Chicago Roasters Workshop: March '24
We invited four roasters to duke it out in the roasting ring- here's how it went:
First, what the eff is this event?
The Chicago Roasters Workshop was created to demystify the coffee roasting process. We brought in a coffee, told these four roasters absolutely ZILCH about it, and they were given ten minutes to interpret the beans how they saw fit and then roast it however they wanted.
Adam Paronto of Reprise Roasters, Ricardo Acebedo-Diaz of Magnifico Coffee, and our very own Diego Guartan and Ryan Scott each took their turns in this month's Workshop roasting blindly with the crowd cheering and jeering and observing their process.
Coffee Reveal:
The coffee was revealed to be a Honey Pink Bourbon from Sebastian Ramirez's farm Fincas El Placer in Quindio, Colombia (1744 MASL). It undergoes anaerobic fermentation where microorganisms are introduced fed by a yeast called LV. The yeast is nourished with flowers from Sebastian's farm such as lavender, jasmine, and mint that add a floral smoothness to the cup.
SO?? Who took home the Big Gold Belt???
After waiting about a week to cup these coffees, Ricardo's roast came out on top! He didn't start off too confident but ended up being our champ- isn't that the beauty of roasting coffee? You can do the craziest things and come out with the most stunning results.
Check out a brief roast explanation and the roast profiles below:
A note from Ryan Scott:
"So what ya got here is a Roast Curve. This is reading the ET - Environment Temp inside the roasting drum. BT is the Bean Temp throughout the process. ΔBT is the Delta Bean Temp. or the ROR- Rate Of Rise.
We pay attention to the ROR to determine how the roast is going, then we adjust heat and air flow to either speed up or slow down our process. First Crack is when the beans become exothermic and begin to release steam and sugars. From this point forward ya just pick what you want your roast to be. Ya want sweeter, end at a lower temperature. more savory and decadent, roast it a little longer."
Ricardo (winning profile for March blind roast):
Adam:
Diego:
Ryan:
