You think you know how!

First and foremost, a shout out to all Coffee Roasters out there! Thank you for all the love given to those precious beans.

From the story of bean to cup, much emphasis have been given to the tireless coffee farmers who produced amazing micro lots and then the BariSTAR who made a good job representing the coffee by sharing its story and preparing it well. Coffee roaster plays a big link in this chain but often otherwise forgotten! Not until recently, has coffee roasting been highly noticed and consumer begins to be more appreciative of what actually happens behind closed doors. Coffee roasters starts to receive recognitions and mentions in press media,blogs and what have you.

Suddenly coffee roasting becomes the craze and talk of the town. Now, it appeared sexy to get your hand down and dirty, working on producing magic from an otherwise ordinary coffee green bean. While this is good news, especially to the forgotten unsung heroes, we begun to see a new trend. That of emerging roasters with none or limited experience prior to roasting and trust me, there are aplenty.

Dont get me wrong. I have no intentions to criticize and in fact, I rejoice to this trend although in alarming fashion. Maybe I belong to a batch that was groomed the old school way that I feel, it suddenly gets easier to learn to roast and becomes a roaster than the path I took.

It was in 2007 when I took much interest to understand the art of roasting. Of course this interest spins back all the way in 1998 when I was first theoretically introduced to roasting and coffee. Reading so much about it makes one prepared, but it never got me ready with what that was about to be presented to me. I started cleaning a 30kg roaster which follows by packing all the coffee that was roasted in the day. (Mind you, back then we roasted at-least 3 times a week and 5-10 batches of coffee a day.) in a week, I worked with almost 1 tonnes of beans. There was even a time where I hurt my lumbar spine so bad that I began to feel discouraged and conclude that roasting may not be my thing. I persevere on, and persevere I did until 2009 before I began to roast. Still not on my own but usually buddying with my Master Roaster, and getting the big break to go solo only in the much later part and ever since, never looking back.

Even then, I never really admit to quite master roasting. I have tinker with blends, I have worked through profiles and I have hit and miss moments with the finished products but every time, I was learning, finding new resources, reading it and putting it to practice. When I feel things got stagnant and I no longer pick up a new skill to enhance my current knowledge, I chose to move on and my big break is with Toby's Estate.

(above picture of the boys doing maintenance to the Loring Smart Roast)
In 2011, I begun to learn roasting all over again under the wonderful tutelage of Head Roaster Alvaro Sanchez and occasionally when he comes to visit, Master Roaster Toby Smith. I must say that every roast day is amazingly breath taking. I pick up tips, hints and absorb experiences after experiences. The day I went solo with the 35kg 'beast' was an unforgettable experience and every seconds on it was delightful. Does that makes me a complete roaster? Unfortunately it doesn't. Deep inside I know that I am still in an infant stage of my roasting career. At this point of time, I wonder. Going through so much and to feel that we are yet complete, how can others simply call themselves roaster right after just a few series of roasting! Coffee roasting is a professional career and it should remain as such. Not any Tom, Dick and Harry can just self taught in medicine and claim to become a professional Doctor, so why should coffee roasting be treated anywhere the same?

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