Roasting Craft

What is roasting? What is the role of the roaster? What is good coffee? Roasting theories are shaped and progressed based on the values of each roaster. According to the dictionary, ‘craft’ is defined as “creative skill or art”. This concept of craft could be combined with roasting and be described as “the ability to properly understand the characteristics of coffee and effectively deliver it to customers”. Not only do roasters evaluate their own coffee, but they also share their digitalized roasting profiles and mass data with other roasters to promote better roasting. It has now become essential for roasters to visit coffee producing regions and reflect the information collected from the coffee producers to the roasting. What is more encouraging is that roasters have started to go one step further from their domain to actively communicate with baristas for extracting the perfect cup of coffee. As the demand for delicate aroma and soft acidity of specialty coffee increases, and the consumption of coffee is diversified, there is growing voice that roasting needs to be approached in a new way. Recently, as there are vigorous discussions about the roles and capabilities that the roaster needs to have, I hope this book opens a new horizon to specialty coffee roasting and become a driving force to propel fresh and creative insight for all coffee roasters.