I learned about a new coffee roaster this morning called Arcadia Coffee Roasters. I actually discovered them on Twitter, and thought I’d share. From their web site and Tweets, I gather they’ve been in business since last year and officially began roasting for customers in December. ACR does coffee roasting a bit different than most establishments. Arcadia roasts coffee in a custom built drum which is fashioned for use in a traditional (albeit, a very nice) Grand Turbo Grill. No computers, no buttons, no bells to tell us when the beans are done! This approach requires us to pay careful attention to the coffee as it makes its way through the roasting cycles. We roast with our senses, paying close attention to a pleathora of variables but relying on smell, sound and sight. With Arcadia, you are truly getting roasts which have been “crafted”. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Anthony Chris, I really appreciate this post. I can honestly say that when this RSS feed came through on my droid, it freaked me out a little. I’m so new to this and barely off the ground (as is obvious from my partially working and always changing website). I appreciate the post very much! Really enjoy the blog; it’s great knowing the happenings of the valley’s coffee scene. Keep doing what you do! Sincerely, Anthony @ Arcadia 0 Reply January 27, 2011
Chris Tingom Hi Anthony, thanks for your comment! Glad to have you around. I did enjoy visiting your blog, and reading your comments and seeing your photos. Especially those from the new Royal Coffee at the Biltmore. I still need to get over there!! Chris 0 Reply January 27, 2011
Zach Miller Interesting article, how do the beans compare to other roasters you like? Can you tell the differences associated with the closer amount of attention paid to the roasting process? 0 Reply March 27, 2011
Anthony Zach – overall I think the beans come out very good when compared to a roaster who uses a $15K-$45K digital/computerized roaster. The focus to these roasters is typically time and temperature – with the luxury of being able to pull samples as the roast is progressing. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of pulling the beans to see where they’re at in the roast cycle. I can regulate temperature, but this only lengthens or shortens the roast cycle – it doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to determine where the beans are at in the cycle (i.e city roast, full city…etc). My main focus is a combination of knowing where I am between first/second crack and keeping a watchful eye on how much, and the type of, smoke that’s coming off the beans (is it light or heavy, is it dark or white?). The whiter and heavier the smoke the more oily sugars you have coming to the surface, which typically means you’re well into Full City/FC+/Vienna/French+ level roasts. It’s not at all easy, the difference of 30 seconds can be significant and it can still be challenging for me to get a good city/full city roast. I guess to answer your last question – I pay such close attention to the many variables because I have to. In doing so however – I feel I’m truly learning a craft and developing a sensory based approach which is really a lost art. I have a long way to go before I consider myself a “master roaster”, but it’s been fun getting to this point and I always remind myself that it’s not really about the coffee – its about providing a product that is unique and establishing a business that is focused on bigger things. Great coffee and happy customers are satisfying byproducts to the effort. Thanks! -anthony 0 Reply March 30, 2011
