Roasting Resources
Here are some resources that I have found very helpful on my roasting journey.
Books
I recommend anything from Scott Rao. His books are must reads in the industry, his blog is great and he has an Instagram following that I've found very helpful. He also teaches quite a few courses and I've learned a ton from them.
- Everything But Espresso, 2010
- The Coffee Roaster’s Companion, 2014
- This book is basically a roasting Bible. I've read sections of it multiple times, such as Preheating and Between Batch Protocols.
- Coffee Roasting Best Practices, 2020
- I'm assuming it will be great, but am still waiting for my copy to arrive!
Other than Scott Rao's books, here are some others that I found helpful:
- Sensory Foundation, Ida Steen, 2018
- A Roasting Style Guide, Clarke LeCompte, 2018
- Home Coffee Roasting, Revised, Kenneth Davids, 2019
- The Artisan Roaster, David Rosa, 2019
There are also lots of great videos on YouTube, including a bunch from Mill City Roasting, the manufacture of my coffee roaster. Their Roaster School was really a great set of videos (and free!)
Training Courses
I have taken the in-person training at Mill City Roasters and found it to be very valuable. You will learn their viewpoints of the industry and roasting and spend some time learning their roasters. If you are thinking of buying a MCR, this is something you should do. (If you aren't going to buy a MCR, I'd find the appropriate class for your roaster.)
Scott has done a couple of live courses that were also streamed online. These were definitely worth while as he had an online Facebook forum open for a month after the course ended. I found nearly as much value from the forum as I did from the class. Definitely worth the money!