Roasting in shared space

[BGCC]

Hi all,

hoping someone out there can answer some questions I have surrounding roasting in a shared kitchen space. I am starting a small roasting outfit in my community, mostly to sell at FM's, festivals, etc and must adhere to some local codes and inspections, leading me to a semi permanent leasing arrangement with a local commercial kitchen. Im gearing up to get started soon but am curious if anyone on this forum has any experience with a space share like this. My main concerns are picking up odd, or straight up non-coffee related odors and tastes over long term storage. I have a plan in place which would allow me to work when no one else is there and to bring only what I plan to roast, and take all bagged coffee with me afterward. any advice would really help. Thanks!

JT

 

[wwcove]

I don't see how this should be an issue unless you store your raw beans in kitchen and allow them to be open to the kitchen air. Many people use shared kitchens with no issues. If you do leave beans at facility keep them properly stored out of cook area in proper containers and proper temperature and you should be fine.

 

[BGCC]

Hi thanks for your reply! Your response is bery much in line with my plan. While green beans will be stored for short to midterm, I will be planning my buying/roasting cycles to leave as little long term storage as possible. Additionally bean Storage will be in a separate area from the kitchen within plastic containers and a cabinet. I will take it from your reply that its unecessary to worry about the massive airflow over the beans during roasting imparting any kitchen odors?

 

[PinkRose]

I will take it from your reply that its unecessary to worry about the massive airflow over the beans during roasting imparting any kitchen odors?

I was wondering something similar, but it was mainly about how much of the roasted coffee aroma will travel throughout the kitchen area and the rest of the building.

 

[BGCC]

Actively up and running! the commercial kitchen space is great! And such a perfect way for us to start up. a few things I can mention- the green beans are doing extremely well in our custom roaster cabinet. We purchased a used Royston from a kitchen supply shop in town (used for countering at convenient stores etc) with a stainless steel top. We refinished it and threw on some locking doors. As for the kitchen space the commercial vent hood system works so much better than I thought. exhaust is eliminated completely and quickly with zero migration to other parts of the kitchen. :coffee1:

 

[AdventureCopan]

Very cool, as I have pondered this very thing for future growth. I for one would love to see some pics if you can post some up! Best of luck!
-Daniel Kent