Hi everyone I was wondering if anyone knew of some good places to search for a roasting apprenticeship? Hours of googling have unfortunately not yielded many results. I am interested in pursuing a career in coffee roasting, but it seems that most positions require that the applicant already have a few years of roasting experience under their belt.

Bebop wrote:Hi everyone I was wondering if anyone knew of some good places to search for a roasting apprenticeship? Hours of googling have unfortunately not yielded many results...

Knock on doors. Have resume, smile, and genuine personhood in hand. Knock on doors again.

Many start by shagging greens, unloading freight and 70 kilo bags with hooks, bagging roasted coffee, running errands, cleaning shops, etc. Start homeroasting. Read, participate in forums, read everything you can, and knock on that door again in six weeks, and six weeks again.

Good luck,
Dave

There's one opening in Roast Magazine, Hula Daddy Kona Coffee.

Couldn't agree more with BoldJava, a lot of roasters are pretty friendly folks who like to share their craft. Just go into it knowing you will not be touching a roaster to start!

Or jump off in the deep end and purchase a roaster. Just know that you probably won't make a living for quite awhile and the learning curve could be quite steep. YMMV

Bebop wrote:Hi everyone I was wondering if anyone knew of some good places to search for a roasting apprenticeship? Hours of googling have unfortunately not yielded many results. I am interested in pursuing a career in coffee roasting, but it seems that most positions require that the applicant already have a few years of roasting experience under their belt.

Would you be willing to relocate?

Would you be willing to start by cleaning the business?

I apprenticed at a 1 star and started washing dishes, cleaning the dining hall, cleaning the bathrooms, then progressed to setting table service, then washing veggies, then after a year was "allowed" to wield a knife... After what seemed like several lifetimes I ended as a line chef slash book keeper, taking the business from opening through lunch.... Now none of this happen over night but the expedience gained was priceless.

If you are serious you can't expect to start your first day running the business unless you have decades of first hand experience.

There are roasting houses that offer "classes" which will take you through the mechanics of running a commercial roaster. some may even delve into the business end of coffee roasting but these cost money, not pay a wage.

Bodka Coffee wrote:Or jump off in the deep end and purchase a roaster. Just know that you probably won't make a living for quite awhile and the learning curve could be quite steep. YMMV

A voice of experience no doubt!

I've met a few local roasters, big and small, with very different styles. The big roaster has zero instrumentation, ZERO, other than the human senses. No tryer even. I can't even imagine what learning there would be like.

Yesterday I approached a small, specialized roaster with a request for a custom roasted profile for espresso. He takes pride in his roasts, and my request ruffled a few feathers but we got past that. He gave me his general 2nd crack temp, and I adjusted a profile from HB accordingly, assuring him I knew little to nothing about roasting coffee all the while. We roasted up some Ethiopian Lekempti organic beans, and rather than his slow roast style hit a 12 minute roast that is starting to smell quite nice now. It was an eye opener for him. If he's not too ego bruised we'll likely do some more experiments together, otherwise I'll have to look at roasting myself.

Make sure you pick a roaster that is compatible to you or at least one you can learn a useful style from.

"Yesterday I approached a small, specialized roaster with a request for a custom roasted profile for espresso. He takes pride in his roasts, and my request ruffled a few feathers but we got past that. He gave me his general 2nd crack temp, and I adjusted a profile from HB accordingly, assuring him I knew little to nothing about roasting coffee all the while. We roasted up some Ethiopian Lekempti organic beans, and rather than his slow roast style hit a 12 minute roast that is starting to smell quite nice now. It was an eye opener for him. If he's not too ego bruised we'll likely do some more experiments together, otherwise I'll have to look at roasting myself."

I hope you are not recommending this approach, telling a roaster operator you know nothing about roasting, and then telling that roaster how to roast. That approach seems beyond absurd, and I am surprised you got out of there without damage.
My question to you is, Why do you not get your own roaster and do experiments on your own equipment? Suggestions above point that option to the apprentice position seekers. Roasting machines are found for low price, or can be built for cheap, and set in small spaces if needs be. It seems a safer and more polite route to learning roasting than intruding on others' efforts.

roastimo wrote:I hope you are not recommending this approach, telling a roaster operator you know nothing about roasting, and then telling that roaster how to roast. That approach seems beyond absurd, and I am surprised you got out of there without damage.
My question to you is, Why do you not get your own roaster and do experiments on your own equipment? Suggestions above point that option to the apprentice position seekers. Roasting machines are found for low price, or can be built for cheap, and set in small spaces if needs be. It seems a safer and more polite route to learning roasting than intruding on others' efforts.

No, I wouldn't recommend this approach. And I didn't tell him how to roast, I asked if he'd roast coffee for me with a new 'recipe'. Like asking a baker to bake a special cake or bread for you because he has the skills and equipment you don't.

He's a friend, and he's been trying to roast for my espresso without success - I'd like to get a couple nice espresso roasts out of him so I can recommend him as the only espresso roaster in the area. Looking at the recipe alone he was starting to understand the purposes of the heat ramping and shorter roast cycle, although it worried him that heat wouldn't go all the way through and it would be grassy - in the end, he was convinced of the methodology.

Yes, I'm working on mental plans for my own roaster, just haven't decided which direction I'm going with there yet.

If you haven't already, invest in a roaster with gas/temp and airflow controls. Bean and Environmental Temperture probes as well. That should have all the basic functionality of a larger commercial roaster for you to learn the basic functions and concepts on.

Scott Rao's roasting book is also an invaluable resource. I don't take everything as gospel, but it is very well rounded and provides a great starting point.

Don't wait on these things to put your foot thru the door and introduce yourself. I just think a basic understanding can give you an advantage and more common ground to converse over