Do you think about the planet when you buy things? Probably. It’s almost impossible these days to be unaware, or not care, about issues related to global warming. It seems natural to think about the planet when you buy a car, or a big kitchen appliance. Some of us even think of the planet when we buy our coffee – is it Organic? Shade Grown? But do you think about the machine that roasted your coffee, and its impact on the planet? Does it pollute the air? Does is suck down power derived from fossil fuels? Joel Starr, in the September 2007 Tea & Coffee Trade Journal http://www.allbusiness.com/environment-natural-resources/pollution-environmental/5523090-1.html observes that “In fact, it’s a safe assumption that coffee roasters and retailers at home, not producers at origin, are responsible for most of the pollution that coffee consumption produces (namely CO2 emissions from the roasting of the coffee and billions of one-time-use, disposable paper cups lids, stir-sticks, etc.). This has to do with many factors, not the least of which is the artisanal roasters preference for “drum” and “fluid-bed” type roasting machines, which have essentially not changed in decades. That is not to say that these machines haven’t improved, they just haven’t “gone green.” “ I’d venture to say not many coffee drinkers think about this particular issue.
In setting up our new roasting business, however, we did think about it. Our new roaster, or ”Rosie” as she’s been affectionately named here, is one of a kind in the world (right now), and probably about the most eco-friendly roaster on the planet. Our friend Dan Joliff of U.S. Roaster Corp http://www.usroastercorp.com built the Revelation roaster using advanced technology that virtually eliminates emissions and reduces power consumption to a fraction of a traditional roaster. We were happy to partner with Dan to input to the design and be the first guinea pig, er, customer, for this exciting new machine that we think will take the roasting community by storm. We hope he sells a lot of them!
So when you sip a cup of our coffee, you can do so knowing that you’ve done just a little bit more for the planet than was possible a month ago.
Hello Jim,
Thanks for all the kind words! We have been working with recirculating roasters for years and have had the idea for this roaster on-the-back-burner so to speak! Then you called digging around needing one in total Electric that would operate cleaner then what was on the market!! What a Great deal (bone?) for us that some one wanted us to build what we really wanted to build “the cleanest operating commercial roaster”. Our engineer for the project “Justin Oldham” and many others of us here spent months debating on what parts to use and how to operate it best, then testing to find out what was best. I am glad he got to see it run before he passed, that was his baby!
Once we took of the pipe that allows it self-clean and he was so mad he walked out for the day! He was right, it was needed. Sorry you felt you were a lab project at times! We are sure the new roaster will pay off big time for you in the future! The roasts out of the machine taste only of great coffee with out the old musty flavor/odor of gas in the roast as many gas and recirculating roaster do. You are doing the right thing by operating clean and green! Really you were not out on limb as much as you thought as all the parts in you roaster we have been using for years, its was just the method of reclaiming the energy that was going up the stack in to fuel that is different along with some changes in software.
Note; you might be new to commercial roasting but you have been using a commercial sample roaster for many years and I found working with you that you had great depth in you understanding of coffee and produced wonderful roasts when you were here. Thanks for all your pointers on setting up the roaster (its nice to have an engineer for a customer on a new model;) and your support for buying an American Made product.
You paid many extra dollars to be Green and clean and reduce the amount of energy you need, you are doing the right thing for us all!
Dan
Flattery will get you everywhere, Dan. Keep up the great work, sell some more of those “green” roasters. Any potential customers are welcome in my shop. Regards, Jim
Yeap, thought about it. Now, I sure would like to have some Eth Yirg! Mind passing that press pot?
Nice! Just put up some solar panels to run the roaster and you have gone even greener!
…its so…clean in there.