The two-day educational symposium brings coffee roasters together for lectures and hands-on training.
BY KATRINA YENTCH
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos provided by Roast Magazine
Coffee roasters will gather in Portland, Ore., today and tomorrow to geek out on extraction, green beans, and all things related to perfecting their craft at the first-ever Roast Summit. The two-day educational conference from Roast Magazine kicks off at McMenamins Kennedy School—an adult playground of a hotel and event space—with lectures, hands-on activities, and a chance to connect with other members within the roasting community.
The first day of the Roast Summit will be entirely dedicated to lectures. The technical trade journal has put together a lineup of thoughtfully curated speakers who will give their input on topics they know best. Mike Nelson, who has hosted several informative Cost of Production events, will speak on the subject, as well as value chain transparency. Post-harvest processing specialist Alex Brooks will also speak about controlled fermentation.
This is the full schedule of discussions:
• Thermodynamics & Control in Coffee Roasting—Rob Hoos, Nossa Familia
• Developing a Cost Effective & Sustainable Green Portfolio—Katherine Hartline, Atlas Coffee Importers
• Critical Threats to Origin Diversity—Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
• Cost of Production & Value Chain Transparency—Mike Nelson, Junior’s Roasted Coffee
• Controlled Fermentation & Post Harvesting Processing—Alex Brooks, Scott Laboratories
• Staying Relevant in the Coffee Industry—Marie Franklin and Dan McMenamin, Caffe Umbria & McMenamins
• Academic Coffee Roasting Research: Trends and Topics—Juliet Han, UC Davis Coffee Center
Roast Summit’s second day migrates to Buckman Coffee Factory, a community-centric shared roasting space that is also a cohost of the conference. Here, attendees will focus on workshops and hands-on training with roasting, coffee cupping and sensory evaluation, and green coffee grading. Drew Billups of Atlas Coffee will be lending a hand, along with Buckman’s own Joey Gleason and Steph Backus. Candice Madison, who we recently featured on Barista Magazine Online in a 10 Minutes With, is also sharing some expertise.
Registration for the event is now closed. However, you can follow the action on social media through the hashtag #RoastSummit on Instagram and Twitter.
