Our Roasting Styles

We roast in the light (Agtron 75) to medium (Agtron 55) range.  Agtron classification of roast colour is a widely accepted practice in the speciality coffee industry where light brown colour is classed as 75 and medium brown colour is classed as 55.  

In roasting terms, we develop the coffee through the first crack, gently caramelising the sugars and bringing out most of the origin taste characteristics, and subsequently, once the first crack is cleared, we may develop coffee a bit further towards (but very rarely into and never beyond) the stage known as the second crack.  Generally, the darker roast colour is achieved through longer roast development.   

Our approach to roasting is both technical and artisan: we believe that every coffee deserves its very own special treatment that is dictated by the coffee origin, varietal, growing altitude, processing method, climatic and soil conditions.  We are always seeking to develop our coffees to bring out the best qualities in them. For some coffees (such as high grown delicate Ethiopians) we choose to roast quite light, in Agtron 70 to 65 range - such a roast is usually achieved by dropping the beans in the cooling tray almost immediately after they have cleared the first crack.  Certain other coffees, such as rustic Sumatras on many pulped natural Brazils, may reach greater balance and complexity through further development, which, in roasting time terms, may be achieved by roasting for an additional 10 to 30 seconds and brining the roast colour nearer to Agtron 55.  Such an approach inevitably overlays a higher degree of roast flavour on the intrinsic origin flavours of the bean, which for some (but not all) coffees achieves a highly positive result.