INTRO AND PROFESSIONAL COFFEE ROASTING SCHOOL

[cali4niachef]

hi, my name is cindy and i am a coffee addict.

for the past 10 years it has been a dream of mine to open a coffee house/bakery. i am an experienced barista and a professional baker. for the past couple years i have been compiling information/brochures of various products and items i may use. i keep a ongoing journal of my ideas for my coffee house. in my journal i have developed menus, recipes, cost, specials, possible locations (pros & cons), coffee house layouts, etc. every time i go into a coffee shop i critic it and think how i would change it to make it better.

at the moment i am researching coffee roasting schools. a master coffee roaster i know went to roasting school in NY, i am not sure if it was in the city or upstate.


does anyone know where i can find this information?

thank you

 

[Coffee Guy]

I can't help you there. But I went to Diedrich's roasting school in San Point, Idaho. This class is put on by the owner, Steven Diedrich. They also build coffee roasters. They built ours, in fact they were building ours during the time we attended the school. Class sizes range from 10+. If I remember correctly it was about $250 per person, and well worth the price. I don't know if it still costs only $250, but in any case the experience is worth double that. Maybe a few others can comment about the school(s) they went to... :lol:

 

[cali4niachef]

how long was the course?

 

[Coffee Guy]

If I remember correctly it was about 3 days. Which was enough time to absorb the information and by taking plenty notes it all came together within a week. By the time our roaster arrived we had the information and then the trial and error took about a week or so before we learned how to season the drum, and we were off to roasting :shock:

 

[ElPugDiablo]

If you are a barista why not work for a coffeehouse that also roast? To me that is your first option.

I also went to Diedrich's class while looking for a roaster. Aside from Diedrich I believe Ambex also offer an introduction roasting classes. I think they are well worth it, but you have to know these are really sales siminars. At Diedrich tehy teach you how to operate their roasters and that is about it. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but they are designed to sell their roasters not to transfer knowledge in the truest sense. For example very little about green beans buying, green bean defect, and coffee cupping were covered. They said don't roast too long otherwise you will baked your beans but they don't have samples of what baked beans taste like, so you get part but not the whole picture. Without such knowledge it can be very expensive down the road.

Some people got their intruduciton by taking more detailed classes and working with coffee consultants who offer these classes. It's more costly up front, but you have more knowledge to start you business with. Below are two of them.

http://www.coffeelab.com/
http://www.bootcoffee.com/

 

[cali4niachef]

there are no coffee houses that roat locally. sad isn't it.

i have offered my services free to the master roaster i know. also i have a new baby so that occupies my time quite a bit. also being such an experienced barista, former coffee shop manger and baker they tell me i am "over qualified" and they can only pay me min. wage. honestly with my background and the little time i have i can't accept min. wage.

i want to own my own business, i have already done my share of working for others

 

[Coffee Guy]

Yeah you're right ElPugDiablo, they do only offer the basics. The rest is up to you and your dedication towards learning. And the other choice is to employ a more professional roasting trainer. But since we spent butt loads of money in buying the roaster, afterburner, fill & weigh machine, etc. we felt what's another couple of hundred bucks on top of what we had already spent to do the basic training. We were pretty lucky that one of our existing brokers was also part of the class (seminar) so we were able to learn alot from him regarding greens, etc. We still share a great relationship with them to this day. :wink:

cali4niachef I know how frustrating it is to want to get your own business up and running, but be patient and learn as much as possible, and if that means working for someone just a little bit longer then so be it. How's the tips at the place you were considering? Additionally if others are telling you that you are over qualified, then through the ball back in their court. Are they still working their businesses? If so that may mean that they might not be able to afford a manager, if they are not still working their locations, then ask them to be their manager and ask for a higher salary...Just a thought :wink:

 

[cali4niachef]

currently i am not considering working at any coffee shop because i have my hands full with teaching baking courses PT, new baby and soon starting a job at a hospital PT as a breast feeding peer support conselor.

i am planning to start my biz in about 10 years, seems far away but will be here soon. mean while i am gathering as much information as possible for when the right time comes. i want to have EVERYTHING lined up from biz plan to finances to design to employees, etc.

i am orignally from NorCal and now live in DE. the north east coast severly lacks in coffee houses. the town i live in is small and i feel can not support the coffee house i plan to open, maybe in a few years. the closest and most decent coffee house is an hour away.

 

[DickV3636]

There is a roasting school here in Vermont. 5 day course offered 4 times per year https://www.coffee-school.com/coffee-roasting-courses.html

 

[Musicphan]

This thread is 12 years old...

 

[almico]

i am planning to start my biz in about 10 years, seems far away but will be here soon. mean while i am gathering as much information as possible for when the right time comes. i want to have EVERYTHING lined up from biz plan to finances to design to employees, etc.

So we're 2 years late?