MILAN – In an attempt to lighten everyone’s mood during these times, Cropster has decided to team up again with Balzac Bros to bring to you, RoastID a fun 3-week online challenge of roast curves and cup quality knowledge.
The competition rounds will take place for 24 hours. The first round took place on May 13th. The next rounds are slated for May 20th, 12 am PDT and May 27th, 12 am PDT.
Think of it as matching a cupped coffee to the correct roast curve, except, you never cup the coffee (since we can’t do that right now). Competitors (that’s you) will enter an online quiz portal where we’ll present some roast curves. You can then try to match them to the correct cupping forms.
You’ll need to use your understanding of how changes during the roast influence quality, and how those quality differences are scored and described on the cupping form. For example, think about what happens when a roast gets dropped 20 degrees darker than the previous roast – Wow! It’s a lot! We know.
“That’s why this competition is more than a competition” says Cropster. “It’s also an educational opportunity to learn from roasting experts about how roasting techniques and decisions (and the changes in the roast curve) influence the taste of the coffee. We are bringing on board the help from some of the brightest roasting minds in the industry to help us host a webinar after each round to reveal the answers, discuss the curves, talk about how differences in the roast curve translate to cup quality and provide participants with an opportunity to ask the guest roasting experts questions.”
Webinars with Roasting Experts
The webinars will be held on Zoom the day after each competition round, and require prior registration to join in and participate in the Q&A. The schedule for the webinars and guests are:
Round 2 Webinar
Time, Temperature, and Roasting Stages – Thursday, May 21st, 9a – 10a (PDT)
Rob Hoos, owner of Hoos Coffee Consulting, director of coffee for Nossa Familia Coffee, and author of Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee.
Round 3 Webinar
The Coffee You Use Matters, and So Do Blends – Thursday, May 28th, 9a – 10a (PDT)
Joe Marrocco, management executive for List + Beisler, owner of Hodges Bend MN, and former educator at Mill City Roasters.
Please register for the webinars here.
