Join us in Minneapolis for a new season of our popular in-person coffee roaster classes. This class continues to be the best place to kick off your professional roasting career. Whether you are starting a business, a hobby, or the next chapter, Roasting 101 is one of the industry's best launching pads for coffee professionals.
$980
This class is a three day course that takes place over a four day period.
On the travel day, students who arrive in Minneapolis early enough are invited to join us for an optional tour at Cafe Imports‘ green coffee warehouse at 4pm CST. More information will be available via email for registered students. RSVP required.
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 while executing different roasting profiles. Together we’ll move from sample roasting through production roasting and we’ll investigate variations of light, medium and dark profiles for a single coffee.
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.
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 render 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.
At the machine, you’ll work as a team in a small group (4 people or less). Everyone will have the opportunity to directly operate a few different machines and when not roasting, everyone else will have an up close opportunity to really experience the machinery and the roasting process. Students will be exposed to concepts of roasting on different scale machines (500g, 2kg, 3kg, 6kg) and how roast profiles can be translated across drum capacity and machine capability.
Safe and effective operation of your equipment requires an understanding of your machinery and the roasting process. We’ll talk through common scenarios that require immediate attention as well as ongoing strategies to keep your machinery in top operational form. We’ll outline for you our daily, monthly, quarterly care schedule and give you advice on developing your own plan to keep your roastery (and business) up and running.
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.
Updated Policy as of 5/04/2023
Mill City asks students to practice personal responsibility when attending class. If students begin to feel symptoms of illness, we ask that they wear a mask around others. Masks are available in our roastery.
Sorry, no cancellation refunds within 30 days of class. Groups must all attend the same class to receive the group discount.
As part of our ongoing commitment to encourage greater diversity in the coffee roasting community, Mill City Roasters offers scholarships to attend our popular Roasting course. This scholarship is intended for members of marginalized groups within our industry – BIPOC, LGBT, non-binary and others.
Amed Aplicano
Recently participated in the roasting 101 class and couldn’t be happier with the experience, I could feel, hear, see and taste the passion and respect for the art and product from everybody I interacted with, Lauren and Bryant were amazing and knowledgeable throughout the whole class, it was great way to invest time and money as a first step in my journey to roast coffee, absolutely and highly recommended.
Also, you know you are in the right place when the president of the company has his art and craft tattooed on his arm!! Go Steve!
Coty Hogue
This class went above and beyond my expectations. I went into the class with a dream to bring a roastery to my hometown and left the class feeling like I had the tools to implement a plan to do this. Lauren, Bryant, and Kristina were all so helpful and knowledgeable. As someone who had zero roasting experience, in just two days on the machines I left feeling like I had an excellent framework to successfully get started roasting. I also so appreciated the talks from Steve, especially the one about how to start your roasting business successfully. He made me feel like I absolutely could do this.
Thank you all so much! Recommend 100%
Gray Livingston
Great class, the entire staff at Mill City is top notch. It’s refreshing that Steve, the owner of the company, takes the opportunity several times during the class to share his knowledge. Lauren, Bryant & Kristina were a joy to learn from, all very knowledgeable at their trade. Plenty of bang for your buck. My company (Pale Horse Coffee) already owned & operated a 20kg Mill City roaster prior to attending, the class was still worth the investment.
Jose Romagoza
If you’re passionate about coffee and want to learn more about roasting (and much more), do yourself a favor and go to this class. The folks at MCR are second to none in the coffee industry, they are passionate not only about coffee but about educating and spreading the knowledge to the community. You can go into this class knowing nothing or knowing a lot about roasting, but I guarantee you will learn so much.
MCR is on a mission to continue making the coffee community better, by educating through experience, facts, and the best part is you’ll be using the best roasters in the market.
Finally, getting to meet and talk with other people taking the class, that are also passionate about coffee and the industry is extremely rewarding and useful.
I hope MCR comes up with a Roasting 102 class, or other classes such as more advanced cupping, barista, etc.
Dan Smestad
Top Notch operation, from the talent Steve has on staff to the meals, coffee, to the roasting machines! Lauren, Bryant and Katrine we great teaching and support, answering questions, and teaching. I was so surprised how much goes into getting me a good cup of coffee. These folks teach about it all what you need to know to what you need to do. Controlling these machines is just one part necessary to roasting good coffee consistently. I am a beginner roaster getting my Roasting certificate was a proud moment. I have so much more to learn and experience to get better. I know I have an ally in Mill City. To my class mates Thank You Great to meet you all and please reach out if you need anything.
Emmanuel
I recommend the 101 courses to anyone interested in knowing the A to Z about coffee, from sourcing coffee beans to presenting quality coffee cups to family, friends, or customers.
Learning about coffee and roasting equipment was my goal for attending but I left feeling that the opportunity of meeting the staff and management of both Café Import and Mill City that really focus on sharing their experiences and knowledge was a bigger takeaway.
Simon Solis-Cohen
The Roasting 101 class at Mill City Roasters is top notch! I walked in knowing zero about roasting coffee and left with a new appreciation and real hands on experience. Their team is very knowledgeable, patient, and helpful. They are a wealth of knowledge. The class was well structured and covered the all the basics from green sourcing, to roast profiles, to maintenance and safety. I’ll never look at coffee the same. Highly recommend.
Rich Weatherly
I was thoroughly impressed with all aspects of this class and of Mill City Roasters as a whole. The team genuinely cares about their craft and customers/students and it is obvious that a great deal of effort goes into planning and delivering their educational program. There was a wide range of experience among the students and Lauren, Bryant and Katrina were adept at teaching and training across the spectrum. I would recommend this class without hesitation to anyone who seeks to learn more about commercial coffee roasting and the business of commercial coffee roasting.
Terrilyn Scozzafava
I would like to say that the People that are Mill City Roasters are absolutely the Best. The professionalism was second to none. Lauren was an exemplary educator making her points clear and her dictation was enjoyable to listen to, thank you Lauren for making learning enjoyable. Bryant was the other educator and he really knows his stuff as well, coming across in a friendly and precise way. Then there is Steve the man that designs and manufactures a beautiful roasting piece of equipment. He is clearly passionate about what he does and wants to share all of it with you. I highly recommend taking roasting 101 from Mill City Roasters if you are looking to learn the coffee business from the ground up. Oh and Katrina let’s not forget her she quietly worked in the background making sure everything was taken care of, another great team member. Ok and Patty too Lauren’s dog for some snuggles:)
Cheers to the Team of MCR!!!! Awesome Class Experience 🏆🥇Thank You
Mark Coffey
I am so happy I took this class!
Before I enrolled, I evaluated many different classes and landed here. I had narrowed down my roaster choices and Mill City was at the top of the list. I have facilitated corporate training for well over a decade and, in my experience, the level of professionalism and expertise is unmatched with this group of folks. I felt more than welcome the entire time I was there. In fact, they all made me feel like I was part of their family. Lauren’s knowledge is vast and she has an amazing teaching style. Bryant has the happiest and most welcoming demeanor. Without fail, he kept a genuine smile on his face, even when I asked what had to be considered very dumb questions to anyone in the industry. Katrina added her highly valued input as well and even gave me some espresso pulling tips on the side. Steve (the owner) is very passionate and knowledgeable. You can easily tell that his team loves working there and being part of the business and family he has painstakingly built to serve roasters of all levels. I am ordering my new roaster very soon and I want to sincerely thank the Mill City Roasters team for convincing me that they are the best!
Peter Nehlsen
Would highly recommend this class for anyone on any spectrum of roasting. Whether you’re just getting started or having been roasting for a while already this class has a lot to offer. Lauren and Bryant head up the class and they have such a professional, yet approachable style of teaching. I have been in the coffee industry at various levels for about 8 years now and have experienced a lot of pretentious coffee instruction. Lauren and Bryant are the opposite of that, with the knowledge and experience that could so easily boost their ego, they maintain a very humble, yet confident demeanor. If you are on the fence about this class, then I’d say go for it because you definitely won’t regret it. Thank you guys for all the work that you put in to expanding the coffee industry and making it more accessible to more people. You rock!
Chris Ankeny, Mount Currie Coffee Co.
I would highly recommend the Roasting 101 course at Mill City. It was a very good crash course in getting your feet on the ground roasting. The instructors were great, I found the info conveyed was very easy to digest. It was especially valuable to be able to roast so much coffee, there is a lot of time on the roasters and I felt a much better grasp of the process at the end of the course. It’s also rare you have the owner of a business so hands on and it was nice to hear Steve’s ideas and be able to talk with him on the side. It really reinforced my decision to go with a Mill City roaster. Well done to the whole team at MC!
Brandon Kellner
I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend this class. The folks at Mill City are absolutely brilliant and very accommodating. The class itself is well-balanced between hands-on exercises and education, and the educators are undeniably passionate about their craft. Thank you for the experience!
Adam Lawrence
Truly an amazing experience all around!
Mill City has an amazing team with Steve, Lauren and Bryant as educators and just industry professionals that have a wealth of knowledge about the coffee industry from cafe level experience all the way up to sourcing and large scale roasting.
I have been roasting coffee on a Mill City machine for a bit over a year and decided to take the in-person class to really fill the gaps and help with my roasting education. I will tell you that I learned a TON over the two days in class and being able to try out different machines was a huge bonus as well. I went in with a pretty solid understanding of the process, but honestly I had a lot of gaps – additionally being able to see how others approach a coffee or being able to cup coffee with someone that has years of experience is hugely helpful.
If you are considering if this class is worth the travel, time and/or cost – let me tell you that you need to do it and you won’t be disappointed. This class is great for people who have never roasted coffee before, home roasters or even people that do roast at a production level – there is a ton to be learned.
Very happy with the class and truly believe it will have a huge impact on my coffee roastery and the coffee that I roast.
Thank you Mill City!
Martin
Excellent class! If you’re new to the industry and or just curious this class is for you. Very informative, knowledgeable world class team. Hands on experience with different size roasters, sensory evaluation and brewing. Not to mention advice on green coffee purchasing and running a coffee business. If you’re looking to buy a roaster or just hone your skills, do yourself a favor and take this class, you won’t regret it. I sure didn’t.
Justin Norris
Class was amazing! I was worried about doing the virtual vs attending, but it was totally worth it. You can interact with the instructors and Lauren and Bryant are great with answering any novice questions you have!
Sid Davis
Couldn’t recommend this enough: I’m currently using a Mill City 6k and despite a multitude of thorough resources published here and on YouTube for how to operate one and use RoastPath efficiently, nothing beats having hands-on instruction from people who know the trade and the guy who designed the equipment. Lauren, Bryant, and Steve all provided a huge amount of individualized and group instruction on the specifics of roasting technique. Highly useful for people who are as green as I am or even for people who’ve been at it for a while and just want to get better results.
Great people, excellent facility, and immensely helpful resources explained with minimal fluff. It really helps ground all the various subjective opinions the industry likes to churn out into understandable, repeatable processes backed up with technical knowledge.
Trey Brooks
This was my wife’s and my 2nd time taking this class. The first was to start our education on the production side of coffee as our experience with coffee has always been at the cafe level serving it to our guest. We also wanted to see if this was even something we wanted to do. This last time, a year and a half later, was to gain more insight into the machines themselves and to confirm the confidence we might have been lacking to purchase a machine and start our roasting journey. The team at Mill City is just the best! Lauren and Bryant are not only awesome in all things coffee, they are also just awesome people! Both times my wife and I felt so comfortable asking questions, making mistakes (don’t be afraid to), and gaining the confidence to walk away and know if needed I could jump on coffee roaster and get something pretty darn good out of it. The owner Steve even set down with us on the last day and let us pick his brain on a few things. The lights were off and everyone had left but he stayed and gave us honest answers to our questions. I’m not sure how many owners of such big companies would even show up for the training classes much less stay till the last question was answered. Thanks Steve, Lauren, and Bryant for providing such a great environment for a class like this!
Christian Jolly
We are in the process of integrating the existing roastery that supplies our cafe, and are building a supplementary space next door to our cafe to handle increased roasting capacity as well as customer experiences, classes, toll roasting, etc.
We completed our roaster shopping in May and decided to move forward with a 2kg+10kg from Mill City Roasters. I had planned to come visit the facility in June to meet the crew and review the equipment in person, but was informed that a group roasting class was being held one week before my planned visit. I decided to register myself and one other staff member to come up to do the class, and what an excellent decision that was!
There is no alternative to hands on training, and doing so in a group format proved even more informative. The instructors Lauren and Bryant were a great combo, and Steve’s pragmatic and clear principals will be immediately applicable to our business.
We were able to get real time on the roasters, using the technology and principles that we will be using in our day-to-day work. We also made connections with other roosters from all around the country (and the world) training alongside us in the class. Even the opportunity to connect with Cafe Imports during the week was indispensable, and gave us a great window into some of the work that goes in to getting the coffee to us before it’s ever roasted.
10 out of 10, highly recommend.
Alex LeBlanc
Wonderful class. Experienced professionals who take pride in their craft and have the years to back it up, teach this class. I used this class as an opportunity to get hands on experience on commercial roasters prior to starting a new roasting facility. In addition to running the machines and understanding how they approach roasting, you also get insight on how to run a roasting operation, business advice, sensory analysis, and brewing/extraction principles. I chose Mill City first for the meticulous design needed for such a fickle process and ended up buying because of the people that I spoke to on the phone. Going to this class confirmed that I made the right choice. I was blown away by the machine controls and ease of ability to control end temperature to 1degF and by the caliber of the people working there.
Thanks,
Alex LeBlanc
Calibration Coffee Lab
Steve Green
Thank you for your kindness, Alex.
Barak Bomani
I’ve been saying “this” ever since the first day of training on May 19th. Nobody is offering this type of in-depth experience from qualified and experienced leaders in the industry. Coffee roasting 101 is a must-do if this is the area you see yourself growing in. Whether you are opening a business or expanding a hobby, this class is time and money well-spent. Lauren, Bryant & Steve were available for any and all questions, and they have earned awards and reached achievements in their respective careers that are indicative of their expertise and ability to teach from a place of wisdom. Give yourself a gift and enroll in the class.
Mark Cardwell
Time and money well spent. The amount of experience and expertise at Mill City is amazing. The ability to roast of different size machines was invaluable. The way they have the course laid out and how they present has so much to offer for people at all experience levels. Steve, Lauren and Bryant thank you for the great educational experience and all that y’all do at Mill City. Also would like to thank the team at Cafe Imports, Matt, Emily and Nicole for their time showing us their business and facilities.
God Bless
Scott Sanders
Wow ! Steve Green and his team hit it out of the park! The on-site Roasting 101 class was so helpful . I’ve been hobby coffee roasting for close to 20 years. I recently took delivery of a 2kg Digital from Mill City and have a few batches under my belt. Plans are to take my coffee to market. I wanted to take my skills to the next level and this class more than met my expectations. It was well thought out and executed. Lauren and Bryant know how to effectively impart their extensive knowledge and experience. Mill City’s Captain, Steve Green was there and provided a seasoned and philosophical perspective. Highly recommended!
John Muldowney
What a great class! Very fun and informative. Staff have “world class” level of knowledge, and explains things very well. They are very friendly and passionate. The class also seems to be quite a bargain. There is so much mediocre and bad coffee served out there. While you get a significant amount of time under your belt roasting, I think the overall knowledge gained from tasting and discussions of brewing and extraction really make this course a very wise investment for roasters, baristas, people in the business, and hobbyists as well. If you are buying equipment, I would put 100% confidence in these people to support their product and support you in your coffee business. I am very glad I took this class!
Ryan Berg
This class is absolutely worth it. The 2 days in Minneapolis were absolutely unforgettable. Lauren and Bryant were incredibly knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic, friendly…. I can’t think of enough compliments for the teachers, the class, and Mill City Roasters. Getting to hear from Steve the president of Mill City, and his vision for Roast Path in the industry was amazing as well. If you take this class, you’ll be with a crowd of enthusiastic people who love coffee and what they do, you’ll learn so many things and leave with A LOT of coffee! Haha.
Loved this class so much! Thanks Mill City Roasters!
Robert Cosper
Five Stars Guys!! You Deserve It!!
We want to thank Steve, Lauren and Bryant so much for a great time in learning more than just roasting coffee. This was a wonderful experience through the mill, affordable and well worth the trip. Mill City Roasters should consider a pilot show for the food network channel… That would be Awesome!! For this I have great ideas. Thank you for your professionalism and super knowledge within the coffee industry and so much more.
We look forward in purchasing some equipment and working with Roast Path and you all again very soon.
By the roast or by the cup, either way…
Thanks Again,
Much Love & Respect,
100
Robert & Esmerejilda Cosper
King Cosper Coffee Company
Steve Green
You guys were terrific! We’re only as good as the people that join us.
Thank you for your kindness.