At Rounton Coffee, we believe in the importance of growth and evolution. And we are fast approaching a very special and exciting milestone, as we take a significant step forward with the arrival of our brand-new Loring S35 Kestrel coffee roaster. It’s more than just a new roaster; it marks the beginning of a new chapter for our team, our coffee, and all of you who’ve supported us.
After extensive research and investment, the Loring S35 Kestrel has arrived from California to North Yorkshire, ready to take us to the next level. This sleek, cutting-edge roaster is a game changer. It has us all excited, especially our head roaster Jamiel (who loves kestrels), as it will enhance our roast quality and boost production capabilities. We’ll be dropping out bigger batches of even better-tasting coffee (at least that is the plan).
Those who have followed us know that over the past 10 years, we’ve steadily grown and refined our business. Our growth has been driven by our commitment to high-quality specialty coffee and innovation.
The last decade has been a journey that has been driven by our roasters. Our new Loring S35 Kestrel is our third roaster, and we’re confident it will move us forward, as our previous roasters have.
Toper
Our first coffee roaster, a 10kg Toper from Turkey, was a humble start. Back in 2014, when we had more hair and fewer wrinkles, we’d fire it up once a week. By today's standards, we probably roasted the beans poorly (but thought they were amazing) and then panicked about selling them, paying the bills, and being found out. We quickly invested in roasting software (ditching pen and paper), quality control equipment, and most importantly, hired a skilled roaster. Our incredible customers have paid and enjoyed our coffee, and thankfully came back to buy more. Slowly but surely, we found our footing, and by 2018, it was time to scale up.
Mill City
Enter coffee roaster number two: a 30kg Mill City. It’s a beast, both in size and output. Buying the Mill City was a learning curve with its own set of challenges, as we were upgrading from a “shop roaster” to an industrial-size roaster. It arrived with US electrical specifications, which caused our eyebrows and blood pressure to rise. In short, there were some hurdles that we had to topple over before we could power it up. We managed to get everything sorted, then we had to learn a new, technical roaster. The Toper was very manual and simple, whereas the Mill City has a whole host of buttons, circuits and sensors.
While our coffee quality improved, we had to adapt our roasting profiles to the new machine as we grew the business. Our key lesson from the Mill City roaster was to always double-check instructions and plan ahead. It was a very fun time!
Loring S35 Kestrel
The third time’s a charm. Now, with the arrival of the Loring S35 Kestrel coffee roaster, we’re entering a new phase. Aside from having a name like a fighter plane, it is sleek, shiny and smooth, so it must be good. It lets us scale from ¼ bag (15-17.25kg) to ½ bag (30-34.5kg) roasts while giving us tighter control over all roast parameters. In short, we will be roasting more coffee beans in a better way.
A major and exciting change is moving from a direct heat drum roaster to a single burner convection roaster. Unlike our previous roasters with direct gas flames, the Loring uses an external burner to circulate hot air through a fixed drum. Internal paddles tumble the beans, creating a primarily convective roast. When roasted this way, coffee beans have a lot more clarity of flavour and sweetness. On top of that, the Loring S35 Kestrel coffee roaster is more efficient and eco-friendly, helping us lower our carbon footprint.
We’re incredibly excited to see where this new roaster takes us. The last 10 years have been an amazing journey, and we’re ready for the next step. As always, the proof is in the pudding, well cup, and we can't wait to hear your thoughts on the coffee we roast with the Loring. Thank you for being a part of our journey - here’s to the next chapter!