One thing I have learned over three seasons of hosting and producing this coffee podcast is that I have absolutely no desire to start roasting my own coffee. Zero. Zilch. Nada. None.
I love coffee, but my brain doesn’t work in a way that would appease the gods of science. The roasters I’ve met on this show have a unique ability to not only tease great flavors out of the beans found inside coffee cherries, but to do it again, and again, and again. There is beauty in that consistency, and—as my wife will attest—I’ve never made the same recipe twice.
I do want to drink coffee. I want to share the stories of those roasting it, those growing it, those who are passionate about it. I want to be amazed at the science and inspired by the passion I get to see and hear in the guests who appear on the Roast! West Coast coffee podcast.
For 30 hours over three seasons, I’ve been sitting in my ever-improving closet studio talking with the coffee pros on the West Coast. It has been awesome. So awesome, I’ve decided to double-down on this show. I recently left my full-time position to pursue this coffee podcast/newsletter and various writing opportunities including the release of my most recent book, Future Eli & Future Jane.
What does that mean for Roast! West Coast? It means more interviews, more coffee education, more engagement in the real world with IRL coffee experiences, and new features like interviews with coffee loving creatives. It means I’ll need more coffee.
Thank you for sticking with me so far. I’m grateful for the support. Please keep sharing the show and this newsletter. Please keep subscribing, and if you have ideas, suggestions, comments, or want to share some coffee hopes and dreams, I’m here for you. Send to roastwestcoast@gmail.com or connect with @roastwestcoast on social media.
A VISIT TO CALIFORNIA ROASTING COLLECTIVE
It’s quiet the morning I visit California Roasting Collective (CRC). Even when running, the big San Franciscan roasters work quietly (not so when the Loring kicks in). Only the hum of an industrial exhaust fan and the ticking of coffee beans rolling against the inside of the roaster break through the silence.
CRC is an industrial coffee roasting facility in San Marcos, California and the brainchild of Elliot Reinecke and his business partner. Elliot is also the founder and head roaster of the acclaimed Steady State Roasting. The Collective was born when Elliot went looking for a home to roast his coffee and couldn’t find one. At least, not one that offered everything he was looking for.
The CRC warehouse space is shiny, clean, and efficiently designed. There are multiple roasting machines of various sizes from the San Franciscan and Loring companies. A shipping and packing station occupies a corner, a wash station another, and green coffee storage is in an adjoining space. A few doors down you’ll find their new cold brew facility.
At the entry, the real entry, not the rear garage door I wandered in through, is a cupping and tasting room that is as warm as the warehouse is cool. A sample roaster and various grinders line countertops, and a long, communal, wooden table fills the center of the space. It is the kind of place I want to hang out in, sipping a coffee, making notes in my pocket pad, and watch the work being done. And for a while I do.
At any given time 12-20 roasters of various sizes work out of CRC, and I realize, as I’m sitting their sipping a cup of something Elliot had set up on the table, that a lot of the best San Diego coffee probably gets roasted right in this room.
The roaster in front of me (above) taps on the screen watching his roast specs as the computer monitors the internal temperatures of the coffee beans being pushed around inside the drum. He bobs his head to whatever sounds are pumping out of his oversized headphones. Occasionally, he makes an adjustment on the screen or takes a bite from a pastry or sips from his clay coffee chalice or writes notes about his roast in his own notepad. Coffee is being made here.
Check out California Roasting Collective if you have any interest in roasting coffee, learning about coffee roasting, expanding your current roasting program, or are looking for an opportunity to create a coffee brand either through their white label or toll production offerings.
COFFEE VOCAB
FROM THE SHOW
Leap Coffee always has a seasonally themed coffee. For the 2021 Holidays it is “Merry & Bright,” a medium-roasted blend of natural/washed Guatemala and Brazil coffee beans with roasting notes of chocolate truffle, candied pecan, and milk stout, which sounds alright to me. They’re also offering Taster Gift Boxes so you can try or give more than one coffee as a gift this year.
In North County San Diego and want to ride the Holiday train with Santa and his merry band of carolers? You’ll need a ticket. The train goes along the coast from Solana Beach to Oceanside. Masks required.
Camp Coffee really does have a great holiday vibe going on and I’ll vouch for the great service. If you want to check out the Macrame Christmas Wreath event click here. If you want to see everything else going on at Camp Coffee, click here!
The Steady State Cool Beans Club is where you’ll find the roastery’s most unique coffee offerings. Check it out here.
ROAST! INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Coffee Cycle Roasting just launched a subscription program. Get coffee delivered on your schedule.
Mostra Coffee rebranded for the holidays so you don’t even need to wrap their bags of coffee to give them as a gift. Good looking out!
Thanks to the the Roast! Industry Legacy Partners. Click these links. Drink their coffees (and whiskey).
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company
COFFEE CINEMA IN CLOSING
Season 3! We did it!
Listen to the show on these platforms!
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC • THE COAST NEWS • TUNEIN RADIO • I HEART RADIO • POCKETCASTS • BREAKER • RADIO PUBLIC • OVERCAST • YOUTUBE • STITCHER
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Season 3 Wrap-up Plus!