Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions

Ultra light roast coffee is becoming more and more popular amongst coffee enthusiasts. At first it may seem like it's just underdeveloped, grassy coffees, however, we think there might be some misconceptions around ultra light roast coffees. On this episode, we explore ultra light roasts with Airworks, an ultra light roast coffee subscription that brings in coffees from roasters around the wor...

Water is the most important ingredient in a cup of coffee. It can make a cup go from being undrinkable to mind blowing. That’s why for this episode we invited Dr. Christopher Hendon on the podcast. A scientist, professor of chemistry, and co-author of Water For Coffee. We talk about the most important variables to measure in water, the impact of magnesium and calcium, and mineralization post brew....

We've made a lot of mistakes in our coffee roasting journey that we had to learn the hard way. Mistakes are inevitable when you're trying to build something you've never built before. In this episode, we reflect back on the early years of starting Mirror and talk about the 3 things we wish we did differently that would push us forward much faster. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirro...

This is our first Q&A on the podcast in a long time. We cover dialing in a v60 pour over by temperature vs grind size, did processing make coffee origin obsolete, and how you should use social media to market your cafe. This was a fun conversation with a handful of questions approaching different aspects of the coffee industry. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us...

Coffee shop owners oftentimes think they need to have a menu item for everyone and try to serve as broad of an audience as possible. It may sound right, but only until you consider that some of the more successful businesses in food and beverage do the opposite. In this episode, we talk about how you should build your coffee menu for your coffee shop and we highlight a few key points that the most...

There is tons of information out there about coffee, and it's pushing the coffee industry forward. We're growing in popularity and innovation. In this episode, however, we cover 3 ideas that we need believe we need to shift our perspective on. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/ Mirror Coffee Roast...

We've all traveled and realized we're stuck on vacation for 5 days with the most important part missing - delicious coffee. In this episode, we talk about how you can build your own travel coffee setup and helpful tips that can make your workflow easier while being on the go. Enjoy tasty coffee anywhere you go and never be left stranded without coffee. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirr...

You decided you wanted to go down the coffee rabbit hole, and now what? You'll quickly realize you need coffee gear to experiment, learn, and brew tasty cups with. In a time when there's more and more coffee gear out there, is it possible to have a great setup on a budget? We cover this in episode 226 and give two great setups under $500. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroaste...

As coffee enthusiasts and baristas, we're always trying to raise the bar for what our coffee tastes like. Most of the time, that comes down to brewing really good coffee, but what makes someone good at making coffee? In this episode, we boil it down to 3 traits that we notice in people who are exceptional at brewing coffee. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on...

Coffee tasting notes on a bag of coffee helps us understanding what the coffee will taste like, but what happens when we don't taste those flavor notes in the cup? This is a common struggle we hear from people and it can be frustrating, but the conversation around coffee flavor notes is a little bit more nuanced. In this episode, we try to unpack the nuance and explain why it sometimes okay no...

Coffee’s popularity keeps growing and the coffee industry keeps evolving. With 2026 here, we sit down and talk about where we see and think the industry is going for the year and beyond. We’d love to hear where you think the coffee industry is going in 2026 down in the comments. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeer...

Komakase is a coffee omakase experience unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Extraordinary coffee paired intentionally with sweets. After my visit to Komakase, I wanted to get a behind the scenes look into this fascinating coffee project. This is my conversation with Josh from Komakase.  Check out Komakase: https://komakase.coffee/ Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ F...

Every year, Sprudge runs their famous Sprudge Awards. It's their way of honoring the best in the coffee industry in categories including roasters, cafes, producers, creatives, and more. We go through all the nominations and share who we think should win every category. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroaster...

We're approaching the end of the year, and wanted to take a moment to reflect back on our coffee journey this past year. In this episode we talk about our favorite coffees of 2025, big lessons of the year, and the one thing you need to do to master any skill in coffee. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/ M...

Coffee gear is meant to make coffee taste better and your life easier. In this episode, we each share our top 3 coffee tools that have impacted our coffee journey the most this past year. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/ Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

There's a lot of new coffee gear being released and it feels like it's more than ever which is exciting. New gear is a step in the right direction, however, does new gear make coffee taste better or is it simply making brewing coffee more convenient? Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/ Mirror Coffe...

We take 3 common phrases we heard around the coffee community and rate them as overrated, underrated, or properly rated. We talk about why grinding finer isn’t always helpful, the benefits of properly resting your coffee, and why you might not want high clarity burrs. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/ Mi...

Coffee roast color is one of the biggest variables in taste. We often choose the coffees we drink by roast development level, however, how do we measure that? Light, medium, and dark roast are broad terms that are difficult to quantify and that have a wide range. How can a roaster communicate their roast level in a way that is helpful to coffee drinkers? We talk about the challenges of defining de...

Coffee equipment plays a huge role in running a successful and thriving coffee shop. Picking the right gear for your specific coffee shop needs can help you serve your guests well, save money, and make it easy for your team of baristas to do their job. In this episode we expand on what to consider when shopping for espresso machines, coffee grinders, and other gear for your new coffee shop. Pick u...

Many of us love the hunt of finding exceptional coffee to brew and drink at home. Oftentimes, they come with a much higher price tag. Exotic, hard to find, and delicious coffees deserve to cost more, but that doesn’t mean that all expensive coffees are delicious or worth their price. On this episode, we talk about what goes into pricing coffees and how sometimes, pricing can be deceiving. Pick up...

Developing a coffee roast profile is one of the most important parts of roasting coffee. It’s what becomes the reference point to all your production roasts. Although we could have talked for another hour about building roast profiles, in this packed episode, we talk about our approach to building roast profiles, how new coffees are roasted, and the quality metrics we aim for that help dial in a c...

Recently, we competed in the regional aeropress championships. There were some last minute challenges we had to work around, build recipes, and create efficient workflows with the aeropress. We cover all of this in this episode of the coffee roaster warm up sessions podcast. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroast...

Light roast has exploded in popularity over the last 15 years. It's quickly becoming many people's preference in coffee development, however, for many people, it's something they avoid. Through personal conversations, social media, and online forums, there are a few myths and misconceptions we often here time after time again. In this podcast, we address these misconceptions. Pick up o...

Drip coffee is one of the most classic drinks in all of coffee which can oftentimes be overlooked. In recent years, however, drip coffee makers have become so good that they rival many people's pour over skill and results. We think everyone should own a killer drip coffee setup at home. This episode unpacks what you should look for and how to start brewing amazing drip coffee at home. Pick up...

It's becoming more and more popular for coffee shops to have food programs and there are good reasons for it. You can increase your average order value, appeal to more guests, and grow your overall business. On the other hand, having a food program comes with many challenges that might make you second think its benefits. Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/ Find us on Ins...