Why I stopped roasting my own beans after a talk with a barista in Portland

I was really into home roasting for about a year. Had a little air popper setup and everything. Then I was at this shop called Heart in Portland and the barista asked what beans I used. When I told him I roasted my own, he asked if I'd tried their single origin from a specific farm. I said no, and he just nodded and handed me a pour-over. That cup was so clean and balanced it made me realize my home roasts were all over the place. Has anyone else had a pro change your mind about something you thought you had down?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy97521d ago

Heard this exact thing from my friend Sarah. She'd been roasting in a cast iron pan for months, thought she was doing great. Then @riley_price took her to a cupping at their local spot and she realized her coffee tasted like burnt popcorn compared to theirs. She actually cried a little in the car. Now she just buys from the roaster and says her mornings are way less stressful.

riley_price21d ago

That part about the cup being "so clean and balanced" really hit me. I had a similar moment at a shop in Seattle where the barista let me taste their Ethiopian next to my homemade roast of the same origin beans. My batch had this sharp, uneven bitterness that I never noticed before because I thought the "deep roast" flavor was normal. After that I started buying green beans from the roasteries themselves instead of random online stores, and my batches got way more consistent