Last Saturday, National Coffee Day, we had the honor of competing in the inaugural New Mexico Coffee Roaster Competition. We were graciously hosted by our colleagues David and Juan at Villa Myriam, and the event was organized by Daniel and Beth of Oval Dogs. Daniel also handmade the trophy!

All participants received the same green coffee, a lovely Burundi from Kibingo Mill, whose purchase by Oval Dogs supported Grounds for Health. We each roasted prior to the event and brought the roasted coffee on the day.

There was a blind cupping by four judges, a blind filter-coffee-tasting by the public, and each roaster did a presentation on how we roasted the coffee.

We had a great time chatting with our fellow roasters from Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

It was a nerve-wracking experience, but it was also so genuinely exciting and we learned SO MUCH about Burundi, which we’d never roasted before. We had just the one shot at roasting it, as our batch minimum is 35 pounds and that’s all we had.

We’re looking forward to finding out what delightful green coffee will be provided next year! In the mean time, stop by our roaster at 4801 Jefferson St NE to pick up a bag of the winning coffee while it’s still fresh!

- RL

L-R, Michael Thomas, Red Rock Roasters, and Iconik Coffee representing the 505