Roasting 101 in Minneapolis
Whether you are starting a business, a hobby, or the next chapter, Roasting 101 is the industry's best launching pad for coffee professionals. Our apprentice-style direction will allow you a comfortable structure through which you’ll get hands-on experience with the machinery, exposure to different greens and profiling strategies, and guided tastings to repeatedly connect our efforts to our results.
Students will receive an invitation to our pre-class videos so we can hit the ground running. Watching these short lessons before joining us in Minneapolis will provide a helpful overview to specialty coffee roasting and prepare you for the hands-on portion of class.
Early Bird Discount: Register early and you pay $1300 $1100!
Group Discount: Register two or more students and save an additional $200 on each registration! Discount automatically applied.
FROM SAMPLE TO SUCCESS
In this class, we’ll walk through the typical steps you would take to source, sample roast, and develop a profile for a new coffee. Our apprentice-style direction will allow you a comfortable structure through which you’ll get hands-on experience with the machinery. At the machine, you’ll work as a team in a small group and together we’ll all move from sample roasting through production roasting and we’ll investigate variations of light, medium, and dark profiles for a single coffee.
PRACTICE & PLAY
Once we have some fundamentals down, we’ll apply what we’ve learned and play with different greens and new profiles. Using a learn-by-teaching method, students will take their experiences and offer advice to each other as they move from roaster to roaster. By sharing insights and expectations, students will begin to develop a vocabulary through which to communicate with others about what they are experiencing both with the machinery and the profile.
SENSORY SKILLS
Over and over, we’ll return to the cup to evaluate the real output of our effort. We’ll experience the flavor, mouthfeel, and body of all of our roasts but we’ll specifically investigate students’ roasts of the same green coffee rendered differently in the cup. We’ll review the role that cupping protocol plays in your roasting and give you practical advice on how to establish a solid cupping practice for yourself.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO ACCESS
Before class begins, students have access to a private video library with content to help them get ready to roast. Watch short videos on topics such as green coffee sourcing, green quality grading, sample roasting, and an overview of manual and digital control roasters. You'll be able to learn at your own pace and rewatch videos for clarity.
BEYOND THE DRUM
We operate a commercial roastery and provide roasted coffee to several cafes and private-label customers. By learning and working in our facility you will become familiar with other tools and equipment that are necessary to operate a commercial roastery.
SCHEDULE
| Before Class | Watch the videos in our Roasting 101 Resources collection to prepare for your time in Minneapolis | |
| Wednesday | 9am-5pm | Specialty Roasting Fundamentals Professional coffee evaluation and calibration, interactive hands-on space planning workshop. An afternoon of guided exercises on the roasters and a behind-the-scenes tour at Cafe Imports' green coffee warehouse with members of the Cafe Imports team. |
| Thursday | 9am-4:30pm | Roasting Techniques and Best Practices Small group roasting exercises on different machines, focused team roasting challenges, sensory evaluation at the cupping table, an introduction to coffee blending, and practical approaches to roasting pre-blends. |
| Friday | 9am-12:30pm optional session 1:00pm-4:00pm | Advanced Topics and Team Challenges Brewed coffee tasting and group profile critique, exploring naturals with student-designed profiles, machine care & maintenance overview. In the afternoon, stay for a tour of our production roastery and fabrication facility and an optional discussion & Q/A focused on business ownership and strategy with Steve & Angie |
MORE DETAILS
- This class is led by Lauren & Bryant with pep-talks from Steve and a special session from Angie.
- You will roast on several roasters including the MCR500, MCR-2E, MCR-2D, MCR-3D and MCR-6.
- Lunch is provided each day at Mill City Roasters.
- No perfume, aftershave, heavy scents, etc. Gotta keep the air clear to smell the coffee!
- Discounted hotel rates available.
- Sorry, no cancellation refunds within 30 days of class. Groups must all attend the same class to receive the group discount. Students must be 18 years of age or arrange advanced approval to attend.
JOINING US FOR CLASS?
Be sure to fill out your registration form. This information helps us prepare class materials, order lunches and get an idea of where you are in your roasting education. Before you arrive, watch the videos we've made in our Roasting 101 Resources collection so that we can all hit the ground running when we're together in Minneapolis.