Today, we want to introduce home roaster Matt. He first started roasting coffee in 2007 and, like many of us, was hooked from day one. Since then, he’s fully committed to home roasting and has the experience to prove it. Nowadays, he focuses on growing his business, Matt’s Good Coffee, roasting great coffee for anyone who’s interested. Read our interview below to learn more about his journey and discover tips and tricks that have helped him over the years.
How did you get started roasting coffee?
A friend of mine gave me a small home roaster, similar to the i-roast for me to try since he didn’t want it. I tried it on a Saturday and tasted the coffee the next day and I was hooked!
How many years have you been roasting coffee?
Since 2007 for myself and 2009 for others like friends and family who I wound up selling coffee to on a regular basis.
What has your coffee roasting journey been like?
I had to stop roasting when my daughter was small, but it was only for a year. 2010 I think when she started kindergarten. That was the first hardship. Mostly hardships have been running out of roasting time with the equipment I have had at the time. I am on a 3Kg roaster now, which allows me to roast 150 lbs/month and only work like 24 hours in a month instead of the 40 I was working with the 1Kg roaster. The best part has been growing my small business by word of mouth from folks like Catherine who have a big impact on social media – much more than I do. It’s been fun growing alongside of you guys as the Rancher program has gotten bigger and so have I.
Was there a turning point where your roasts started coming out perfect? What was that like?
Perfect is relative. Each roaster has an interpretation of what a particular bean should look and taste like, and therefore, each roaster follows his/her own profile that can get close to being duplicated but never exactly (in my opinion). My new roaster took a few months (early 2020) to get the beans to turn out like they did in the 1Kg, which took almost a year (2016 -2017) to get right when moving from an air-roaster with little control to a commercial roaster with complete control.
What coffee roaster do you use? What do you like about it? What do you dislike?
I use a Mill City 3Kg, and I love it! The air and heat controls are completely manual, which I prefer, and the outside stays cool while roasting, showing me that most of my heat is concentrated on the beans and not dissipating to the atmosphere. The only dislike I have is that I can’t completely take apart the chaff collector to clean it. I can get it mostly clean, but if it were up to me, I would make it to where the inner chamber could be lifted out so it could be cleaned with a jet of water or something like that.
Have you experimented with different coffee roasters? Why (or how) did you land on the one you use currently?
I have had different air roasters, but I settled on the GeneCafe, due to its production size and the fact that it used conduction, as well as convection, to roast the beans. When I moved to the commercial machine, price was a big factor, but service was the biggest factor for me. All reviews said that the service after the sale was fantastic and very attentive, so I have to agree with those statements before.
How did you choose Coffee Bean Corral? Why do you continue to purchase coffee from Coffee Bean Corral?
Initially, I started purchasing from Coffee Bean Corral because they always had an organic PNG in stock – one of my secret ingredient beans in my most popular blend. From there, I started noticing that they offered my other 7 origins in at least one organic crop, so I pretty quickly moved from my then current distributor to CBC, which is where I met Catherine. She’s the best at service and really hooked me with her friendly and attentive nature towards my small business. We have kind of grown together, which is why I will stick with CBC as long as I am able!
What are your favorite coffee beans to roast from Coffee Bean Corral? Why?
The Organic Yirgacheffe varietals are my favorites because of the clean roast they give me both technically on my profile curve and with the cup that comes out of my roaster.
What is your favorite roast profile?
Have you experienced any difficulties continuing to roast coffee as life has picked back up after COVID?
No. Business has picked up, but I guessed it would, which is why I purchased the 3KG right at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. My business has steadily increased, as people continue to work from home after the pandemic and get to make their own coffee with their own methods in their own homes.
What advice would you give to new roasters and people who want to start roasting?
Start small and get the most out of your roaster before moving to the next size. The jump is usually tricky and takes a bit of time to get it right so plan accordingly. Roast what you need when you need it – green beans store longer than freshly roasted coffee.