I love coffee, really I do. I know I’m not unique in this passion. This beverage has inspired centuries of devotion from many people in many countries. When first introduced to the beverage, Pope Clement VIII loved coffee so much that he baptized it, since he was such a fan there was no way that he could condemn it.
So, what is unique about my passion for this beverage? You could say that coffee is in my blood, literally. If not for the coffee trade, I wouldn’t be here today. My great-grandparents left their Italian homeland in the early 1900s to seek a better life in the New World. They arrived in rural São Paulo, Brazil, met and married, and after a few years working in the coffee industry there, they emigrated and settled a new life in New York. Despite Brazil being a stop over them, stories from their time in Brazil working in the coffee industry filtered down to me over the years. One of my favorites was how the family that stayed behind in Brazil would ship green coffee from the family farm for my great-grandmother to roast, grind and prepare in New York.
What would it take to roast coffee? I became intrigued with the idea of roasting coffee and how the beverage in my morning mug comes to be. What sorts of chemical and physical reactions take place in the roaster to turn a bitter green seed into an aromatic and delicious bean that fuels my early mornings and all-nighters? What differentiates a bad roast from a good roast? How does one become a skilled coffee roaster? These questions and others sparked a life-long passion.
Over the years I’ve roasted various coffees, mainly for espresso (my first true coffee love), but also for drip, pour-over, and even cold-brew applications. During this same time, any chance I had to explore the US and the world, I would nerd out over the local coffee culture and expand the horizons of my palate by tasting the best roasters wherever my travels took me. You could say that I was a Coffeenaut before I knew what that meant, exploring through trial and error both the science and art of what makes an expertly roasted coffee.
Today that curiosity about coffee emerges as a passion project to share with other lovers of coffee, learning, and explorations of all kinds. Thus is born Coffeenaut Roasting Co.
Thanks for joining the Coffeenaut Crew. We can’t wait for what’s yet to come!
To caffeinity and beyond,
_Evan, Head Roaster