A Roasting Room Chat with Rory

Summer has flown by and it has been a few months since we have had a roasting room chat. I'll get right into some questions and let's see where this takes us…

1. I know you read a lot and stay up to date on what's happening at the source, where coffee is grown. Are there any agricultural improvements or trends happening?

Yes, there are many farmers who are re-incorporating the natural forest with their coffee plantations. This creates habitation for local flora and fauna and improves the quality of the coffee. There are also many people searching for new natural strains of coffee in jungles and forests across the world, these plants can bring not only new flavors but natural answers to blight, bug infestation, and climate variation.

2. We attended the World of Coffee event in San Diego a few months ago and you attended a few lectures. Even as seasoned professionals we are always evolving and learning — what regions impressed you the most and what were your key takeaways from the show?

We tasted dozens, hundreds of coffees! I enjoyed them all (some more than others), Peruvian, Colombian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Haitian, and Kenyan. In our search we are always looking for Organic coffees that can be sourced through our local ports in the San Francisco Bay. We are fortunate to have such a great partner for sourcing certified organic coffee at Royal Coffee.

3. I tasted a lot of co-fermented coffee using banana peel, watermelon and pineapple at the coffee show. The only one I found interesting was a 3-day fermented watermelon. While this niche process has been around a while, it is more mainstream now. Is this something you would consider roasting?

The short answer is no, we don't plan to buy beans that are co-fermented with fruit and wine yeast. Our company is terroir-driven in that we extract the inherent flavors of the bean through our roasting process. Co-fermenting may be more than a fad, but it will never replace the traditional method we use.

4. We've established that our philosophy is to buy coffee that has gone through traditional fermentation. The science and biological process where yeast and bacteria break down sugars in the mucilage of the cherries to define flavor, do you prefer Natural, Washed, or Honey processed?

I've always been partial to Natural (dry processed) or Honey fermentation, they both accentuate the fruit and floral notes of a specific coffee. The dry processed coffee is dried in the full cherry under the sun prior to de-pulping so the beans interact with the natural sugars in the pulp, which is why they are more fruit forward.

Honey processing entails removing the skin of the cherry while keeping the sticky mucilage while drying under the sun. There is an extra level of natural sweetness that results from this process. Some people find it startling at first, but it is quite delicious as you continue to drink it and train your palate. We will be bringing more honey processed organic coffee into the roasting room later this year.

Washed/Wet (Aerobic processed) coffee tends to be very clear, defined, and vibrant. These beans are depulped and dried without the cherry. They are also delicious, especially when combined with natural processed coffee.

5. What's new with Big Vinny?

Our vintage roasting machine, Big Vinny, had an upgrade. We asked our friend Benny Isla at Conversion Products to fabricate a new custom chaff collector for us. It has streamlined part of the roasting process, increased safety, and improved the quality of the coffee!

6. What limited edition coffee do we have in the queue over the next couple of months?

We've been searching different origins and we have our eyes on a Java that is arriving in late August. We haven't had Java for a few years and are excited to see the tasting notes, it should be rich and earthy.

7. We just bought another bag of Manos De Mujer because it was so popular. What is special about this limited edition coffee?

The coffee itself has a wonderful dark chocolate body with a smooth finish and it is grown by a collective of women in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala. They have produced a beautiful coffee that is Organic and Fair Trade, this is a perfect example of quality in coffee growing and processing.

8. What region are you excited to explore in the future?

I would love to roast Yemeni coffee again. One day we might be able to make a Mocha Java blend and I know it would be phenomenal!

9. Do you think coffee from Panama is exciting or overhyped?

I've never roasted a Panamanian coffee so I don't have any direct experience with the origin other than tasting. They are hosting a World of Coffee event later this year and are focused on producing high quality micro lots for auction, there are undoubtedly amazing coffees being processed that will go to the "luxury" market, we'll be monitoring their production to see if there is an Organic coffee that will work with our stable of coffees.

10. Any topics you would like to talk about?

We are constantly monitoring the coffee markets across the globe and pivoting to maintain quality and consistency. This is an agricultural business and there are shifting energy, weather, and geo-political factors that we always take into consideration when sourcing our green coffee. Coffee is dynamic and delicious and it's only going to get better!

11. Finally, October is Fair Trade Month. We have been members of Fair Trade USA for decades. Can you tell our readers why this is important to us and what coffee we have in the queue between now and The Holidays?

Fair Trade is one of those things that only sounds like marketing until you actually go visit a coffee farm. When you see it in person — a cooperative that's able to build a school, or a group of women farmers who can reinvest in better processing equipment because they're getting a fair price for their beans — you understand what it really means. Fair Trade guarantees a minimum price to the farmer and adds a premium that goes back into their community. That's it. Simple concept, huge impact.

We've been members of Fair Trade USA for decades because it aligns with everything else we do. We're already sourcing 100% certified organic beans, so we're already working with farmers who are farming the harder, slower, more thoughtful way. Fair Trade is the natural extension of that — making sure the people growing our coffee can keep doing it, keep their families fed, and keep their land healthy for the next generation. About 3% of the world's Arabica is grown organic. When you narrow down to organic AND Fair Trade, you're looking at an even smaller slice. That's the slice we live in.

As for what's in the queue between now and the Holidays: we've got our Manos De Mujer back on the shelf, which is FTO from that women's collective in Huehuetenango, Guatemala — dark chocolate body, smooth finish, and one of the most quietly powerful stories in our lineup. Our Defogger Reserve is running with those exquisite FTO Sumatra beans I mentioned earlier. And keep an eye out — we've got a Java arriving in late August that should be rich and earthy, and we're finalizing a couple of Holiday limited editions we'll be announcing to our Coffee Collective subscribers first. If you want early access, that's the way to get it.

Fair Trade Month is a great reminder to check the label on whatever you're brewing. But honestly, if you're already drinking our coffee, you're already doing the right thing.

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What Rory's Drinking Right Now

Before we let Rory get back to the roaster, one last question we had to ask: what's actually in his cup this week? He named five. Here's what he had to say about each, in his own words.

Café da Cabana — Brazil, Organic Single Origin

"Brazil is the workhorse of the coffee world and most of what shows up stateside is fine but forgettable. Café da Cabana is the opposite. It's a fully organic farm in Minas Gerais that treats the terroir like a Napa winemaker treats a hillside, biological pest control, composted soil, the works. The beans come in dense and sweet, and when we roast them right you get big chocolate and toasted nut character with none of that dusty finish you get from lesser Brazilian lots. It's what I'm reaching for in the morning for a straight black cup, and it's a killer single-origin espresso if you've got a machine at home."

Papua New Guinea, Siane Chimbu — Limited Edition, Organic Single Origin

"This one's a rare bird. It's grown at high altitude near Mt. Wilhelm by the Siane Organic Agriculture Cooperative, a group of smallholder farmers in Chimbu Province who reinvest their trade income into education and gender equity programs in the community. Bourbon and Typica varieties, fully washed, dried in the sun. In the cup you get a medium body, smooth and rich, with a little earthiness and a hint of spice on the finish. It's got that wildness you only get from PNG coffees, completely different from anything coming out of Latin America. Limited edition, so grab a bag while we have it. When it's gone, it's gone."

Asobagri Manos De Mujer — Guatemala, Organic Fair Trade Single Origin

"This is one of the coffees I'm proudest to have on the shelf right now. Grown by Asobagri, a women's collective in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala, at high altitude in some of the best coffee-growing terroir in Central America. Fully certified Organic and Fair Trade. In the cup you get a smooth, dark chocolate base, excellent body, and a hint of citrus on the finish. It's the kind of coffee that drinks easy without being boring, which is a harder trick to pull off than it sounds. We keep bringing it back because it sells through fast every time — and because it's a real example of what Fair Trade actually looks like on the ground. Buy it, drink it, share it."

Foglifter® Reserve — Organic Blend, Dark Roast

"I know I'm supposed to be diplomatic about the whole lineup, but Foglifter Reserve is the one I keep going back to. It's Foglifter's bones, that deep Latin American backbone we've been roasting for three decades, with a lighter South American bean blended in to lift the acidity. What you get is dark chocolate up front, a hit of citrus zest in the middle, and a soft toffee finish that lingers. Sounds like a lot going on in one cup and it is, but it works. This is the one I brew when a friend who thinks they don't like dark roast comes over."

Defogger® Reserve — Organic Blend, Decaf

"Most decaf is a compromise. Defogger Reserve isn't. We took our best-selling Defogger and rebuilt it with the most exquisite Fair Trade Organic beans from Sumatra. The result is a decaf with actual character: baker's chocolate body, herbal notes in the middle, a bright hit of citrus on the finish. Water-processed, so no chemicals ever touch the bean. This is what I brew after 3 p.m. when I still want the ritual but don't want to be staring at the ceiling at midnight. If you've written off decaf, give this one a shot. It might change your mind."