To roast or not to roast, that is the question

Commercial roasting, in my eyes is nothing less than an art form. Not only does it takes years of experience and palette refinement to master this tricky trade but the job itself is full time. Aside from the actual roasting process which is lengthy and painstaking, being an excellent coffee roaster involves sourcing the finest quality beans you can find, often involving lots of travel to far flung areas of the globe. It's not something to take on lightly. Substantial time, money and personal investment is necessary to get it right.

Time, money and personal investment are resources I have dedicated to the set-up and management of Palomino Espresso. I cannot possibly hope to be the best coffee roaster out there. Sydney has some serious quality in the roasting market. Businesses that live and breathe the whole coffee roasting process and concentrate on nothing other than sourcing, roasting and delivering first class beans, and I want my coffee shop to use those first class beans.

I felt my business would be over-burdened, with roasting to add to the list of things to perfect. As i've said before Palomino Espresso is about the whole experience. Therefore my 'list' already includes yummy homemade food, friendly welcoming service, exceptional coffee made by skilled barista's and all in comfortable, aesthetic setting.

Palomino Espresso will be a collaborative cafe whereby I source the best people, suppliers and ingredients in any given area. I want the best bakers to provide my bread, I want the freshest fruit and veg from the markets to use in my menu and I want only the finest most passionate roasters to supply Palomino Espresso with its beans.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the guys that do roast their beans in house. The likes of Mecca and Double Roasters consistently produce amazing coffee and I rate them both highly (see top 5 Sydney cafes). But for my coffee shop as a single owner and wanting an emphasis on food and service as well as coffee, sourcing the best of the already top quality roasters out there is the optimum approach to bring you a chief cuppa.

Thanks for reading my little speech on this subject. Next up is a full account of my day at Morgans Handcrafted Coffee and why they are my chosen roasters!