RoR #31 : Improve your Roasting Range by Focusing on the Fundamentals w/ Willem Boot of Boot Coffee

Today, if you are a roaster, you need to be able to navigate a pretty wide range of options in equipment, varieties of coffees and processes, as well as being able to roast a wide range of styles from light, dark, blends and everywhere in between. Thankfully technological resources abound, but the fundamentals of taste and skill in knowing the coffee as a crafts person remains a cornerstone of what will enable you to truly roast well across the ever expanding spectrum of specialty coffee. Perhaps no professional knows this better than today's Rate of Rise guest, the legendary Willem Boot. From a very early age Willem was intrigued and captured by coffee in every sense and all facets. He roasted his first batch of coffee at the age of 14 and after obtaining a masters-degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam he co-owned his family's specialty coffee business in The Netherlands. When Willem moved to the USA in 1998, he founded Boot Coffee and since then he advised coffee companies, coffee associations, development banks and governments around the world. As a consultant, Willem has been involved in coffee quality programs in countries like Ethiopia, Colombia and Honduras. He also designed extensive marketing programs for coffee industries in Ethiopia and El Salvador. In 2006, a dream was realized. He bought 5 ha. of land on the slopes of the Baru volcano in the Chiriqui province of Panama and planted 6,500 Geisha coffee trees. The farm was named "La Mula". In 2009, a second farm "Finca Sophia" was established at an elevation of 6,000 feet and up. In 2014 the natural processed La Mula won first place at the Best of Panama coffee competition. In 2015, La Mula maceration washed Geisha earned the Coffee of the Year recognition by Coffee Review with the highest ever score of 97 points. In 2016 his coffees won multiple Good Food awards and in 2017 Finca Sophia washed Geisha won first place at the Best of Panama. Willem is also a co-founder of a third farm in Panama: Finca La Cabra and he helped start a 400 hectare estate in western Ehiopia: Gesha Village Estate. Willem has extensive experience as a coffee roasting consultant and trainer. He wrote many articles about coffee roasting techniques in trade magazines. In addition, he educated hundreds of aspiring coffee professionals around the world in the sensory evaluation of coffee. In 2016 Willem started Boot Coffee Campus, a leading training institute located near San Francisco, CA, servicing the coffee industry in the entire Pacific region In this episode we talk with Willem about: The course coffee has taken in his over 25 years of roasting and teaching, What is fundamental for roasters to master Are processing methods in coffee a distraction or asset How can we make sure we are roasting a coffee well and not being blinded by the overwhelming process flavors? How can sample roasters help us develop our range? how should this generation of roasters focus their energies in order create consistently delicious coffee in this sea of options and variety. Links: www.bootcoffee.com Related episodes: