A Lesson in Sample Roasting with Roaster Joe from Cafe Imports

Probat sample roasters. Screenshot courtesy of Cafe Imports.

It makes perfect sense that green coffee importers and sellers would be at the forefront of transparent roasting education. The majority of them don’t have their own wholesale roasting brands to protect — eliminating natural concerns for operation privacy in the roasting realm — and unbiased education that benefits roasters is something of a win-win.

Just yesterday, we shared news that importer Royal Coffee is partnering with coffee software provider Cropster to create an “open-source” concept available to all curious roasters. And just last week, Minneapolis-based importer Cafe Imports unveiled the first in a series of instructional videos designed to help roasters develop their commercial skills. (Full disclosure: Royal and Cafe Imports are both current advertising partners with Roast magazine.)

Cafe Imports representatives told Daily Coffee News that the video is the first of several planned that serve simply as free educational resources to roasters, addressing some of the most common questions the company fields from its clients.

The first video features the company’s senior sales associate and director of education Joe Marrocco, casually referred to as “Roaster Joe.” In a span of seven minutes, Marrocco tackles one of the biggest questions that routinely comes up: “How Should I Sample Roast?” It’s a simple enough question, yet with myriad potential answers. Here’s the video in full:

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