Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions

Something we hear and are asked often is how we brew coffee based on origin. The same goes for our roasting approach as well. In this episode we talk about how different origins impact the brewing and roasting process and if it's even as important as we think it is.

When brewing pour over coffee, for the most part you're left with either a flat bottom or cone shape brewer. Both of the major categories come with their own nuances, flavor profiles, and recipes. In this podcast episode, we dive into our experiences with brewers like the Orea, V60, and Stagg brewer as well as how we approach brewing with them.

Recently, we've heard of several well known coffee brands sell either a big chunk or all of their business to other big brands. Oftentimes people call this selling out and paint in negative light, but is that always the case? In this episode, we share our thoughts and look at past acquisition to get a better idea of what this could mean.

We've all been there. You order a coffee at a coffee shop and the barista asks you to answer a few simple questions on the screen. Tipping your barista is normal, and we believe it should happen, however, with the increase in tipping amounts and inflation, has it gone too far? What are tips in hospitality for? We answer these questions in episode 130 of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podc...

We've been running our coffee roasting business for 4 years now, and we're still learning old and new things in the process. As 2023 comes to an end, we're reflecting back on two big things that we're walking away with that being owners of Mirror Coffee Roasters taught us.

This year flew by fast, and very quickly did we pocket another year as a coffee roasting company. It's been an incredible year of relationships, connection, incredible coffee, and competition. In this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast, we look back at the year and reminisce on our favorite moments of the year.

The holidays are always bringing people together and there's a good chance coffee will make its way amongst conversation and gatherings. This is a great opportunity to expose people to tasty coffee and hopefully give them the eye opening experience many of us have had about coffee. In this episode, we share a few tips on how to get your friends and family hooked on the world of coffee they may...

Filter roasts and espresso roasts have been around for a while in coffee, however, are they absolutely necessary? Can't you just have one roast for both brew methods? In this episode, we touch up on the pros and cons of different roasts for different brew methods and why for now we've chosen an omni roast approach.

Coffee roasting, water chemistry, and coffee flavor notes are all linked together and are a bit more complicated than we'd like. Both coffee roasting and water chemistry create a flavor experience unique to the combination, however, when one is off, things usually are thrown off.

Roasting coffee is similar to dialing in a cup of coffee or shot of espresso. Under and over extracting your coffee leaves you with an unpleasant taste in your mouth, and there's nothing better than a perfect extraction. The same goes for roasting, and in this episode, we dive into how we perceive dialing in our batches and what we're tasting for in our QC.

This is a Q&A episode where we got some questions from you and answered them on the podcast. We cover a few topics including today's coffee culture, what we did professionally before starting Mirror, and our greatest fears and dreams.

An eventful few weeks for the coffee industry with new gear rolling out at World of Coffee in Milan as well as recent coffee news that's worth highlighting. On this episode, we highlight the new Mahlkonig EK Omnia, the updated La Marzocco Strada X, and the recent news with Alaska Airlines.

One of the key data points we use in coffee is time. Whether we're pulling espresso, making a pour over, or roasting coffee, it's something we're always keeping track of. Although it's helpful in the process, what does it actually tell us? What limitations does this key data point have? We dig into these questions on this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast

Coffee is mainly water with small, extracted coffee particles. Water makes up most of your beverage and depending on its alkalinity, hardness, and other factors, it could make or break a delicious coffee. In this episode we talk about our frustrations with water, how we've adjusted our brewing and QC practices around water, and how we're planning to tackle this inconsistency moving forward...

Loving the craft behind coffee is one thing, but building a thriving business is another. Often times we hear people start coffee shops because they love it which is an absolute must when embarking on such a journey. It doesn't take long to realize that is not the only part necessary to being successful. In this episode, we dig deep into the sobering truth of running a coffee business.

Working in as a barista in coffee looks great from outside, but once you're in it, the job comes with many challenges and oftentimes compensated poorly. In this episode, we give practical tips on how someone can build a career in coffee and set themselves up for success and growth in the industry.

With over 100 episodes recorded and over 50k streams, we break down how we started our podcast, our current gear setup right now, and why we need more media like this in the coffee industry. We hope this inspires someone to take the step of faith forward and launch their own podcast whether it's about coffee or not.

Here in the Pacific Northwest and especially Bellingham, WA, we have drive-thru coffee everywhere. It's become very popular and although we have so many, it's still not our preferred coffee stop which has only made us wonder what we would do if we started one. In this podcast episode, we talk through our experiences with drive-thru coffee and a few things we would love to see changed.

Starting a coffee shop or a coffee roasting business can be difficult as it is, but you can do a few things to make it easier on yourself. In this episode we talk about the one thing we highly recommend that will launch your coffee shop business in the right direction and set you up for success.

Coffee culture all around the world is very different from what we experience here in the states. Since we just returned from travels in Singapore and Indonesia, we invited our friend Justin to talk about his experience in Korea, his most memorable coffee experiences there, and what makes coffee culture in Asia so special.

Coffee sustainability and transparency is important, and in this episode, we debrief on our recent trip to Indonesia and the eye opening experiences we had with farmers and producers around this topic. This is a complex conversation that is far larger than a short podcast episode, but we hope this broadens your perspective and gives you something to think about with your coffee.

We chat with Taylor, who helps produce coffee in Indonesia, about their local coffee scene, different processing methods, and why talking about coffee sustainability is not all about paying farmers more. This episode is filled with insight into coffee farming at origin and its overlap with culture.

Iced coffee and cold brew is a perfect drink for summer, but it comes with a few drawbacks. Getting optimal extraction, flavor clarity, and complex flavor can be challenging to get out of these drinks, but in this episode, we share a few practical tips on how to get the most out of your iced coffees including how we make our cold brew delicious.

Making coffee outdoors has become one of our favorite things to do. On this trip to the WA coast, we share our process and how we make coffee out in the wild during these trips. We would highly recommend trying to make coffee in the wild at least once!

Jessica Greenwalt, a creative director at Vayner3, joins us to talk about all things web3, emerging technologies, and the implications of different technology. She's also the founder of Pixelkeet and Co-Founder of Unum Game and has extensive experience with the newest technologies being developed today. We talk about espresso and milk terminology, the state of NFTs, and how we can use emerging...