How I roast Coffee
by Karl Seidel

(from Ground Control Issue #2)

The first time I saw a coffee roasting machine I was searching for a roaster to send to a Korean client interested in importing roasters to Seoul. Little did I know I would become fascinated with the idea of roasting my own coffee. I was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with the roaster in a local restaurant/roastery and he asked me if I wanted to get together and help him roast. I jumped at the opportunity. Since then, I've happily roasted tons of coffee-- 1, 2, 5, 25 pounds at a time. Initially I thought that the best way to sell the roaster was to first learn how to use it. But soon I found myself engrossed in roasting coffee at home, trying different machines and methods, sampling different beans.

In any undertaking, I find myself most interested in the details of a process. In order to produce excellent final results, I enjoy mastering the small steps to achieve that goal. Since coffee is so much about process, it's rare for me to find elsewhere the kind of satisfaction that comes from tasting coffee I've roasted myself.

I've roasted and blended varietals from numerous countries: Columbia, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Sumatra, Yemen. Along the way I've learned that each coffee varietal roasts best at a different temperature and that the resulting roast can sometimes be a suprise. You always have to pay close attention. I wanted to believe that the process was a simple equation of bean + roast + temperature + time = something predictable. But it doesn't work that way. In fact, it seems that the more I roast, the less I know; just like any other artistic and technical pursuit.

So I have come to think of developing a final roast in the same way a photographer develops a photo. I've borrowed a technique called 'bracketing'. On a shoot, the photographer will work according to light readings, film speed, and aesthetic considerations to achieve a particular look. The photographer will also bracket each shot, that is, shoot both over and under the theoretical best exposure. It's a way of narrowing the odds, because you can't really know beforehand what the final result will be.

When applying this technique to coffee roasting I have an idea of what I think will work to achieve the degree of roast that I'm going for. But, I roast slightly over that stage in some instances and slightly under in others. It's always an experiment.

I always ask myself, "what composes my favorite cup of coffee?" Do I roast the beans through to the second 'pop'? What amount of this coffee will I grind and to what degrees of fineness? Do I use spring water or purifed water? What makes the perfect cup with this particular coffee?

All these questions and more come to mind when I am roasting a batch of coffee. Its all about precision, details, and variables working together toward the idea of the best it can be.

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