Pavement - Crooked rain, crooked rain

I was feeling a bit nostalgic this month and wanted to listen to something I loved when I was in University. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is my favourite Pavement album. Right from the jump with Silence Kid it hits so well. You feel like you’re on a journey with this album, right from the first track. Gold Soundz will always remind me of living in the dorms and trying to be sound much cooler than I was. And I still love Range Life. Screw those Smashing Pumpkins, they aint got no function.

Parliament Roasting Dark syrup recipe

I’ve always wanted to try making a coffee syrup mix. Something that could be added to ice cream or waffles or maybe even a cocktail. I gave this simple recipe a try and I quite liked how it came out.

For this recipe I used the Hello Operator Dark Roast. I thought the richer more chocolate-forward flavours would come through nicely. Give it a try!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup water

• 3.5 tablespoons ground coffee
  (I recommend doing a coarse grind, like a french press grind. It’s easier to strain and you don’t get a grainy texture)

Directions

Step 1.
Combine sugar, water, and ground coffee in a saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a rolling boil, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Don’t be afriad to let it go longer than you think! You want it to reduce and let that sweetness develop.

Step 2.
Remove from heat; cool, about 30 minutes.

Step 3.
Strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a lidded container; I had to strain mine a few times to get it silky smooth. You want to eliminate the grain as much as possible. cover. Store in the refrigerator.

Try it on some ice cream or as cocktail syrup in an espresso martini!

Review: Reaching Out

As someone who commutes a fair bit to work each morning, keeping a healthy dose of digestible podcasts and audiobooks is paramount. I recently came across a series that I couldn’t stop listening to. A six-part audio documentary called “Reaching Out”. In fact, it’s one of the few podcasts where I found myself parked in my driveway listening to the end of the episode. I couldn’t leave the car.

It’s a story about two brothers, and a search for their biological father. Sayre and Connor are twins; they couldn’t be more different:

“The critical difference between you and Connor is this. Long ago you chose a freedom, that imparts stability and safety, that you pay for in unsubsidized loans, quarterly job reviews, happy hours with coworkers, boring party conversation, mid-century modern furniture, boxing classes and dental checkups. And Connor chose a kind of freedom that comes with land projects, one-off jobs at biker festivals, wide open mountain ranges, and that he pays for with a persistent smoker’s cough, weeks on remote weed farms, and being pursued in New Orleans by guy with a knife. Your brother thinks you are a judgemental normie. And you think he is a judgemental hobo.”
- Episode 1 Katabasis

 The story unwinds told mostly from the recordings and narration of Sayre. At the core it’s a four-year long journey to find a father that abandoned them at birth. While that story and concept might feel familiar, there’s something about the way Sayre constructs almost a diary-like commentary of the things he has recorded along the way. As a listener you feel like you’re in the room and part of the conversation. Neither Sayre or Connor are afraid to get really vulnerable throughout this story. That might mean an argument over the phone or tears, or frustration, or genuine joy. The mix of emotions as the story progresses is unlike anything I’ve heard in an audio-documentary. And as the show progresses, you start to witness them confront truths they’ve hidden from each other and themselves.

Sayre takes risks both stylistically and personally to make this show feel unique and reflective of his real life. The series moves from the brothers' decision to ambush their father at his barber shop, through the contested origin stories of their conception and the slow reckoning with the man who raised them, to a final, ambivalent meeting in a LA suburb.

I don’t want to spoil anything else here, but I do want to warn that some of the subject matter is quite heavy and isn’t appropriate for younger listeners.

You can find the show for free wherever you get your podcasts or listen online here:
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/fis-1269164233/reaching-out

Pairing coffee and cheese

If you’re looking for a delicious new way to enjoy sharp, aged cheese consider pairing it with a delicious coffee. The fat in cheese can help soften some of the stronger coffee notes, while the salt helps enhance a coffee's natural sweetness.

One of my favourite pastimes is popping over to a local Italian store to try new and interesting cheese. Lately i’ve tried some of these cheeses with different roasts and I’ve found that the inherent sweetness and smooth taste of my Guatemalan beans really go nicely with semi-hard cheeses, and some of the interesting funky soft cheese as well. Here’s a few of my favourite combinations.

For all pairings, I made sure to let the cheese come to room temperature.

• Pecorino and walnut with Hello Operator Dark Roast – Pecorino is a sheep’s milk cheese that has a salty, sharp taste and pairs really nicely with sweet subtle notes of the dark roast. This particular cheese was aged in fresh green walnut leaves and had pieces of walnut in the pecorino. It certainly added a nice texture paired with my robust dark roast.
  
  

• Oregon Blue with Secret Weapon Espresso Roast - A sweet blue cheese, and one of my favourites. This cheese from Rogue creamery has some subtle caramel like flavours and a fudgy texture that gives just the right amount of funk to pair nicely with a double shot of Secret Weapon espresso.
  
  

• Gruyère with Good Morning Captain Medium Roast: A nutty, slightly sweet flavour profile that matches the toasted chocolate notes of the medium roast without getting overpowered. The bit of saltiness in this cheese also really adds a nice finishing note to the tasting.
  
  

• Double Gloucester with Almost Crimes decaf: a smooth, tangy hard cow’s milk cheese that pairs really nicely with the decaf. The buttery and silky taste helps bring out some of the complex baked apple and hazelnut flavours of the decaf.

I hope you enjoy trying out some different pairings! I’d love to hear what sort of things you’d pair coffee with and if you have a favourite cheese you like. 

One of my cheeseboards from a get together with friends.

Land of talk - indistinct conversations

I’ve always been a huge fan Elizabeth Powell’s Montreal project Land of Talk. ‘Indistinct Conversations’ is one of my favourites and it’s an album I tend to throw on whenever I’m not sure what to listen to. It’s that really awesome high-energy indie rock from 2015 that we don’t have enough of anymore. I really like pulsing drums “Footnotes” and electric riffs on “A/B Futures”. Also she has a nice way to go full out on a few songs and then bring it down for a beat like on “Festivals”.

Honestly her whole discography is worth listening to, and bonus she has a new album coming out in November 2026, so circle that one on your calendar and loop back to check it out. I hope you enjoy this one!

Review: Boiling Point

If you know me, I’m a sucker for a good food show or movie. And truth be told there actually aren’t very many good ones. Which is why I was intrigued to hear about Boiling Point, an underappreciated British film that came out in 2022 and flew a bit under the radar. The movie is completely set in a restaurant and takes place during one pressure filled night of service.

Okay, so they have my curiosity but here’s what got my attention: the entire 90-minute film was done in a single take. No cuts, no do-overs, no mistaken lines, just one single long 90-minute shot of a busy Saturday night service where things go more wrong than right. The director’s goal was to capture the frenetic pace of a high-end kitchen, the communication and miscommunication between front and back of house, the full fix of broken plates, hand burns, and rush that nearly leads to a heart attack.

The film centres around Andy Jones the head chef and owner of Jones & Sons a high-end restaurant in London that’s trying to make it in a world where you’re one mistake away from being shut down. And while Andy (Stephen Graham) often shuffles and mismanages his way through the service, it’s his superstar Sous chef Carly (Vinette Robinson) that is keeping everything afloat, often taking the heat and the blame for Andy’s mistakes and shortcomings. It’s a night where things start well enough but quickly go off the rails as the staff deal with a marriage proposal at one table, a food critic at another, and a demanding celebrity chef that popped in for a bite. Things go from bad to worse when Andy makes a split decision to change a meal preparation on the fly leading to an allergic diner sent to the hospital.

And while the plot is simple enough, the film is enjoyed more for its one-shot technical prevalence (evidently, the director filmed the movie all the way through three times and chose the second take as the final film) than for its character development. Frankly, it’s just too difficult for the viewer to really get to know the cast when it feels like you’re watching them live for just one night. And while it didn’t get much critical acclaim, the film had such a cult following that the BBC commissioned a five-part mini-series sequel. This is the truly great part of this whole endeavor. The mini-series follows right where the film ends, and breathes a bit more life into the characters, their stories, and their life outside of the kitchen. And while, the BBC series isn’t done in one-shot, it keeps that riveting chaotic flow. I tend to think it’s a more grown-up, grittier version of The Bear with plenty of heavy subject matter, difficult themes, and lots of food. If you’re looking for a culinary show and you don’t mind some difficult scenes, and a bit of grim British sentiment, I would absolutely recommend watching the movie and then following that up with the series. You can find them both on Amazon Prime Video.

Here’s a trailer of the movie:

secret weapon espresso at the global coffee awards

In August, I was honoured to be asked to participate in this year’s North American Global Coffee Awards, held in Houston, Texas. I was given the opportunity to send one blended roast to be judged among the best coffees in the USA and Canada. I decided to submit my Secret Weapon Espresso in the “classic espresso” category, which is designed to recognize well-executed darker and classic roasts.

It was a great experience to represent White Rock and have our coffee tasted alongside some of the best coffees on the continent. Over 230 different roasts were double-blind tasted and considered for the gold, silver, and bronze awards. And while Secret Weapon didn’t place this year, we did receive an Honourable Mention, and the judges had this to say about our espresso roast:

 Dark chocolate and toasted grains led this coffee, with cacao nibs, raisin, pepper, and molasses character through a full and smooth body. The judging panel enjoyed the flavour on offer, noting that the cup didn’t tip into excessive bitterness, with sweetness running through the entire cup.

As Parliament Roasting continues to grow and new opportunities emerge to get my coffee to your doors, I’m grateful to participate with organizations like the Global Coffee Awards, to step out and have our coffee recognized globally is a great honour.

If you’re interested in learning more or checking out the winners of the Canada/USA Global Coffee Awards visit: https://globalcoffeeawards.com/winners-us-canada-2026/

An Espresso at 38,000 feet

Sometimes you find yourself in an airplane in the early hours of the morning, tired, cranky, undercaffeinated just waiting for the trolly to slowly get to you with that tasteless hot coffee water. But I’m here to tell you, suffer no more! With a little bit of pre-planning and the minipresso you can enjoy a pretty tasty single shot of espresso from the comfort of your seat in 35D. Here’s how I did it:

I pre-ground some Secret Weapon espresso blend this morning and packed it with my carry-on. Airport security didn’t seem to mind.

Once we got to our gate, I popped over to a café and asked for some hot water (they were more than happy to fill up my YETI)

On route to Toronto, once we were at a safe cruising altitude of 38,000 feet I got down to business. Everything is contained nicely in the minipresso, you pop out a little cup from one end, simply add the grounds, and fill the water in the other end, and then it’s a few quick pumps to pressure push that water through the filter and voila a nice, tasty shot of espresso to sip while you’re soaring through the skies.

And if planes aren’t your thing, this little beauty will do just fine in the mountains, down by the beach or mid-way through your kid’s baseball game. All told I was impressed at how easy it was to make this happen with very minimal mess and even less fuss.

In fact, it was so easy I got a quick refill of hot water during a layover in Regina and served up a second shot in the skies on my way to Toronto.

Cheers

A journey to quality

At its core, the coffee process seems simple enough. You harvest the fruit, separate it, dry it, clean it, roast it, and drink it. But as someone deeply invested in creating a quality cup, the more you dig into the process, the more variables you uncover that make a big difference in the freshness, taste, and overall enjoyment of your morning coffee. It’s more than just sourcing great raw green beans and putting them through the roasting process. There are many critical data points to consider. 

Let’s break down some of the main factors I think about when trying to create tasty coffee. 

1. Sourcing: I get beans from well-respected farms in regions known for producing great coffee. I’m looking at farm and bean reputation, tasting score, and profiles that work with the flavours I’m trying to create. I prefer to use high-quality beans from Common Goal, an organization that works with exceptional farmers in the Antigua region of Guatemala. 

2. Finding the right profile and region: The roasting process always has a great deal of trial and error to find and coax out the profile, blend, or flavour elements you want to highlight in a bean from a particular region. Especially when you’re working out a new bean or new roast.

3. Roasting for freshness: There’s two important factors here. Storage of your raw green coffee – away from the sun in sealed containers. And roasting to order. You can choose to roast in large batches. Sure, it saves time, it’s better for scale, and it’s easier. But if you’re nimble enough, you can roast to order and ensure that when the coffee is delivered it’s guaranteed to be fresh.

4. Proper cooling: It’s essential to quickly cool the newly roasted beans right away  to prevent residual roasting after they leaves the heat of the machine. 

5. Inspection: I roast between 7-8 pounds of coffee per hour, which is a small amount. But it also allows me to inspect every batch multiple times throughout the process; from load-in to cooling to bagging, I’m able to make sure every bean going into the bag has been properly assessed, with any delinquent beans tossed away. 

6. Bagging: Believe it or not, how you store your roasted product makes a massive difference in quality. Choose bags or a receptacle that can vent out CO2 after the cooling process. It’s best to let it sit for at least 48 hours (but sometimes even longer! Read more about that here.) 

7. Consumption: This part is largely outside of my control unless I’m serving the coffee. Here’s where it's up to the consumer how you want to prepare your cup (drip, french press, espresso). But there are still a lot of variables in your preparation that can affect the flavour outcomes; from how you grind it, to how quickly you get through your bag. I’ve put together some helpful hints for French press, and Aeropress, and I’m always happy to lend a hand if you ever have questions about the best ways to get a flavourful cup. 

I think there’s something unique about the process of getting good coffee to your cup that goes beyond many products you consume. There are a ton of variables that as a roaster I can control and some that I can’t, from sourcing to roasting to packaging but in the end the amount of influence in the final product makes a huge difference in the outcome.

Split shot: The rise of the half-caf

A trend that’s in the early phases of adoption is the rise of half-decaf/half caffeinated coffee blends. It’s not just in your Starbucks latte anymore – in some spots you can get it right in the bag. A trend that gives customers the option to enjoy a bit of caffeine in the afternoon without staring at the ceiling late at night. Or a better morning brew for those coffee drinkers who love coffee but hate the jittery feeling that can come from a fully caffeinated cup. Termed a “split shot”, you’re essentially replacing half the caffeinated coffee with decaf to balance out the mix. It’s especially popular for those that are paying close attention to their caffeine consumption.

In fact, Swiss Water Decaf, one of the most prominent decaf roasters in the world, just challenged international roasters to create the best tasting half-caf blend this summer. We didn’t participate in that one, but it did get me thinking about the spectrum of caf/decaf blends and how there might be more to the idea, versus the typical either/or scenario. And for those that are caffeine conscious, this type of roast could help bridge the gap from simply switching to full decaf all the time. 

I’ve started to see more roasters and cafes look holistically at their cafe to decaf offerings, offering more decaf drinks than just a traditional drip roast. I think we’re still a ways away from having decaf options as a prominent piece of a coffee companies roasted options, and you still aren’t seeing many roasted blended half-caf available for sale in bags, at least not yet. 

What do you think? Would you buy half-caf blends if we offered it?

a Wise bird

What’s with the Wise Bird? What’s that all about Wayne?

I was watching “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” with my five year old son last month. It’s a great 90s classic that he loves. But I happened to briefly catch a random piece of art hanging in the Szalinski family kitchen. It’s only there for a few seconds, but it immediately stood out to me (for pretty obvious reasons).

I had to know what the heck it was and a bit of research gave me this insight. Wise Bird brand was a vintage citrus fruit label for from West Orange Citrus Growers Association of Winter Garden Florida, popular in the 1930s. IT was mainly used with oranges and grapefruits. I love the font and the graphic. You can actually find authentic prints of the label online and for a pretty decent price ($22.00 for a 9×9). I think it’ll look nice in the roastery.

Glen hansard - rhythm and repose

It’s been a month of Glen Hansard on a heavy rotation in the roastery. I hadn’t listened to him in awhile but following his death I was definitely going through the catalogue and reminiscing of simpler times. Rhythm and Repose was his first solo album after the massive success of the film Once and his breakout with the Swell Season had put him on map. This one feels more personal and back to his roots. “Song of Good Hope” will always be an important one. And I really like “Talking with Wolves”. This album was particularly nice when I was up and roasting late into the night and prepping orders.

There’s nothing quite like Glen’s voice when everyone else is sleeping and you need to put another roast on the heat.

Music for a walk on a summer night

These days I’ve been going on more evening walks for exercise, to clear my head and enjoy the nice summer nights in White Rock. I’ve found a few tracks that really amplify the evening atmosphere. If you’re looking for a few songs to take with you and enjoy on a summer night, in my opinion, here are a few good ones: 

• Walk in the Park - Beach House  

• No Driver - Widowspeak  

• All the Wine - The National  

• Title and Registration - Death Cab for Cutie  

• Muzzle of Bees - Wilco 

• Fine Young Cannibals - Wolf Parade 

• Walkin’ on a Pretty Day - Kurt Vile 

• Cheaper Than Therapy - Rogue Wave 

• Strangers - The Kinks 

• Wild Horses - the Rolling Stones 

What are some of your favourite songs to walk to? Send me some good ones to add to my playlist!

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New Research links coffee consumption to reduced stress and increased cognition

Science says it! Drinking coffee makes you smarter. Well, maybe it isn’t quite that simple, but new research from the University of Cork in Ireland looked at how the consumption of coffee (caffeinated or otherwise) can lead to reduced feelings of anxiety, as well as improved attention by linking microbiota in the coffee to the gut-brain axis. 

In the study 31 coffee drinkers and 31 non-coffee drinkers were closely studied through a series of tests. Participants eliminated coffee from their diets for two weeks and then it was blind-reintroduced with half consuming decaf and the other, full caf. The results of the study were super interesting. Both groups reported lower stress, and lower depression, suggesting that drinking coffee significantly improved mood, regardless of caffeine content. But the caffeinated drinkers showed increases of Eggertella' and 'Cryptobacterium curtum' bacteria, both of which play a key role in eliminating unhealthy gut bacteria and stomach infections.

The study also shows that coffee is more than just a vehicle for caffeine, it’s a complex system of microbes. A notable improvement in learning and memory was found only in those who consumed decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that components other than caffeine, such as polyphenols, could be responsible for the cognitive benefits. 

“Our findings suggest that coffee, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated, can influence health in distinct but complementary ways.” said professor John Cryan, the author of the study and Principal Investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland.

If you’d like to read the full scientific article you can access it here: Habitual coffee intake shapes the gut microbiome and modifies host physiology and cognition. And hey, next time you pour yourself some Parliament Roasting coffee, remember you’re helping increase your brain and gut health! Thanks University of Cork!

try your hand at roasting

If you’ve always wondered about roasting your own coffee or want to give it a try. It’s not as tricky as you think! In fact, you could do it in your kitchen with a popcorn air popper. (Although I recommend roasting outside unless you want a messy, chaffy kitchen.)

Here’s what you need: 

• Small air popper. Make sure it has side vents on the inside rather than a grid at the bottom, otherwise you won’t get enough air flow

• Large metal colander

• Small metal sieve

• Green coffee beans (approx. 80g at a time)

• Small scoop

• Bowl to put the roasted coffee in. 

With a popcorn popper you won’t be able to adjust your settings, so you’ll need to rely on your ears and listen for the first crack (that’s the auditory sign that your green beans are changing and roasting correctly, you can learn more about the roasting process here). You’ll know it when you hear it. It’s a distinct popping sound. You’ll want to aim to take the beans out about a minute or so after you hear the crack. When you’re dealing with small quantities of beans like this, it doesn’t take long to roast them – approx. 5-7 minutes for a medium roast. You’ll want to kill the power right away and dump the beans into the colander to cool them and shake off excess chaff. 

Remember, coffee needs to de-gas for a day or two before you grind it up for your cup. Store the coffee in a cool, dark spot away from strong aromas or moisture.

If you want to give it a try let me know I’d be happy to give you some Guatemalan green beans to try with your next coffee order.

Momma - Household name

This one has definitely been my album of the summer so far. ‘Speeding 72’ made its way on the most recent Sibling Rivalry roast playlist and the whole album follows suit. For fans of Snail Mail, this one feels a little bit reminiscent of Lush. If you’re looking for a few other tracks to enjoy, take a listen to ‘Rip Off’ or “Rockstar”.

What’s been your album of the summer so far?

Try my aeropress recipe

If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy a cup of coffee, I recommend picking up an Aeropress and giving it a try. It’s also a great way to quickly make one cup of coffee especially if you’re making coffee-for-one. I find it super easy and it makes a really nice cup of coffee. Here’s what I do:

• Boil your water. You don’t need much, about a cup and a half

• Prep your Aeropress: Insert your filter, screw on the filter cap, place it on top of your mug

• Grind your coffee: I like to do a medium coarse grind, about a 7/10 on my grinder
  again, you don’t need much, about 18-20gms

• Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of ground coffee into your Aeropress

• Slowly pour your water into the Aeropress, if you have a gooseneck kettle, that works really well.

• When you get to the top give it a good stir to break the crust and move it around. You’ll see that some
  coffee has gone through the filter. That’s ok! Pour more water back in to fill it up to the top again

• Here’s a critical step. Put the plunger into the top of the Aeropress to create a bit of a vacuum seal, don’t plunge it yet let the vacuum seal hold the coffee in the press.

• Let it sit for about 45sec to 1min before slowly plunging it down and pressing the coffee through the filter into your mug.

Give it a minute or so to sit and cool and then enjoy! From start to finish it’ll take you less than 5mins to make a really great cup of coffee.

announcing our wholesale partnership program

We’re excited to explore a new method of getting Parliament Roasting coffee to you. Announcing our new wholesale partnership program. Would you like to purchase coffee in larger quantities – either whole bean or specially ground – to bring Parliament Roasting to your home, business, cafe, or office? We can do that!

We’re excited to kick off this program with a special partnership with Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, BC. We’ll be supplying wholesale coffee to a cart that serves doctors, nurses, and patients much needed coffee in the Emergency ward of the hospital. As some of you may know, I recently dealt with a fairly serious medical emergency and spent time at both Peace Arch Hospital and Vancouver General. This partnership means a lot to me and I'm really proud to supply coffee to the people who do the amazing lifesaving work at Peace Arch. 

If you’re interested in exploring more about our wholesale program, we’d love to start that conversation and put together a program that can work for you!

build your own owl box

We are officially on #OwlWatch2026. I figured I’d really lean into this ‘Owls in the Family’ vibe and see if I could attract one in my own backyard. Now I’m not expecting a parliament of owls to move in tomorrow. But maybe one might?! 

Okay. So some quick research tells me it’s not exactly the perfect time for an owl to move into new digs (it typically happens in early spring when they’re looking for a place to lay their eggs) but credible research says that even if they don’t move in for good, they like a good box to perch and hangout. And that’s good enough for me. They can rent to own and maybe make it permanent next year. 

There’s lots of great instructions online to help you build your own, but here’s a few helpful hints. Building an owl box requires untreated, weather-resistant wood (like cedar), and a nice big properly-sized entrance hole, drainage, and ventilation. You’ll want to make shallow, horizontal chisel or saw cuts on the inside of the front panel below the hole so baby owls can climb. 

If you’re really looking for a fun challenge, Fraser Valley Conservancy has some pretty fancy plans and lots of information on how to really make some stellar owl boxes. I didn’t quite have the time, tools, or quite frankly the space to go that intense. I did find a relatively cheap and easy to assemble owl box from Amazon that arrived in less than a day and I think it could home some lovely screech owls. 

Here’s hoping we’ll get an owl to call the backyard home. Stay tuned and I will continue to update all the loyal readers on #OwlWatch2026

It was really easy to build!

coffee roasting resources

I’m commonly asked by folks at farmers markets if there are books or other resources I would recommend for those that want to understand coffee roasting and flavour profiling. I’ve read a few books that have helped me dial in flavours and understand some of the science behind roasting good coffee. In my mind, there are two authors in particular that stand out and take a deeper, more scientific approach on the subject: Scott Rao and Rob Hoos. 

Both have put out multiple books that are well worth a read, but I’ll preview one from each of them that stand out. 

Coffee Roasting Best Practices - Scott Rao

Think of this one as coffee roasting 101, your textbook to roasting great coffee. It’s a culmination of 25 years of coffee roasting experience. A book that focuses on more advanced techniques and gives the reader an understanding of roasting curves and the all important ‘ROR’, or, Rate of Rise (the speed in which a coffee bean’s temperature increases, typically measured in degrees per minute). It’s particularly important if you’re trying to figure out how to consistently roast good coffee over and over again. Rao is very interested in using data driven models that go beyond simply using your eyes, nose, and ears. And while I personally don’t always subscribe to these data-driven methods in my roasting practices, they are important to understand and Rao’s analysis of the science is key to understanding coffee.. 

Modulating the Flavour Profile of Coffee - Rob Hoos

If Scott Raos wrote the roasting textbook. Rob Hoos penned the thesis. Modulating the Flavour Profile of Coffee is a manifesto on how to build flavour throughout the roast. If you’re interested in roasting, this one is required reading. And at only 66 pages, it’s fast to digest. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of flavor development across five distinct and controllable sections of the roasting process (drying phase; Maillard reaction; development phase; sugar caramelization; total time). It gives you, the roaster, a better understanding of those five control points, and ways to finesse the roasting environment around those points. I’m personally more drawn to Rob Hoos’ book, as breaking down and focusing the roasting process on those five controllable sections makes a lot of sense to me. It can also serve as a good way to troubleshoot why a particular roast isn’t turning out the way you thought it might. (Is your roast tasting muted and baked? Your drying phase might be too long and your Maillard phase too short) 

If you’re interested in reading more about roasting, or you’re having trouble tracking down these titles. You can happily borrow one of these books to read when you order your next bag! Just let me know.