The Sights and Sounds.

The Sights and Sounds that guarantee of freshness and quality? Well, besides the passion (and maybe a little bit of caffeine), it’s a rigorous attention to detail—a kind of primal connection to the coffee bean itself. When I’m in the roastery, it’s a total sensory workout. You might know I follow a strict between-batch protocol to ensure a high degree of consistency, and I’m always monitoring two key numbers: The Sights and Sounds and ambient temperature inside the drum.

The Visual Cues: Watching the Transformation

The first thing I look for is color. I’m starting with a pale, dull-green bean. As the heat hits, the beans begin to change quickly.

1. Dehydration (Yellowing): The beans start to shed moisture and turn a straw-yellow color. At this stage, they smell a bit like toast, not yet like coffee.

The Auditory Cues: Listening for the Crack

1. First Crack: This is the big one. It sounds exactly like popcorn popping—a quick, loud, and sustained series of snaps. It’s the release of steam and carbon dioxide as the internal pressure of the bean breaks through its cellulose structure. This is the stage where all of our medium roasts live. If you love a balanced, approachable cup for your early-morning hike, a perfect medium roast like our Daybreak Blend is dropped somewhere between the beginning and end of the first crack.

2. Second Crack: If I keep going, the beans will enter a phase of silence, and then, the Second Crack. This is a much softer sound, more of a faint snap or a rice krispie "snap, crackle, pop" than a popcorn explosion. This snap signifies that the bean's structure is fully breaking down and oils are moving to the surface. This is where we get the deep, bold, and smoky flavors—perfect for powering a serious climb. For our The Sights and Sounds, like the intense, smoky kick of The Grizzly, the roast is dropped just before the second crack really gets going. Pushing it into the full-blown second crack creates maximum dark roast flavor.