S6:EP
Guest: Ryan Sullivan, Mostra Coffee Company
Role: Director of Coffee Operations
From: San Diego, CA
Instagram: @mostracoffee
Website: https://www.mostracoffee.com/
It is good to be reminded that if your local roaster is serving the same house coffee over time, it isn’t really the same coffee. For example, Mostra’s Ghost Bear blend of coffee—available year-round—will have minor flavor variations depending on changes occurring during the growing process, like weather or processing, again during the roasting phase, and again during the brewing phase. You could order the same coffee once a month and always have a similar, familiar flavor that isn’t exact.
Roasters like Mostra that are shooting for a target flavor profile in a blend can help minimize the changes in their search for consistency by accounting for the flavor of the green coffee beans they purchase and by adjusting the controllable roast variables—things like time or temperature.
To really appreciate craft coffee and the skill of roasting craft coffee, I encourage you to embrace the nuance.
15% off at MostraCoffee.com this weekend using code: LABORDAY15
RYAN SULLIVAN’S QUICK TIPS FOR NEW ROASTERS
Don’t try to be bigger than you are. Avoid overbuying green coffee
Cup everything you roast. Cup it blindly.
Be flexible in order to adapt to variables.
Focus on quality when buying green beans. You can’t take a bad base product and make it fantastic. You can only make it a little bit better or a lot worse!
COFFEE FEST LA
My photos from the event turned out to be terrible. Here is a video from happy Baristas making Japanese-style iced filter coffee instead, because it is hot on the West Coast.
Coffee Fest PNW in Portland is coming up at the end of September. Check out the details here.
COFFEE VOCAB
Charge Temperature: The temperature the roaster is when you drop the green coffee beans into the roaster drum—like pre-baking an oven. A charge temperature that is too high can cause the roasted beans to be underdeveloped and if it is too high there is the risk of burning the beans. Read more about charge temperature impacts on Giesen.com.
NOT FROM THE SHOW
I’ve never been to Burning Man Festival (happening now in the Nevada desert), so I never knew that there was a massive coffee shop staffed by more than 1000 volunteers at the festival epicenter. Per the linked article from SFGate.com, the coffee enterprise at Center Camp was one of the very few places where money traded hands.
In part due to the environmental impact of the cafe—30,000 disposable cups and 25,000 gallons of greywater used—and in part due to an effort to uphold the ethos of Burning Man’s giving culture, this year's fest did not include the coffee shop. Instead, in a blog on their website, festival organizers encouraged attendees to plan ahead for their coffee needs. Perhaps by stopping by one of the estimated 150+ indie coffee shops that pop up during the five-day fest.
Industry Partner, Ascend Roasters was featured in the O-Side News this week. Read the column here.
Mark your calendars for National Coffee Day (September 29th).
MENU BOARD OF THE WEEK
CLICK ON THESE R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNER LINKS
Drink their coffees and whiskeys. Visit their cafes. Support local coffee shops. You won’t be disappointed.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters
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Coffee Smarter: Common Mistakes New Roasters Can Avoid.