The Roaster

There are over 1500 different compounds that make up a green coffee bean. In other words, there are 1500 opportunities for mistakes. Because of this, we are incredibly meticulous when it comes to roasting your coffee.

Our philosophy on roasting is a blend of art and science.

The Science

Our locally-hand-built roaster uses 3 types of heat to roast the beans. Conductive, convective, and radiant (think glowing red charcoal briquettes). Most roasters use only conductive and convective. The patented radiant heat transfer is unique to our roaster. This exclusive technology allows us to maintain consistent roast profiles and provide you with exceptional coffee.

We follow specific roasting protocols that go beyond controlling the temperature of the current roast. We analyze metrics such as: barometric pressure, environmental temperature and humidity, density of green coffee, elevation of the growing region, and many more. Once we gather that data, we develop a set of roasting guidelines. We then roast by manually using a mixture of sensory inputs like sight and smell.   

The Art

The mantra at Kamiak is: the proof is in the cup. None of the data we collect has any value unless it’s evaluated on the cupping table. Our coffee goes through 9 metrics of evaluation once it has completed roasting. Prior to brewing, we evaluate the coffee based on pure fragrance. Once we have brewed it, we reevaluate the coffee's aromatic compounds. Following the olfactory evaluation, we grade the coffee's flavors, acidity, body, sweetness, aftertaste, and balance. The evaluation process allows us to quantify our roasting inputs and tweak the roast profile as necessary.