Met a retired roaster who made me question my whole home setup

I was at a little cafe in Portland last Tuesday and got talking to this older guy who used to run a roasting operation back in the 90s. He told me he never used a thermometer or any fancy gear, just his hand and the smell of the beans to know when they were done. It hit me different because I've spent like $300 on temp controllers and timers trying to perfect my pour-over, but he was getting amazing results with nothing but a cast iron pan. Has anyone else had a run-in with an old-school coffee person that made you rethink your own methods?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly70916d ago

Honestly, that's pretty wild to hear. I read somewhere that a lot of old-school roasters just relied on their senses way more than we do, and it kinda makes you wonder if we're overthinking everything. Maybe there's something to just trusting your gut and a good pan instead of all the gadgets.

iris_schmidt16d ago

Oh great, now I'm overthinking whether I overthink my coffee!

young.ryan15d ago

And the thing that really gets me is, nobody talks about how much of that 90s roaster's skill came from just having really consistent green beans in the first place. If your source is changing all the time, his hand method probably wouldn't work half as well.