WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM
Coffee has potential, and we're here to maximize it.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to roasting style - the roast should optimize and showcase the intrinsic flavors of the bean (its terroir). Development of these special flavors happens throughout the roast, so you'll find light, medium, and dark coffee beans here.
We are informed by both the 2nd Wave and 3rd Wave of American coffee roasting (see "key terms" below), but we refuse the extremes of either. We trust our customers to know what they like, and producing a variety of origins and roast styles is incredibly important to our business. Great coffee is for everyone.
We are the only coffee roasters in New Mexico to have scored over 90 points in a third-party, blind, expert review, and we’ve done it four times.
KEY TERMS
TERROIR
The distinctive flavor resulting from the microclimate in which a coffee is grown. Influenced by temperature, rainfall, elevation, soil quality, plant genetics and processing.
1st WAVE AMERICAN COFFEE ROASTING
Included the first mass-produced coffees, like Folgers and Maxwell House. The roasted beans were extremely light for profitability and pre-ground.
2nd WAVE AMERICAN COFFEE ROASTING
Second Wave coffee in America was defined by Peet’s and Starbucks—both of which were partially responsible for the introduction of espresso beverages to the mainstream, the elevation of Arabica and the contemporary emphasis on coffee quality and origin overall. Instead of just ordering "regular coffee," a person could now ask for Guatemalan coffee, for example. Second Wave roasters also tended to roast quite dark coffee.
3rd WAVE AMERICAN COFFEE ROASTING
Stumptown, Intelligentsia, and Counter Culture are the big players. Third Wave coffee puts an even greater emphasis on origin. Instead of buying Guatemalan coffee, you are now buying Guatemala Finca El Aceituno, microlot "Tres Hermanos." Third Wave coffee tends to be very light-roasted.
HOT-AIR ROASTING
Hot air roasters are also called fluid bed roasters. The coffee beans are agitated by hot air in the roasting chamber (roasting by mostly convective heat), instead of by mechanically hitting the hot side of a drum (roasting mostly by conductive heat). This allows for more even and intense development, and has the added benefit of using 80% less energy than a conventional drum roaster without needing an afterburner.
AGTRON SCALE
The most commonly used reference scale for roast color classification. It ranges from 25 to 95 and is the measure of light reflected off roasted coffee—measured in either ground or whole bean form. The lower the number, the darker the coffee (i.e. less light reflected back) while larger numbers refer to lighter roasts.
EQUIPMENT
Our roasting philosophy is as much chemistry as it is craft. Our coffee is hot-air roasted for excellent development and evenness without scorching, while using 80% less fuel than conventional drum roasters with afterburners.
OUR GUIDE TO ROAST LEVEL
