Bernard Smith from Vivace Coffee Roasters is our featured member in The Roast
Earliest coffee experience. When I was about 7 years old going to my parents roastery and jumping on the coffee sacks
Why I got into coffee. My parents owned a coffee roastery and take home coffee shop. I started work there when I was in my early 20’s
What led to becoming a roaster. I took over doing the roasting a few years after starting in the family business which was called Browne & Heaton Ltd
What we roast on. We have a 75kg Probat reconditioned by IMS in Germany, and a Stonka sample roaster which can do from 300gms down to 100 gms. I also have my original toper 5kg but don’t use it. It needs a good service and some modification
Roasting Tool. We had a photovolt colour reader which just broke down and have replaced it with a Javalytics. I love the Javalytics it seems much more accurate than the photovolt and we can read the outside bean colour as well as the ground sample. Wouldn’t be without it.
Most rewarding. When the coffee is tasting great
Typical day’s work. I collect the mail on the way to work. Arrive in the office and check emails, cup the coffee from the previous days roasting, then I either go out and have coffee at a clients café or have on inhouse. Either a flat white or a long black. If it’s a busy roasting day I will take over for an hour while Sam our roaster has a break. In the afternoon attend to the many various jobs that pop up
Roles outside roasting. Cupping coffee, bookwork, tax obligations gst paye etc
Origin trips, Have not been to any farms that we get coffee from, but have been to Kona in Hawaii and went to a few farms, one which also roasted there own. The B&B we stayed at had about 300 coffee trees. Also been to small coffee farm in the Philippines. The coffee tree in our café currently has about 120 cherries on it, does that count?
Fire stories. Had a few in my time but can’t say to much incase my insurance broker reads this.