Would you like to enter the world of coffee roasting? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Whether you’re roasting at home or starting a professional career, you’ll learn the basics in our multi-day roasting course! Our structured workshop combines theoretical background knowledge with practical experience and a concluding sensory evaluation.

Here is the detailed schedule outlining the key components of our workshop:

Module 1
Introduction to the world of green coffee. Before roasting, it is essential to understand the raw material in order to source the coffee that will yield the desired end product. Knowledge of the characteristics of coffees from different regions of the world, as well as an understanding of green coffee purchasing lists, is the first prerequisite for a successful end product. 

• Botanical basics: Differences between the main species (Arabica, Robusta) and specific varieties.
• Cultivation and terroir: How do altitude, soil and climate influence flavour
• Processing methods: How the type of harvest and post-harvest processing (= natural, washed with various variants) influence subsequent roast and cup profiles.
• Quality assessment: How is the quality of coffee tested and classified? Classification by size, number of defects, professional tasting.
• Purchasing green coffee: What matters? Countries, prices and qualities

• Types of machines: Differences between the most common drum roasters and their various energy sources. Hot-air roasters/fluid bed roasters (usually only for large-scale roasteries); Well-known home roasters
• Basic machine functions: Understanding parameters such as heat input, drum speed and air circulation. Introduction to the term ‘Rate of Rise’ (RoR).  
• Safety: Important safety rules, fire hazard from coffee chaffs and cleaning the machine. 

Part 2: This section explains what happens to the bean during roasting (in drum roasting), with an overview of the various roasting phases.

• Drying phase: Loss of residual moisture; the bean turns yellowish.
• Maillard reaction: Chemical reactions between amino acids and sugars; development of browning and hundreds of flavour compounds.
• First crack: The audible cracking of the bean due to the build-up of steam and CO2 pressure. The coffee is now ready to drink.
• Development time: The crucial period after the first crack, during which the final flavour profile (fruity vs. chocolatey/nutty) is shaped.
• Second crack (for information only): Second cracking, release of oils, strong roasted aromas; often used for southern Italian espressos. (We never roast using the second crack.)
• Cooling phase: The correct cooling of the freshly roasted coffee.
  
  
  

Module 3
The Art of Roasting (Hands-on). This part of the workshop involves you operating the machine yourself (under supervision). Each participant will roast their own coffee, which we will taste in the next module and which you can then take home with you.

• Roast profile: Planning a roast - What kind of coffee do I want to end up with? Which coffee is best suited to which roast? Connecting the roaster to the "Artisan" roasting software on the PC. Reading the data and curves.
• Control: How to control the roast by adjusting the power output, air flow and drum speed.  
• Sensory monitoring: Monitoring the process through the sight glass (colour), the sample extractor (smell) and by ear (first crack).
• Cooling: Quickly stopping the roasting process with the fan to prevent the beans from "over-roasting".
  
  
  

Module 4
Quality Control and Sensory Analysis (Cupping/Tasting). Roasted coffee must be tasted in order to evaluate the outcome of the roasting process. 

• Cupping: The standardised method of coffee tasting established by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA): grind size, ratio, water temperature, breaking the crust, 'sipping'.
• Basic analysis: Identifying aromas, sweetness and acidity, body; including any roasting defects.
• Degassing: Explanation of why and for how long freshly roasted coffee still needs to release CO2.

Time for questions and discussion.

Workshop Leader: Jochen Weber

Course language: English or German
Location: Artisan Roasters, Roastery, Maksimir site
Duration: approx. 4 x 6 hours 
Participants: min. 3 max. 5
Price: €900.00 / per participant 
Next date: to be announced
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Registration / Contact
The workshops can take place on four consecutive weekdays; alternatively, on four Saturdays, from 13:00 to 19:00 on each occasion, as agreed. 

A workshop will take place if there are enough interested participants.

Please write to us if you are interested in a workshop. You are also welcome to ask us any further questions about the content.

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