Since our roastery at Les Cheneaux Coffee is dedicated to the craft and not open to the public, I thought I'd pull back the curtain for you. You can imagine me, Dave, standing over the machine, watching the beans like a hawk. When people ask me what my “roasting philosophy” is, I usually just laugh and say it’s a healthy dose of obsession mixed with a whole lot of temperature readings.
But honestly, it’s a bit more profound than that. For me, roasting is a commitment to two things: science and art. You can’t have one without the other, and finding that perfect balance is what makes this job endlessly challenging and rewarding.
First off, let’s get nerdy. Fortunately for all of us coffee geeks, the science behind roasting has advanced tremendously in the last decade.1 We’re not just guessing anymore.
I approach the science as my essential safety net—it’s the blueprint for consistency. I constantly track data points like the Rate of Rise (ROR), bean temperature, and environmental temperature. I need to know precisely how the heat is penetrating the bean, how moisture is leaving the core, and how different bean densities affect the process. This meticulous data logging prevents me from accidentally scorching a beautiful batch of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The science dictates the necessary environment; it ensures that the coffee you bought last month tastes exactly the same today. It's about precision. For example, maintaining the robust, smooth profile of a perfectly balanced dark roast coffee requires unwavering data-driven consistency.
If science is the blueprint, then art is the actual building of the flavor. If I relied only on the numbers, I’d be a robot, and the coffee would be lifeless.
The artistic side is where I put my own fingerprint on the coffee. It demands all my senses: listening intently for the sound of first crack, which is like popcorn popping; tracking the subtle color changes in the beans; and smelling the aromatic progression—from grassy to toasty to caramelized. This sensory input is what tells me if the bean is developing too fast or too slow. It requires instinct and intuition developed over years. I might see the temperature curve looks "perfect" on the screen, but if the smell tells me the sugars are developing a little too quickly, I’m going to make a split-second, non-formulaic adjustment. That’s the art.
So, why go through all that scientific precision and artistic fuss?
My core mission here at Les Cheneaux Coffee is two-fold. First, it's to create the highest quality, hand-crafted single-origin, specialty blend, and award-winning estate coffees. Second, it's ensuring that quality starts with ethical sourcing and social responsibility. We never stop challenging ourselves to seek improvement in all that we do.
Every bean we buy arrives with inherent flavors—what the French call terroir—developed by the soil, the altitude, and the processing. But before I even touch the roaster, I focus on the story behind that bean. That’s why we actively seek out coffees that are USDA Organic and Fair Trade International certified. And in the spirit of combating gender inequities, we proudly purchase our beans from Women Producer programs whenever they’re available. For me, roasting isn't just about heat; it's about honoring the effort and care put in by everyone along that supply chain.
My philosophy is to use the precision of science and the intuition of art to gently coax those unique, regional flavors out. I want to stop the roast exactly when the bean’s origin characteristics are clearest, brightest, and most expressive. I absolutely never want to roast a coffee so dark that it tastes like my roaster—I want it to taste like the incredible place it grew.
This commitment extends beyond coffee, too. We’re also proud to run a socially responsible small business that supports education through tea. Through our partnership with the International Rescue Committee, 10% of annual wholesale and retail tea sales are directed to education programs, meaning each pouch of Retea helps provide up to 10 hours of education for a refugee child.
That's the philosophy that ensures every bag of Lone Bear Coffee you receive is the best it can be: data-driven consistency, human intuition, a commitment to flavor clarity, and a dedication to positive social change. Cheers to the next perfect batch!
Tired of gritty, lukewarm camp coffee? Learn how to achieve a café-quality brew anywhere with our ultimate guide to outdoor coffee gear. We dive deep into the pros and cons of four top brewing methods—the AeroPress, French Press, Pour-Over, and Cowboy Coffee—comparing taste, portability, and cleanup. Plus, we highlight the essential grinders and kettles that make all the difference, ensuring your next sunrise cup is your best one yet.
So, what’s my preferred brewing style? Well, my answer is a definitive, "Yes, all of the above, depending on my mood, the weather, and whether I remembered to sleep last night." I totally go in "spurts," ranging from the comforting, gritty hug of a French Press to the clean, peaceful ritual of a Chemex with a lighter roast. But when the roastery chaos hits and I need to move faster than a black bear chasing a picnic basket, my go-to is a survival-level quad-shot espresso. It’s the caffeine equivalent of being slapped awake by a grumpy beaver, and it’s what keeps your coffee tasting perfect.
Our engine of adventure, the SF-25 by San Franciscan Roaster Company, is the meticulous machine that brings the flavor to life for Lone Bear Coffee. We chose this American-made beast, built from robust Schedule 40 steel, because its high conductivity and responsive heat controls allow us to achieve extremely precise roast profiles—a critical factor in specialty roasting. While the machine can handle up to 25 pounds, we stick to 10-pound and 20-pound batches. This smaller size gives us the necessary agility to fine-tune the roast, ensuring every single bean develops maximum flavor and guaranteeing ultimate freshness for your roast-to-order adventure fuel.
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