Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions

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...

There's so much happening in the coffee industry. This episode is our *almost* unfiltered take on a few trends we see in coffee and breaking down what we think about them. No offense is intended and we hope you can enjoy the banter.

We're obsessed with coffee. Recently we realized it's now taking over our travel itineraries and has become a huge part of how we plan for trips. How has coffee changed that over the years? What do we predict might be coming in the future for coffee and travel? We talk about all of that in episode 107 of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions Podcast.

Ansley Randall is a graphic designer and mural artist based out of Florida. She's played a huge part here at Mirror Coffee Roasters by designing our new coffee bags which were released earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about her journey from barista to graphic designer and a few helpful tips on how coffee businesses can work with graphic designers to grow.

Comandante is known for their superior hand coffee grinders that have been seen being used on the competition stage including this year at the 2023 Brewers Cup Championships at SCA. Comandante has led their own brewing competitions for years now and this year they came to Vancouver, BC. We knew we wanted to participate, but we had no idea we'd be winning the 2023 Canadian Comandante Championsh...

Coffee competitions are a big part of specialty coffee. It gives those working in coffee an opportunity to showcase their passion for the craft. In this episode, we sit down with Keziah who competed this year as a US barista competitor. She talks about why she competed, her advice to others considering it, and some of her biggest takeaways from being a competitor.

Kyle Rowsell started as a YouTuber and content creator which has led him to launching his coffee roasting company called September Coffee. Kyle Rowsell opens up about starting a kickstarter, running the coffee business with his wife Natasha, and some of the challenges they have faced over the last few months. This conversation is vulnerable, encouraging, and gives you an inside look at the details...

Tanner Colson started by creating coffee content on TikTok a few years back without much expectation of going viral. Little did he know that this was just the beginning to viral TikToks, a following of over 1 million, and doing what he loves for work. We discuss what it's like to go viral and how to use your following to add value and positivity to the world.

Sourcing and roasting coffee are two very important aspects of a roasting company. Once you've sourced a really delicious coffee, how do you transfer that into a production roast? In this episode, we share our process from cupping sample roasts to carrying it over into a production roast we're satisfied with.

Our coffee podcast just hit 100 episodes. What initially felt like a side project of our roasting company now has become one of our favorite parts of our whole operation. On episode 100, we reflect back on our favorite moments on the podcast, how impactful this community of listeners has become, and dreaming big about the future of the podcast.

What sets a coffee roasting company apart from others? As home baristas, we've noticed that everyone claims to roast the best specialty coffee. Given how subjective coffee flavor is, is that enough to be different and stand out? In this podcast episode, we break down a few ways we think coffee roasters can stand out and provide more value to coffee drinkers and home baristas.

This week, we blindly cupped over 60 coffees and 14 coffee roasters all at once. There were many delicious coffees on the table which was very fun to taste and experience the many flavor profiles they had to offer. Apart from enjoying all these coffees, this was a big learning experience. Every roaster and every coffee had a piece of data and information that we could learn from. In this coffee po...

This is another Q&A podcast episode with really incredible questions ranging from taking risks as a coffee roasting business, the influence of AI on the coffee industry, and how coffee has impacted our family dynamics. The coffee questions as well as the more personal questions really made us think deeply about these topics and challenged us. We had so many really great questions and we're...