stories

roasting philosophy

posted: may 2014

the flavor of coffee itself is not sharp, bitter or burned. realizing that the coffee bean is actually the seed of a fruit - the coffee cherry - it is no surprise that the taste of coffee itself is acidic and sweet, and can develop many possible flavors depending on where it grows. the development of a rich flavor is not a given. only if one carefully nurtures the coffee plant, processes its cherries correctly, ships it with care, roasts & brews it with attention, the flavor will develop to its full potential.

as coffee roasters, we are in the last phase in this path from seed to cup. so, when roasting our coffee, we want to do our part right, and make sure that we develop its flavor to its full potential. that means that we want to minimize flavors that we consider to be roasting errors. for example, roasting too dark will lead to that sharp, burned or overly bitter flavors which will obscure the character of the coffee itself. while on the other hand, roasting too light will lead to an underdevelopment of the flavors and to an unpleasant acidity and a greenish flavor. we want to hit that sweet spot where we taste what characterizes a specific coffee and the flavor flourishes.

so, if coffee has all this potential richness of flavor, how did we come to accept it as a sharp and bitter drink that a lot of us humans overpower with milk or sugar to make it somewhat enjoyable? the answer is simple: we did not know better. before the rise of specialty coffee, coffee was mostly seen as a commodity which flavor was more or less constant: sharp, burned and bitter. focus was therefore on production numbers rather than quality. because, if one roasts coffee really dark, the quality of the bean becomes less important and the flavor will become consistent - namely, sharp and bitter.

we believe that in the growing number of specialty coffee roasters and cafes all around the world, we can identify a shift away from coffee as a commodity, and see a rising appreciation of the complexity of the bean. the best thing is, everyone profits from high quality coffees. roasters and farmers will be stimulated to work together on developing the product to a higher standard, consumers can enjoy the qualities of a well nurtured product and will be willing to pay more for something of which they can actually differentiate quality. we are dedicated to contribute to these developments. so, we roast for the flavor of coffee and take pride in presenting the diversity that it has to offer.

we are telling this story of coffee, everyday.