What is Artisan?
In the food and beverage industry, you normally hear the word "gourmet", which is used to identify food products that are made with high-quality raw ingredients. However, you need more than just quality raw ingredients, you need to implement a control method to achieve consistent quality. Consistency is sacrificed when it comes to producing large quantities, it's the price you pay. In the world of coffee, "artisan" equals "gourmet". Furthermore, roasting in large batches could mean that some coffee bags are stuck on the shelves for weeks, maybe months. Thus, the inconsistency in what you experience in the cup between a bag purchased today, and a bag purchased a week ago.
What is Artisan Coffee?
Many have asked us what does artisan coffee mean. In short, it's a step further from specialty coffee. Artisan coffee entails an extreme attention to details. In addition, it is roasted in small batches and handcrafted by one store, and usually sold by that store only.
Although artisan coffee is specialty, specialty coffee is not always artisan
At Meraki, the roasting session kicks in once you’ve placed your order, so you know your coffee will be as fresh as possible. Our coffee is no more than a few days “off roast”. Furthermore, artisan coffee is roasted for a specific brew method, your brew method. We are able to provide this due to our extensive testing process that includes many sampling, roasting and cupping sessions. We are able to do this because we run a small scale business, and we micro roast on our 1kg Diedrich IR-1 roaster machine.
Coffee Roasting is an art
Specialty coffee roasting is a marriage of science and art. The science involves monitoring and controlling many aspects of the roasting process. It requires the roaster to have ample knowledge about the roasting machine, the raw product (green beans), familiarity with the visual transitions and a great tasting sensibility.
We treat each cup like a fine chef does a meal, taking our time to ensure each coffee is perfect for you. We take care of every variable that affects the cup, from selecting the green coffee beans, to tweaking the roasting profile, and all the way to adjusting the grind size. We also like to clean… we clean our roaster periodically to insure longevity, and an extra clean roaster.
On many days, we get geeky, and talk a lot about airflow, gas pressure, rate of rise, and brew ratios. Sometimes you can catch us brag about our beautiful Diedrich roasters. This is not only because we love what we do, but because we want you to discover the amazing world of great artisan coffee.
Start your experience with our in-house roasted coffee here.
