Coffee Toll Roasting – Choose with Care

This is a guest post by John Gozbekian. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee here.

Toll roasting is an excellent way to utilize the expertise of expert and knowledgeable coffee roasters to produce a perfectly roasted coffee that can be packaged and labeled with your branding. The skilled coffee artisans at Coffee Reserve Brands apply their high standards to every roast and can produce light or dark roasts, espresso, blends to meet client specifications. You provide the green coffee and your toll roaster will put their experts to work, doing what they are most passionate about. Of course, the best toll roasters will have the ability to work personally with clients to offer guidance on purchasing the best green coffee beans for the desired origin and roasted quality. An experienced green coffee buyer like Coffee Reserve’s John Gozbekian, who is also experienced in all aspects of the coffee business and a certified “Q” Grader by The Coffee Quality Institute, can ensure that toll roasting clients are receiving the same levels of quality that Coffee Reserve applies to its own proprietary roasts.

Toll roasting shouldn’t be done by just anyone. You are putting trust in someone to bring out the maximum flavor potential in each and every bean, and that’s not an easy task. Coffee roasting is a skill perfected over time – through experience, scientific knowledge, good judgment and plenty of cupping sessions. A Roastmaster needs to know the precise formula for roasting beans to a light, medium or dark roast, as well as which type of roasting is appropriate for each type of bean. Some beans are best left lightly roasted, while others benefit from developing more robust flavors through roasting darker.

Although a roaster might know that an Ethiopian bean has its best flavor at a lighter roast, he also needs to know that each year’s crop is affected by weather, harvesting and processing methods, storage and any number of other factors. It takes true talent to meet the challenge of maintaining consistent quality and flavor profiles of the coffees that your customers have come to expect.

The things we love about coffee – flavor, body and aroma – are really determined in the roasting process, as complex naturally occurring compounds are released, altered and optimized during the heating process. These compounds can be ruined by roasting the beans too long, and if the beans aren’t heated sufficiently. Toll roasting requires precision to roast the particular origin to the optimum temperature with perfect timing. Once that perfect roast is achieved, care must be taken to prevent compromising the flavor by storing or packaging it improperly.

The toll roasting process puts your reputation in the hands of the roaster you choose, so the importance of selecting a roaster with not only knowledge and skill, but a commitment to quality and integrity is vital. By choosing the best coffee roaster available, you’ll develop a personal and long-lasting relationship that will continue to provide your customers with consistent quality coffee roasts.

John Gozbekian is the Vice President of Operations & Green Coffee Buyer at Coffee Reserves Brand. He is Coffee Reserve Brands’ Coffee Guru, has spent the past 33 years in specialty coffee. He has experienced firsthand all phases of the coffee business from waiting tables in a coffeehouse to barista to roaster to retail sales and green coffee buyer. His calling and love is roasting and buying coffee. Additionally, John developed a sophisticated palate and has been designated a ‘Super Taster’ based on sensory testing and evaluation by the Specialty Coffee Association. He is a Certified “Q” Cupper, avolunteer of the Coffee Corps and the Training Committee of the SCAA.

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Photo by Electic Echoes.