership with this person somewhere down the line. This, again in order to safeguard a serious business that does not need competition eventually springing up from within. This makes the task of selecting a potential roasting apprentice very very serious indeed and from an employment point of view I am looking then for a long term committment. Trusting this has placed a slightly different slant on the topic for the person making the enquiry. FC.

Unknown

Its funny, none of the above have aded thet there are 2 main types of roasting, Drum and Fluid air, which r u more interested in? DRum, the "traditional" or Fluid air, the more consistant of the 2. Ask urself that then go and find urself a job in accordance. good luck. scotti

chugs_beans

hi everyone , have just become a member and am impressed by all the different discussions going on.  i am a fulltime coffee maker of about 2 1/2 years now,working in sydney.  i am definately keen in learning the art and science of roasting.Will be looking into approaching my favourite roaster to gain experience.thanx for the tips.  also,can anyone offer sugestions as to how to learn the mechanics of becoming a machine technician.  i see the coffee industry as being a big part of my working and social life.    cheers to all , dougie. 8)