* * * * roasting beans at broadway * * * *

        Roasting at the Broadway Roasting Company is done on our original Drum Roaster, an IR12 Diedrich Roaster, built by hand by craftsmen in Sandpoint, Idaho. When we started the search for a Roasting machine, we talked to many manufacturers, and Stephan Diedrich had the credentials. Growing up on a coffee plantation in Guatemala, Stephen knows coffee. His father started building roasters in Guatemala, and later moved to Southern California, to import coffee from the farmers he had befriended all over Central America. Stephen took over the company years later. His thorough knowledge and passion for the best green coffee impressed me greatly when looking into which roaster would be the best for our pursuit of roasting the best Espresso Blend.

        The IR12 employs infrared heating tiles that cradle the drum as the coffee is roasting. This gentle heat transfer from the drum to the beans allows us to achieve a much slower roast time, to achieve the wonderful, sweet, body our Espresso is known for. Other roasters either use a roasting machine that puts a straight flame on the drum, which makes it hard to control the "hot spots" on the drum resulting in an uneven roast, or an air-roaster, who can’t really change or control anything during the roasting process.

        Roasting at the Broadway is done by Head Roaster Brian Phillips. Starting as a wholesale account using Broadway Espresso at his downtown coffee cart, Brian refined his techniques as a Barista. When he was tapped to replace our three part- time roasters, he decided to close the cart and apprentice as a roaster at the Broadway. Brian brings an understanding of what our wholesale accounts need, on an order to order basis, as well as a passion for coffee.

        Each coffee is roasted to it’s perfect point, then carefully blended, proportions are based on the different coffees and their job in the blend. Detailed notes are kept on time and temperature, weight loss, and temperature curves. This is a much more time consuming way of roasting, but we feel yields a much more complex, consistent coffee, very important for an excellent Espresso Blend. Coffee roasting is part Science, part Art. You must understand the chemical changes that are happening during the roasting process, should I reduce the flame at this point, increase/decrease airflow, all these things become very important in the final stages of the roast. Only then can the Roastmaster know when to "Drop the Coffee," when to stop the coffee from roasting too far, crossing the line from having an exceptionally delicate flavor and aroma, to a charred blackened bean. This is how the Art of Roasting is perfected every day at the Broadway Roasting Company. An Experiment in Passion, from the bean to the cup.


		home café espresso contact order at Broadway Roasting Company 4012 Washington Kansas City, MO 64111 816-931-9955 info. 816-931-4325 orders Now Open Mon-Fri 7:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Sat-Sun 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Roasting at the Broadway Roasting Company is done on our original Drum Roaster, an IR12 Diedrich Roaster, built by hand by craftsmen in Sandpoint, Idaho. When we started the search for a Roasting machine, we talked to many manufacturers, and Stephan Diedrich had the credentials. Growing up on a coffee plantation in Guatemala, Stephen knows coffee. His father started building roasters in Guatemala, and later moved to Southern California, to import coffee from the farmers he had befriended all over Central America. Stephen took over the company years later. His thorough knowledge and passion for the best green coffee impressed me greatly when looking into which roaster would be the best for our pursuit of roasting the best Espresso Blend. The IR12 employs infrared heating tiles that cradle the drum as the coffee is roasting. This gentle heat transfer from the drum to the beans allows us to achieve a much slower roast time, to achieve the wonderful, sweet, body our Espresso is known for. Other roasters either use a roasting machine that puts a straight flame on the drum, which makes it hard to control the "hot spots" on the drum resulting in an uneven roast, or an air-roaster, who can’t really change or control anything during the roasting process. Roasting at the Broadway is done by Head Roaster Brian Phillips. Starting as a wholesale account using Broadway Espresso at his downtown coffee cart, Brian refined his techniques as a Barista. When he was tapped to replace our three part- time roasters, he decided to close the cart and apprentice as a roaster at the Broadway. Brian brings an understanding of what our wholesale accounts need, on an order to order basis, as well as a passion for coffee. Each coffee is roasted to it’s perfect point, then carefully blended, proportions are based on the different coffees and their job in the blend. Detailed notes are kept on time and temperature, weight loss, and temperature curves. This is a much more time consuming way of roasting, but we feel yields a much more complex, consistent coffee, very important for an excellent Espresso Blend. Coffee roasting is part Science, part Art. You must understand the chemical changes that are happening during the roasting process, should I reduce the flame at this point, increase/decrease airflow, all these things become very important in the final stages of the roast. Only then can the Roastmaster know when to "Drop the Coffee," when to stop the coffee from roasting too far, crossing the line from having an exceptionally delicate flavor and aroma, to a charred blackened bean. This is how the Art of Roasting is perfected every day at the Broadway Roasting Company. An Experiment in Passion, from the bean to the cup.