Category: Tips & Tricks

Each coffee business requires investment and returns. Many of our clients are already very familiar with their business, their roasting operation and simply replace existing machinery or expand their operations. However, for the pioneers and entrepreneurs who are considering to start a cafe or small commercial roasting unit, and before making the investment into a commercial coffee roasting machine, conducting prior analysis of return on investment (ROI) is a very useful exercise. Upon studying feasibility of your project based on assumptions, it puts you into a much more comfortable position to invest. You may have an already established cafe that purchases roasted coffee and when you are considering to roast in-house, this activity has the potential to create even higher ROI and competency for your business. It certainly requires more work and refined skills but it may be to your surprise how profitable an investment into a commercial coffee roasting machine could turn out to be. For the purpose of running numbers we developed a tool which can help you calculate your ROI based on sales volume, whether it is bagged coffee or by cup. The file runs on excel and all you need to do is fill in the variable fields depending on your specific business scenario and country and upon which the file will make all necessary calculations to determine the costs in relation to the sales revenue generated. This tool is entirely free and you can download here: DOWNLOAD Disclaimer: The file may contain errors upon downloading and we do not guarantee your success nor do we take any responsibility in your investment.

You are thinking of setting up or expanding your coffee Lab? We think it’s definitely a smart move to maintain your competitive edge! It’s not expensive to start a professional lab after all. The benefits you can yield in quality development and price negotiation at all levels of the supply chain are enormous and will definitely outweigh the small initial investment! This illustrated guide was particularly designed for exporters, importers, traders, roasters and coffee shops and you will find all necessary machines and equipment for a thoroughly organized coffee lab whether small or large. The underlined items we can provide for which represents more than 80% of the total amount of equipment required. Purified water tank/ water filter provides clean and soft water to kettle and brewing devices, e.g. espresso machine and for drinking between cupping sessions and for staff consumption. Plenty of plugs or electric cables should be installed along the wall behind all work-spaces. Lighting needs to be bright, environment quiet. Lab Activities and Layout (process flow from left to right) 1. Green Analysis Section 1.1. Coffee Trays (blue tray color ideal for green bean analysis)1.2. Parchment Coffee Huller S200 for cherries and parchment coffee1.3. Sample Divider in mild steel or stainless steel1.4. Moisture Mac humidity tester for green- and parchment coffee1.5. Sample Sieves for green bean size analysis (full set sizes 10-20)1.6. “Bean boxes” made if tin (500g, 1000g 2000g and 4000g)1.7. Balance (3 digits, digital)1.8. Sample PRO 100 Sample Roaster (1, 2 or 4 drum, gas or electric)1.9. Coffee Trays (brown tray ideal for roasted coffee analysis) 2. Roasted Coffee Analysis Section and green bean storage 2.1. Lab Grinder for all purposes (very fine to course grounds)2.2. Color Analyzer/ Spectrometer (example AGTRON, for roasters)2.3. “Bean boxes” made of tin (500g, 1000g 2000g and 4000g)2.4. Hand Sealer (for nylon or poly bags) 3. Common section 3.1. Purified water tank min. 20L3.2. Water kettle (1-3 pieces, stainless steel, 1.7L)3.3. Sink (preferably double)3.4. Refrigerator (optional for roasted samples, milk etc.)3.5. Porcelain Cupping Bowls for cup tasting (200 ml) 4. Final Consumption Testing Section (Ideally for roasters) 4.1. Commercial Espresso Machine (1 or 2 group) + optional on-demand grinder4.2. Drip filter coffee device + filters (machine or porcelain)4.3. French press percolator4.4. Espresso/ Cappuccino cups and saucers, mugs4.5. Other brewing devices 5. Data Collection Section (workspace for 2 people) 5.1. PC with Internet connection + printer with scanner5.2. Desk, chairs and drawer5.3. File cabinet5.4. Digital Stopwatch (supplied with Sample PRO 100 Sample Roaster) 6. Cup Tasting Section 6.1. PRO Cupping table and chairs (4)6.2. Spittoons (2-4)6.2. Traditional or digital Thermometer6.3. Water glasses6.4. Silver spoons6.5. Clip-pads for cupping forms Download the complete Coffee Lab Setup Guide here: DOWNLOAD

Sample roasts play a much more important role in quality inspection than many traders or roasters realize as the sample itself can represent a large quantity of coffee, sometimes as much as entire container loads. That’s a lot of coffee to make a decision about, especially if you base that decision on a poorly roasted sample. Besides procuring the right quality for you needs, it is well worth being able to negotiate prices and improve the quality of coffee at the source. Cupping and ultimately the right roast are the crucial aspects in determining the cost savings and quality improvements involved. It is rather simple for every trader or roaster to review ones skills. There are three keys to assuring the perfect sample roasting process: Roast degree, Consistency and Time. Mastering the Roast: Your Guide to Perfect Coffee 1. Roast Degree: In general, sample roasting should be done at a lighter degree of around AGTRON 60. Then the coffee will reveal its true flavors, and the beans have developed a minimum of caramelized flavors, which occur as a result of the more progressed roasting process. The illustration below shows the desired roast color for a Brazil Santos. Instead of roasting the beans to a dark brown color with an even and smooth looking surface, these lighter-roasted beans show wrinkles and are not yet fully expanded. At this point in the roasting process, the transformation of sugars or caramelization has just begun and the coffee will not have the sweet aftertaste, the typical character of darker roasted beans. Besides the consideration of roasting light enough to taste true coffee flavor, it is also easier to detect defects. Roasting samples to a degree of AGTRON 60 or even lighter makes the detection of defects much easier. How much more can you set yourself apart from an importer or roaster who sample roasts all his coffees too dark, which inevitably masks the more negative taints like fruity, moldy and dirty? 2. Consistency: Depending on the variation of roast degree, when cupping, the impact of roasting can be immediately detected in the flavor of coffee. The lightest samples have distinct citric flavor notes, while the darkest samples tasted sweet with a berry-like aftertaste. Whenever the variances are too high, a conclusive result is difficult to obtain because the cupper can’t sense all the differences in flavor. This illustrates the importance of roasting consistently in color and in time-temperature profiles. So, how to best facilitate a consistent sample roasting protocol? Install one or more 100 or 150W full- spectrum incandescent lights above the coffee sample roaster about 50-100cm over the roaster. Full-spectrum lights give the operator nearly perfect conditions for inspecting the color of the coffee beans. Measure the drum temperatures and utilize a gas pressure meter that shows the adjustment in gas flow to the burners, providing the operator with an accurate indication of what the heat supply level is to the roaster. Cool the samples quickly as to prevent the reduction of acidity in the cup. 3. Time: Time is very important to bring out the best in each bean. If samples are roasted to fast, this can change the flavor profile quite dramatically. Just try roasting any coffee for five minutes and then for 10 minutes to the same degree and notice that the samples will taste very different. It is recommended to roast samples in consistent time-temperature profiles. Roasting times should never be faster than eight minutes. As a result, the coffee taster can concentrate fully on the flavors of all presented coffees, which is exactly what ideal sample roasting is all about. Brief Summary: Roast Degree: Create and use a master sample with a color of AGTRON 58–62. Store the master sample in a cool environment and refresh it every month. Consistency: Compare each roast against the master sample during roasting to obtain the best consistency and work with full- spectrum incandescent light bulbs. Time: Roasting time should not be faster than eight minutes and not slower than 15 minutes. Set a standard for roasting times and roast all samples in a consistent amount of time.

Besides roasting coffee in the right way for most effective sampling and cup tasting, the correct coffee ground size goes hand in hand and thus plays an important role so often missed by coffee lab operations.Not only should the grounds be consistent in particle size, but also should the overall size correspond to the brewing method, which between cup tasters simply means adding boiled water to the powder and giving it a good stir then finally letting the particles settle to the ground of the cup. The ideal ground size for all fragrances and aromas to be most potent is between regular Drip Coffee and French Press, slightly more towards the larger French Press size. For beginners to verify this ideal particle size it may be best to purchase a pack of coffee from a renowned manufacturer, or to take a walk to a popular coffee shop down the road that sells whole bean coffee and has a grinder and well-trained staff. More advanced labs, especially those business involved in the instant coffee industry, may carry wire mesh sieves shakers that are a handy tool when evaluating the right ground size for cupping and also adjusting the output of the grinder in use. In any case, try to always stick to the same ground size when cupping your coffees. Consistency in everything that you do in the lab is key. Having a proper grinder in your lab is certainly a good investment. Burr grinders are the preferred choice over blade grinders as they improve both the quality and ease of brewing. For any more advanced or scientific analysis, blade grinders are unacceptable due to their lack of reproducibility.