In this episode, Kenneth sits down with Mark Michaelson, 2017 US Coffee Roasting Champion, to talk about how roasting impacts your coffee cup. He was head roaster at Onyx Coffee Lab and now works with San Fran Roasters and has his own coffee roasting consulting business. Mark is a coffee roasting consultant who helps his clients to take their roasts to the next level.

They discuss why the same bean tastes so different depending on how it is roasted, how the various parts of the process, in particular how the heat is applied, impact the cup - in particular, the acidity, body, sweetness, and balance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Where the coffee is from, its density, its moisture and age are all considered when deciding how to roast.
• The dryer the bean gets the more impact minor changes in the roast process has.
• Once you reach the 2nd crack stage the acidity tends to mellow out.
• Sweetness is especially important; it rounds off the cup.
• Body is a perception on your tongue combined with the aftertaste.
• Ethiopian washed coffee has a tea-like body. The type of bean means you can´t make the body heavier than that.
• To start with, low heat is applied slowly. Once the bean warms up you can typically go with a higher heat application.
• Consumers want predictability. Developing an industry-wide standard would help them to know in advance what the taste is likely to be in their cup.
• You need to wait before drinking your freshly roasted coffee. How long is discussed in the show.
• If you want to minimize the aging of your coffee make sure it is the whole beans, not the ground.

BEST MOMENTS

‘As it ages, it´s going to lose some quality points…we typically suggest that people roast those coffees a little bit darker. ´

‘I always look at a good Kenyan from a tomato basil tasting note.’

‘The longest profile you will ever do is 12 minutes.’

‘Different coffees shine at different roast levels.’

EPISODE RESOURCES

WEBSITE: https://www.sanfranroaster.com/ 

GUEST RESOURCES

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mark_michaelson

WEBSITE: https://www.michaelsonconsulting.coffee 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Mark Michaelson - 2017 US Coffee Roasting Champion, now has a coffee consulting firm - Michaelson Consulting, former head roaster at Onyx Coffee Lab - 2012-2021.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Award-winning single-origin specialty coffee: https://umblecoffee.com/

You’re disciplined and high achieving. You never settle. Shouldn’t the fuel that helps you reach your goals be held to those same standards? Instead of a crash-inducing cup of jo, you need coffee with optimal antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. A coffee so good that you can drink it black.

At Umble Coffee, we only roast specialty-grade arabica coffee from around the world with cupping scores 84 and above. Don’t sabotage yourself in pursuing your goals - drink coffee that tastes better and is better for you. No crash, great taste, and better long-term health benefits. That’s Umble Coffee.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umblecoffee/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umblecoffee/

Twitter:  https://mobile.twitter.com/umblecoffee

ABOUT THE HOST

As a coffee lover, physician, chemical engineer, serial entrepreneur, competitive runner, writer, and family man, Kenneth knows what it’s like to push yourself to achieve goals very few accomplish. He’s one of the best specialty coffee roasters in the United States as he’s a multi-year US Coffee Roasters’ Competition Finalist. He created Umble Coffee Co with the belief that, if sourced and roasted right, coffee can taste phenomenal and be good for you.

“Life’s too short to drink bad coffee.”

Podcast Description

Coffee 101 is an educational show on all things coffee. The host, Kenneth Thomas, starts with the most basic questions about coffee and builds your knowledge from there. If you love coffee, are curious about coffee, or you’re a business just looking for a resource to train your team, Coffee 101 is without question the show for you!  Season 1 is all about coffee's journey from seed to shelf.

BUY COFFEE!: https://umblecoffee.com

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