Topic: Behind the scenes with a roasting coffee consultant.
Coffee Smarter Expert: Lily Quiros, Lil Coffee Geek Coffee Consulting (Roasting)
Connect: www.lilcoffeegeek.com • @LilCoffeeGeek on Instagram
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Things Lily helps Coffee Clients with:
Basic Business Direction: What's the goal? Who is your market? How are you going to set up your roasting operation?
Making your successful roasts consistent and repeatable
Scaling the process upwards
Scaling causes changes that will not be a direct 1-to-1 change in your process and/or roast profile.
Tracking your process and progress and offering guidance on how to improve efficiency.
Maintaining consistency as your business grows.
Working through the effort of achieving a third-party certification.
Your coffee should taste the way you and your customers like it. That is the "success" roast that needs to be repeated, not some internet definition of what coffee should taste like or to match specific, oft subjective, tasting notes.
Lily uses the word consultant, but there is an aspect of mentorship to her work.
A consultant is like having a cheat code in an old Nintendo game. You can skip a few levels–or learning mistakes–en route to an ever-moving finish line.
Collaborating with a consultant doesn't need to be a full revamp of your business or learning process. A consultant—at least one with your goals in mind—is there to help you achieve them, not necessarily retrain you from scratch. You might hire a consultant to work with you on one particular aspect of your roasting or business that is just causing you to struggle. It could be as simple as getting an expert's perspective on flavor to make recommendations. It isn't all or nothing. Whatever you're struggling with, finding a consultant to guide you can help.
I caution you that it is important to be clear with a consultant about what you're looking for and ask them for specifics on their process upfront. The word consultant gets thrown around a lot, and your first engagements should include clear objectives and a path for achieving those goals. Things will change along the road because they always do, but those first conversations can act as a guideline for determining the success of your partnership with a consultant.
LEARN CRAFT COFFEE ROASTING WITH A COFFEE SMARTER PRO
San Diego’s Mira Costa College is teaming up with former Coffee People guest and current R!WC Coffee Smarter Pro expert Lily Quiros a.k.a. Lil’ Coffee Geek for a three day coffee roasting course in March 2024. Class details at the link below and stay tuned for upcoming CSPro episodes featuring Lily, where we discuss traveling to origin, coffee roasting software, and how a coffee consultant can help you develop foundational skills, and improve efficiency in your roasting.
“Are you ready to awaken your inner coffee connoisseur and explore the art of craft coffee roasting? Join us for an exciting journey into the world of craft coffee
roasting, where you'll sip, savor, and roast your way to coffee perfection…This is a hands-on course where you will learn to roast your favorite types of coffee and also discover the origins, history, and diverse flavors of coffee from
around the globe.” -MiraCosta.edu
R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS
A huge, on-going thank you to this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Green Coffee • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Sivitz Roasting Machines • Craft 42 Roasters • Me and My Uncle Coffee Roasters • Cozy Canine Coffee
Affiliate marketing: I don’t do a lot of affiliate marketing. This particular product, the Simply Good Coffee Brewer, is one I’ve agreed to promote because I use it almost daily. The original review was written before accepting any sort of affiliate marketing payments. If you click through using our links and end up purchasing a brewer, it will help support R!WC.
Do you want to support the show without subscribing? Help keep us caffeinated by buying us a cup of coffee. Thanks for all your support.port.
What Does a Coffee Consultant Do?