The beloved Roaster's Log

Most roasters like to log little bits of information constantly, methodically and sometimes obsessively during the day. If you happen by the roaster's station...hoping for a chat or a "whatdya do this weekend?" type of howdy, you may find him/her stopping in mid-sentance to jot down a digit on a spreadsheet. They may punctuate it with a comment under their breath, ... "dang, running hot today..."

The roasting log may just be a page of numbers to you, but to me and a lot of other roasters, it is the text book we are writing to ourselves.... our oracle, our memoirs.

Oh my roast log...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. You show me the way: A fellow roaster goes to lunch and I take over. I read his day so far, I know where to go because I know where we've been.

2. You show me the coffee: sumatra and java will run off like a bat outta hell at the end if I don't ease up. I'm babying the Ethiopia natural, starting it off easy.

3. You remind me of the season: It's summer and the times can go faster. The Guatemala is new and super green...look at the drying times. It's rainy, a low-pressure day... watch the smoke fall in the street. Look out for neighbors.

4. You give me the history of a region: My logs from 1993 and 2003 show me very different stories about Jamaica Blue Mountain.

5. You tell me the truth: someone said they cleaned the fan and stacks....hmmm, still kinda sluggish.....liar!

(Chris insert picture of Tonx's log here, because
I don't have one of my own)


If it weren't for you, my lovely log, I'd be nothing! (and I'd know even less)