This is the fourth in an ongoing series on what tools we keep in the Mill City roastery for efficiency, quality control, and more. Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4.
Our list of roastery supplies seems endless. There are many miscellaneous items we keep around the roastery that might not seem entirely necessary at first, but when the time comes you’ll be glad you thought of them. These items help us maintain cleaning standards in the roastery, provide support when hosting a class or tour, and generally assist in daily production.
Cleaning Supplies
Nothing feels better than a clean roastery space, free of clutter, dust, and build-up. We want the space to always look presentable. Keeping it clean allows for efficiency in moving around and a way to show customers that cleanliness matters. For these reasons, we always keep Cafiza or Steramine on hand for messes that eventually happen in our space.
We use Cafiza to keep up with regular cleaning of our drip pots and to pick up residue off of surfaces that have coffee build-up or stains. Anything that comes in contact with coffee oils over time will build up discoloration on your equipment, like your brewer baskets. We soak ours in a teaspoon of Cafiza with hot water for roughly 20 minutes, but you can leave yours longer if it needs deeper cleaning.
For easy spills around our space or to keep up with sanitizing food contact surfaces, dishes, and more, we use Steramine tablets. What we appreciate about these tablets is their commercial strength and how economical they are. Simply use 1 to 2 tablets in warm water and dissolve for an easy cleaning solution, to sanitize dishes, and more. Empty spray bottles come in handy if you want to add this in and sanitize around your roastery.
Carafes & Airpots
In our Roasting 101 classes, we set up cuppings and various tastings throughout the day to evaluate their roasts and build sensory skills. It’s crucial in exercises like this that we have plenty of carafes and airpots for brewing and tasting. As we set up cuppings, our hot water is pulled from the tower into our insulated carafes and kept hot until we’re ready to pour. While roasting coffees throughout the day, they’re brewed into several airpots that we can pull from for tastings that lead into discussion. Having these items available on hand contributes to better group tastings and weekly cuppings for us in the roastery.
Brew Devices & Grinders
Aside from your usual brewer of choice, it’s a great idea to carry other brew devices in your roastery to brew your coffee with. Customers may take home your coffee and brew it on a device that’s completely different than yours. Taking the time to understand how your coffee brews on other methods and the cup it results in, will help you better translate to the customer how they may experience your coffee.
A great grinder is one of the most important tools in your roastery. Without one, we wouldn’t be able to properly evaluate roasts or ground retail bags for customers. If you happen to get overwhelmed with options out there be sure to look for a few things, particle range and consistency, capacity, speed, and size to name a few. A quality coffee grinder is key in the proper evaluation of roasts, and assists in everyday production tasks around the roastery.
We use these products every day during classes, daily cleaning, evaluation, and more. From sanitizing products to airpots and brew devices, all of these items serve their purpose in your roastery and provide support for regular production and roastery tasks.
Check back for Part 6 where dive into more roastery supply for your space.
