The roastery
From green bean to cup
What happens between the jute sack and your flat white. Four steps, two roasting days a week and a curve of ten and a half minutes.
A roast up close
Ten and a half minutes
This is what a roast of our Kenya looks like. The beans go into the drum at 200 degrees, cool down first, then slowly warm up. At 196 degrees they audibly crack open: the first crack. A minute and a half later they come out.
Drying. In the first four minutes the water evaporates from the bean. It smells of hay and turns yellow.
Browning. Sugars caramelise, the bean turns brown and starts to smell of bread and nuts.
Development. After the first crack you set the flavour. Too short is sour, too long is bitter. This is where the craft is.
In four steps
- 1
Buying
Green beans from two importers who know the farmers and pay a fair price.
We buy from two importers in Amsterdam and Hamburg. On average we pay €7.80 per kilo of green coffee, well above the market price.
- 2
Roasting
On Tuesdays and Fridays, in twelve-kilo batches, each bean with its own curve.
A batch is twelve kilos. After roasting the beans spend four minutes in the cooling tray and then go into buckets with a valve.
- 3
Resting
A week for espresso, a few days for filter. Only then does it go into the grinder.
Roasting creates carbon dioxide. While that is coming out, espresso tastes sharp and salty. So we wait.
- 4
Brewing
Every morning we taste and adjust the grind. Only then do we flip the sign.
At half past seven we drink the first shots. Only when the espresso is right do we lock the grinder and let the first guests in.
How dark do we roast?
Not dark. The longer you roast, the more the bean tastes of the roaster and the less of its origin. We stay left of the middle.
- lightFor filter: fruity, bright, sometimes floral.
- light-mediumFor filter and a straight espresso.
- mediumOur house blend: sweet and round in milk.
- medium-darkThis is where we stop. More chocolate, less fruit.
- darkBitter and smoky. We do not roast this.
Come and watch
On Tuesdays and Fridays between seven and ten the roaster is on. You are welcome to stand and watch; Riemer is happy to explain what he does.
Tasting on Saturday
Every first Saturday of the month at 10:00 we taste four beans side by side, the way a roaster does. One hour, €12.50 per person, including a bag of beans of your choice. Sign up at the bar.
Tasting with your team?
In the back room Riemer sets out four beans side by side and teaches you to taste like a roaster. An hour and a half, from six people.