When I was young, my dad taught me a coffee-making ritual that involved Cafe Bustelo and a Mokka pot, in order to make him a quadruple espresso every morning and bring it to him as he was getting ready for work. I grew up thinking that's what coffee should be - hot, black, strong and bold. Over the years, my tastes have not changed very much. It was a common bond that Dad and I shared for several decades, and some of my most cherished memories are rooted in shared cups of coffee with that bold, bracing impact. Most of my deepest friendships and, indeed,  years of happiness with my beautiful wife, are rooted in shared cups of coffee. 

When my dad died in 2015, I set out to find coffee that was like that coffee that we  shared together, but "gourmet", whole-bean versions of this sort of ultra-dark roast were very hard to find. So, I started to learn how to roast my own coffee, taking classes, reading articles, working for coffee roasting companies and trying over and over again to create that special profile. After 2 years of  learning and persisting in the face of critical opposition (pretty much every roaster I have ever worked with has told me that the way I want to roast my coffee so dark and so bold is "wrong" or "bad"), I felt I had a roasting profile that got it right - dark. bold, smooth, delicious. I was confident enough in the results that I decided to put my name on the label, and Rob's Roast Coffees was born. 

Of course, I have learned how to roast hundreds of different beans from all over the world, and not all of them are suited to a bold, dark roast and not every coffee drinker likes their coffee the way I like it. So, I have continued to learn to roast across the full spectrum of coffee profiles, sampling, tasting, monitoring and listening to feedback every step of the way. I continue to research and explore the wonderful world of coffee sourcing and preparation.

This chapter of Rob's Roast Coffee is the one where I reach out to you to share personal tastes, share knowledge, dispel misconceptions and continue explorations together, one delicious cup of coffee at a time.