Roasting 101 in Minneapolis
New for 2024, we've added an extra day of hands-on coffee roasting training, pre-class videos so we can hit the ground running, and an optional, casual Saturday morning Coffee Break session focused on business topics.
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 also receive an invitation to our online library of exclusive training videos. 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 | 1pm-5pm | Sensory training, space planning, tour at Cafe Imports' green coffee warehouse |
| Thursday | 9am-4:30pm | Cupping and calibration, roast level exploration, guided roasting exercises |
| Friday | 9am-4:30pm | Team roasting challenges, blend building, roasting naturals, machine care & maintenance |
| (Optional) Saturday | 9am-11am | Optional, casual discussion & Q/A focused on business ownership and strategy with Steve & Angie |
MORE DETAILS
- This class is lead 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-3D and MCR-6.
- Lunch is provided on Thursday and Friday 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 advance 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.
Join us in Minneapolis
Roasting 101
It's always exciting to welcome a new group of students into our Minneapolis roastery for our popular Roasting 101 class. Take a peek at what it's like to be part of a group focused on leveling up their coffee skills.
Customer Reviews
Lauren and Bryant are very great people and a blessing to get to know, they were very helpful with whatever questions we had. Both were very
patient with the greenies that are just
starting out with the roasting. Food,
coffee and snacks were great! Great atmosphere! The experience was amazing! They pairs us with groups that had different kinds of experience, I enjoyed every min of the classes and the group of people we got to met. Thank you Lauren, Bryant, Angie and Steve for the experience and
hospitality. May God Bless you all!!
The best thing about traveling thousands of miles overseas and stumbling into a roaster/coffee business course has to be meeting with a fine bunch of people who can understand your struggles no matter what role you participate in our amazing coffee world. They both encourage your growth & sympathize with your challenges, and present you a way forward to avoid pitfalls and challenges they have already overcome. They share their knowledge quickly and without regret, they lead you to others who will also fertilize your business dream (green bean provider, packagers & regulators) to increase success, and leave the door wide open for follow up at the end of the course.
These are people who have experienced coffee’s up and downs professionally from the top of world class tasting and coffee events, to visiting the humble farmer.
Lauren, Bryant, Sam, Angie and Steve, from my heart to yours…,
Thank you,
James (PNG Coffee Farmer, Nebilyer Valley)
Having just launched my roasting business a few months ago, I was looking for a partner and found one in Mill City. From the very beginning, the communication has been excellent and the responsiveness is off the charts great.
I decided to invest in the education course and couldn't be happier. I been to 100s of events in my previous career and this one was hands down the best. The days are well organized and a ton of fun. The learnings are a balance of some academics but mostly hands on. The instructors are fantastic.
If you're debating on this course. It's well worth the investment and you'll meet some new life long friends.
Rich Hubbard
Black Dog Roaster
This class was an incredible experience, and we can't recommend it enough to anyone who not only wants to gain a deeper knowledge of coffee roasting but also learn about the entire coffee ecosystem. If you are worried that it might be too advanced or too basic for you, I challenge you to take this class. The structure of the class coupled with the high-quality instructors will ensure you get exactly what you're looking for and more.
Lauren does an exceptional job at leading the class and engaging students to give them confidence as they find their way through the different aspects of coffee. Bryant is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and is an outstanding instructor on roasting. Sam is a super guy and although he was a newer addition to Mill City when we took the class, you would have thought he had been around for years with enthusiasm and knowledge.
Steve and Angie have done an outstanding job of fostering an environment centered around a passion for coffee and learning. While many people in the world would like to see you fail at whatever your coffee endeavor is, it is clear after this class that Mill City is your number one advocate for finding success in coffee.
The amount of all around learning that was done in 3 days is incredible. I loved learning about the chemistry of coffee beans, practically learning how to roast in the machines, learn about how to extract flavors from the beans, and how to practically begin/further pursue our coffee business.
I left the training feeling very excited to pursue coffee making with great excellence, to reach for the skies in what can be accomplished, and go out and care for people! Be authentic in our coffee story.
I am hoping that Mill City will do a coffee roasting 102, 103, etc. for continued learning.
