A history of the coffee roaster
Coffee roasting is a centuries-old practice dating back to the beginnings of the Ottoman Empire. As global consumption boomed throughout the 1800s and 1900s, both...
Roasting Fundamentals
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What does it take to become the world’s best roaster?
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Competition is intensifying among coffee roasters striving to differentiate themselves through quality and recognition. International competitions like the Global Coffee Awards have become key benchmarks. Lithuania’s Huracán Coffee won the 2025 Global Coffee Awards World Championship, competing against roasters from across Europe, the US and Canada, and coffee-producing countries. Becoming the world's best roaster is not about a single great coffee but about… read more
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Competition is intensifying among coffee roasters striving to differentiate themselves through quality and recognition. International competitions like the Global Coffee Awards have become key benchmarks. Lithuania’s Huracán Coffee won the 2025 Global Coffee… read more
Multi-variety blends: What roasters need to know
In a market underpinned by single origins and micro lots, blends have become a standout option in specialty coffee in recent years. Often considered “better...
Cooling roasted coffee: What roasters need to know
Roasting coffee to bring out its best characteristics is a fine art, but also an exact science. There are many steps to the process, and...
What coffee roasters need to know when upgrading their facilities
For most roasters, there will come a time when they need to upgrade their facilities. Whether it’s buying a new machine or moving into a...
Blends: “Intellectual property” for coffee roasters?
Blends have certainly made a comeback in specialty coffee in recent years. Whether it’s on the competition stage or in premium coffee shops, high-quality blends...
How to roast anaerobically fermented coffee
Among the many different kinds of experimental processing methods, anaerobic fermentation is perhaps the most popular and intriguing. Interest in this processing technique is only...
Darker roast profiles might mean losing terroir, but roasters need to give consumers what they want
It’s fair to say that specialty coffee roasters pride themselves on their passion for and dedication to offering high-quality, lighter roasted coffee. And for good...
Post-grind blending: An impractical or novel way to blend coffees?
We’ve seen blends become more popular in specialty coffee over the past couple of years, including at competitions. The 2021 World Barista and Brewers Cup...
Is there a universal way to approach roast profiling?
Any roaster will tell you that every coffee is different. Whether it’s different origins (or even regions), varieties, processing methods, or bean densities, there are...
A guide to roasting specialty coffee for espresso
Many specialty coffee roasters choose to develop different roast profiles for both espresso and filter. This is largely because espresso is a much more concentrated...
How can heat retention & recirculation help specialty coffee roasters to improve efficiency?
In recent months, it’s never been more important for coffee roasters to become more energy-efficient. With rising energy and logistics costs, roasters need to be...
A guide to roasting specialty coffee blends
In recent years, blends have become more and more prevalent in specialty coffee. Whether it’s the growing number of roasters selling them or more World...
How can coffee roasters attract new wholesale customers?
For many roasters, one of the biggest challenges they face when scaling their businesses is finding wholesale customers. Strong competition from larger, well-established roasters –...
Making the switch from home to production coffee roasting
Roasting coffee at home can understandably spark a desire to begin roasting at a professional level. However, while you might be able to regularly roast...
Coffee roasting job roles: What is a production roaster?
A career in roasting is becoming increasingly appealing for aspiring professionals in the coffee industry. In major consuming markets around the world, baristas and home...
How can you ensure batch-to-batch consistency when roasting coffee?
Consistency in coffee roasting is something that’s often discussed when things go wrong, rather than right. For customers buying roasted coffee, consistency is an expectation,...