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Mirror Coffee Roasters
The Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast covers all things coffee including roasting, brewing, tasting, and business. This is a glimpse into real discussions between two brothers Sergei and Mark Kutrovski who are co-owners of Mirror Coffee Roasters.
120 | The Most Important Variable of Making Good Coffee
Coffee is mainly water with small, extracted coffee particles. Water makes up most of your beverage and depending on its alkalinity, hardness, and other factors, it could make or break a delicious coffee.
In this episode we talk about our frustrations with water, how we've adjusted our brewing and QC practices around water, and how we're planning to tackle this inconsistency moving forward.
29:0907/10/2023
119 | Why We Need Better Entrepreneurship In Cafes And Coffee Roasteries
Loving the craft behind coffee is one thing, but building a thriving business is another. Often times we hear people start coffee shops because they love it which is an absolute must when embarking on such a journey. It doesn't take long to realize that is not the only part necessary to being successful. In this episode, we dig deep into the sobering truth of running a coffee business.
34:5523/09/2023
118 | How To Build Your Coffee Career And Find Opportunities
Working in as a barista in coffee looks great from outside, but once you're in it, the job comes with many challenges and oftentimes compensated poorly. In this episode, we give practical tips on how someone can build a career in coffee and set themselves up for success and growth in the industry.
36:3216/09/2023
117 | How We Started Our Coffee Podcast and How You Can Too
With over 100 episodes recorded and over 50k streams, we break down how we started our podcast, our current gear setup right now, and why we need more media like this in the coffee industry. We hope this inspires someone to take the step of faith forward and launch their own podcast whether it's about coffee or not.
29:2809/09/2023
116 | Changing The Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Model
Here in the Pacific Northwest and especially Bellingham, WA, we have drive-thru coffee everywhere. It's become very popular and although we have so many, it's still not our preferred coffee stop which has only made us wonder what we would do if we started one.
In this podcast episode, we talk through our experiences with drive-thru coffee and a few things we would love to see changed.
30:2619/08/2023
115 | Starting A Coffee Shop: One Thing You Need To Get Ahead
Starting a coffee shop or a coffee roasting business can be difficult as it is, but you can do a few things to make it easier on yourself. In this episode we talk about the one thing we highly recommend that will launch your coffee shop business in the right direction and set you up for success.
35:0112/08/2023
114 | Why Coffee Culture In Asia Is One of The Best With Justin
Coffee culture all around the world is very different from what we experience here in the states. Since we just returned from travels in Singapore and Indonesia, we invited our friend Justin to talk about his experience in Korea, his most memorable coffee experiences there, and what makes coffee culture in Asia so special.
48:1405/08/2023
113 | The Part of Coffee Sustainability That You Don't Hear
Coffee sustainability and transparency is important, and in this episode, we debrief on our recent trip to Indonesia and the eye opening experiences we had with farmers and producers around this topic. This is a complex conversation that is far larger than a short podcast episode, but we hope this broadens your perspective and gives you something to think about with your coffee.
33:3130/07/2023
112 | What You Didn't Know About Indonesian Coffee - Featuring Taylor
We chat with Taylor, who helps produce coffee in Indonesia, about their local coffee scene, different processing methods, and why talking about coffee sustainability is not all about paying farmers more. This episode is filled with insight into coffee farming at origin and its overlap with culture.
29:3022/07/2023
111 | How To Make The Most of Iced Coffee & Cold Brew
Iced coffee and cold brew is a perfect drink for summer, but it comes with a few drawbacks. Getting optimal extraction, flavor clarity, and complex flavor can be challenging to get out of these drinks, but in this episode, we share a few practical tips on how to get the most out of your iced coffees including how we make our cold brew delicious.
30:4901/07/2023
110 | How To Brew Coffee Outdoors
Making coffee outdoors has become one of our favorite things to do. On this trip to the WA coast, we share our process and how we make coffee out in the wild during these trips. We would highly recommend trying to make coffee in the wild at least once!
25:5124/06/2023
109 | Merging New Tech With Coffee and Milk Drink Terminology with Jessica Greenwalt
Jessica Greenwalt, a creative director at Vayner3, joins us to talk about all things web3, emerging technologies, and the implications of different technology. She's also the founder of Pixelkeet and Co-Founder of Unum Game and has extensive experience with the newest technologies being developed today. We talk about espresso and milk terminology, the state of NFTs, and how we can use emerging technologies in coffee.
53:3317/06/2023
108 | Hot Takes on Coffee Industry Trends
There's so much happening in the coffee industry. This episode is our *almost* unfiltered take on a few trends we see in coffee and breaking down what we think about them. No offense is intended and we hope you can enjoy the banter.
35:3410/06/2023
107 | How Coffee Has Changed The Way We Travel
We're obsessed with coffee. Recently we realized it's now taking over our travel itineraries and has become a huge part of how we plan for trips. How has coffee changed that over the years? What do we predict might be coming in the future for coffee and travel? We talk about all of that in episode 107 of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions Podcast.
32:5503/06/2023
106 | Using Graphic Designers For Your Coffee Business With Ansley Randall
Ansley Randall is a graphic designer and mural artist based out of Florida. She's played a huge part here at Mirror Coffee Roasters by designing our new coffee bags which were released earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about her journey from barista to graphic designer and a few helpful tips on how coffee businesses can work with graphic designers to grow.
44:3527/05/2023
105 | How We Won The 2023 Canadian Comandante Championship
Comandante is known for their superior hand coffee grinders that have been seen being used on the competition stage including this year at the 2023 Brewers Cup Championships at SCA. Comandante has led their own brewing competitions for years now and this year they came to Vancouver, BC. We knew we wanted to participate, but we had no idea we'd be winning the 2023 Canadian Comandante Championship.
In this episode, we break down how the competition is run, our approach to brewing, and what this means for us as a roasting company.
37:3920/05/2023
104 | What It Takes To Compete as a US Barista Competitor With Keziah
Coffee competitions are a big part of specialty coffee. It gives those working in coffee an opportunity to showcase their passion for the craft. In this episode, we sit down with Keziah who competed this year as a US barista competitor. She talks about why she competed, her advice to others considering it, and some of her biggest takeaways from being a competitor.
40:4413/05/2023
103 | The Challenges of Starting a Coffee Roasting Business With Kyle Rowsell
Kyle Rowsell started as a YouTuber and content creator which has led him to launching his coffee roasting company called September Coffee. Kyle Rowsell opens up about starting a kickstarter, running the coffee business with his wife Natasha, and some of the challenges they have faced over the last few months. This conversation is vulnerable, encouraging, and gives you an inside look at the details that are often not seen from the outside.
Check out September Coffee: https://september.coffee
39:0706/05/2023
102 | Going Viral on TikTok With Coffee And Spreading Positivity With Tanner Colson
Tanner Colson started by creating coffee content on TikTok a few years back without much expectation of going viral. Little did he know that this was just the beginning to viral TikToks, a following of over 1 million, and doing what he loves for work. We discuss what it's like to go viral and how to use your following to add value and positivity to the world.
59:1829/04/2023
101 | Taking Coffee From Sample Roast to Production Roast
Sourcing and roasting coffee are two very important aspects of a roasting company. Once you've sourced a really delicious coffee, how do you transfer that into a production roast? In this episode, we share our process from cupping sample roasts to carrying it over into a production roast we're satisfied with.
32:4522/04/2023
100 | Our Favorite Moments on Our Coffee Podcast & Where All This Is Going
Our coffee podcast just hit 100 episodes. What initially felt like a side project of our roasting company now has become one of our favorite parts of our whole operation. On episode 100, we reflect back on our favorite moments on the podcast, how impactful this community of listeners has become, and dreaming big about the future of the podcast.
34:2715/04/2023
99 | What Sets A Coffee Roaster Apart For Coffee Drinkers
What sets a coffee roasting company apart from others? As home baristas, we've noticed that everyone claims to roast the best specialty coffee. Given how subjective coffee flavor is, is that enough to be different and stand out? In this podcast episode, we break down a few ways we think coffee roasters can stand out and provide more value to coffee drinkers and home baristas.
36:0408/04/2023
98 | What We Found From Blindly Tasting Over 60 Coffees & 14 Coffee Roasters At Once
This week, we blindly cupped over 60 coffees and 14 coffee roasters all at once. There were many delicious coffees on the table which was very fun to taste and experience the many flavor profiles they had to offer. Apart from enjoying all these coffees, this was a big learning experience. Every roaster and every coffee had a piece of data and information that we could learn from. In this coffee podcast episode, we go over the main takeaways from this cupping and how you can start learning from similar experiences.
26:0401/04/2023
97 | Taking Risks, AI And Coffee, Family Work Balance (Q&A)
This is another Q&A podcast episode with really incredible questions ranging from taking risks as a coffee roasting business, the influence of AI on the coffee industry, and how coffee has impacted our family dynamics. The coffee questions as well as the more personal questions really made us think deeply about these topics and challenged us. We had so many really great questions and we're looking forward to answering the others we didn't get to in the coming podcasts.
53:2225/03/2023
96 | How To Source And Manage Green Coffee For Peak Flavor
One of the challenges of having a coffee roasting business is green coffee buying. How you buy green coffee will define the quality level of your finished product. In today's podcast, we dive into how we balance green coffee inventory with coffee harvest seasons from origin to origin. Although there's a lot of nuance to this conversation, we did our best to cover the topic and share how we've maneuvered green coffee inventory over the last few years.
34:2918/03/2023
95 | Why Our First Coffee Origin Trip Changed Us For Good
We just came back from our first coffee origin trip as a coffee roasting company. We spent the week traveling, visiting farms, connecting with our producing partners, and learning more about what it takes to turn coffee cherries into coffee beans. This was an extraordinary experience and it has so much to do with the core of what Mirror stands for. Although it's hard to put words to the whole experience, we hope this coffee podcast episode gives you a glimpse of origin!
41:4111/03/2023
94 | A Key Part To A Successful Coffee Roasting Operation
There's a lot of things that go into running a success coffee roasting operation, but we feel like there's one standout concept that is an absolute essential part to roasting delicious coffee. When we first started to crack down on systems around our roasting operation, a lot of things began to improve. It was a game changer. Tune in to this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast to hear more about the importance about systems in roasting and how that could help you in your roasting.
33:0625/02/2023
93 | Tasting One of The Most Expensive and Rarest Cups of Coffee In The World
What does one of the most expensive cup of coffees taste like? What should you expect a coffee scored at 96 to offer? Is this even necessary or beneficial to coffees at these price points sold and brewed? We answer these questions and more in this episode as we talk about our experience trying Proud Mary's Panama geisha natural called the Black Jaguar. This was by far one of the most memorable cups of coffee we've had, and there is so much to share about the experience.
44:0618/02/2023
92 | Building Coffee Gear For Home Baristas With Andrew Pernicano From Flair Espresso
On this coffee podcast episode, we have Andrew Pernicano from Flair Espresso! This was such an enjoyable conversation as we dived into the story behind Flair Espresso, how they come up with new coffee gear for home baristas, and what it's like making coffee with the Flair 58 espresso maker. Andrew shares about what he's noticing amongst home baristas and coffee enthusiasts, and what they're working on in this upcoming year.
01:11:0411/02/2023
91 | Why We Get Bored In Coffee
Coffee is one of our biggest passions we're pursuing and see ourselves continuing to go after it for the next decade. The craft behind coffee is both challenging and rewarding at the same time. That being said, do we ever get bored of coffee? In this podcast episode, we talk about the boring, monotonous parts of coffee that are often not talked about.
30:1028/01/2023
90 | Changing The Coffee Experience - Our 15 Month Project
The coffee experience at home or in a cafe is far more than just coffee flavor. It's a collective of aesthetics, visuals, aromas, sounds, and more. For over a year now, we've been planning and working on creating a unique experience for those who want to enjoy our coffees. From the website to the packaging, this is a creative expression of both of us, and we can't wait to share this with you.
40:4721/01/2023
89 | Finding Your Coffee Roasting Style & Flavor Preference
How you roast coffee is a huge determiner of what your coffee will taste like. Although there are plenty of other variables at work that can arguably impact taste more than roasting, how a roaster approaches the process defines the outcome. What can get tricky is the subjective preferences that play a huge role in the roasting approach we create. In this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast, we dive into what a coffee roasting style is and how that is affected by taste preference.
30:2814/01/2023
88 | Dealing With Weaknesses In Our Coffee Roasting Company
Running a coffee business as taught us a lot about each other as well as ourselves. That includes our strengths but also our weaknesses, insecurities, pain points, and things we wish we wouldn't have to confront. On this podcast episode, we dive into the intimidating moments of having to face these uncomfortable parts, but also how we use them to leverage unstoppable growth. This is not just for business owners. This is something we all face at different stages of life.
34:0407/01/2023
87 | What's Coming For The Coffee Industry In 2023
On this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast, we wrap up 2022 with one last episode talking about the what we predict will happen in the coffee industry in 2023. The coffee industry is growing and changing fairly quickly and as we observe some of the growing trends we've seen, there's a few things that we believe will only become more common in the upcoming year. On the other hand, with rumors of a recession looming, there is a feeling of uncertainty for the next 12 months.
33:1631/12/2022
86 | How We Approached Roasting A Mystery, Limited Quantity Coffee
How do you roast a coffee you have little information about, limited quantity of, and it needs to be done within a short timeline? A few weeks ago we were approached by our good friends and partners in coffee about doing a very limited run roast of a special coffee for them. Our roasting knowledge and skill was put to the test and in this episode we talk through some of the ideas we wrestled with as we dialed in and roasted this coffee.
Coffee Roaster based in Bellingham, WA
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
33:1423/12/2022
85 | The Coffees You Should Have Tried In 2022
Exceptional coffees should be celebrated. After all, the work it takes to grow, produce, process, roast, and brew is all for the sake of a delicious cup of coffee. In today's episode, we reflect on the amazing coffees we wish everyone had the opportunity to taste. These are coffees that inspired us to pursue excellence. These are some of our favorite coffees of the year along with a few roasters we recommend you try!
27:5417/12/2022
84 | Why You Should and Shouldn't Start A Business With Family
Starting a business with family has both negative and positive connotation behind it. There bad stories we hear about business and money destroying relationships in families are very real, but it's not all bad. Although it comes with its unique set of difficulties, there are a handful of benefits worth mentioning. In this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast, we talk about what its like running Mirror Coffee Roasters as brothers, the challenges we've faced, and the advantage it has brought to our business.
35:2903/12/2022
83 | Our Go To Favorite Podcasts and How Podcasts Are Changing Culture
Podcasting and listening to podcasts have become nearly as common as listening to music. Podcasts have become a resource of education, entertainment, storytelling, and a form of journalism. Even though it has many similarities to an AM station on your radio, it has many differences that have made it seamlessly integrate with culture. On this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast we talk about our favorite podcasts and how podcasts are changing how we live, think, and learn.
37:5427/11/2022
82 | How To Buy Coffee For Your Coffee Shop, Coffee Cart, Or Business
You've decided to start your coffee shop, coffee cart or buy coffee for your restaurant or employees at your business. The question we've seen come up over and over again is how and where do I buy coffee beans. Although this may seem like common sense, in some cases this could make or break a cafe or business. In this episode, we talk through how we would approach buying coffee and what you should be aware of in the process.
31:1819/11/2022
81 | Holiday Blends And Buying Your First Home Espresso Machine
On this Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast episode, we talk about holiday blends and buying your first home espresso machine. Sergei recently picked up a lever machine for home which he's been wanting for a while, however, it wasn't quite everything he expected. His experience with his first home espresso machine over the last several weeks gave him some insight on why someone would want to get a machine for home use and what you should consider when buying a machine for your home.
Coffee Roaster based in Bellingham, WA
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
37:5712/11/2022
80 | Home Baristas Are Pushing Innovation In The Coffee Industry
When it comes to making coffee, we tend to lean towards putting an emphasis on the basics of brewing. It's easy to overcomplicate coffee extraction, different brewers, and entertaining speculations so much that we lose the basics that get us most of the results. On the other hand, if it wasn't for the desire to push the boundaries of what's possible and obsess over the details, we would be very far behind where we are now. Thanks to the rise of a niche group of folks, innovation is being encouraged more and more in our industry.
Coffee Roaster based in Bellingham, WA
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
29:2305/11/2022
79 | One Tip That Will Make You A Better Coffee Roaster
How do you get better at coffee roasting? This can be a difficult question to answer because there are so many variables at play and the lack of resources available online make this slightly complicated. Over the years, we've learned one thing that has truly transformed our roasting approach. It's something that could be adapted by nearly anyone regardless of machine, roasting style, or coffee being roasted. This turned out to be a really great episode that we enjoyed recording!
Based in Bellingham, WA
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
31:2829/10/2022
78 | What Baristas and Guests Are Not Getting From Their Coffee Shops
What keeps baristas and coffee drinkers coming back to coffee shops? Although both show up for different reasons, why they choose to stick around for the long run have some similarities. It quickly gets messy when those needs are not met and taken cared of. Tune in to this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast as we break down what we think can improve the coffee shop experience for both coffee drinkers and baristas.
We're a coffee roasting company based in Bellingham, WA
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
31:1715/10/2022
77 | Coffee Fest PNW Recap, Fellow Stagg Kettle, XBloom, and More
It's been an eventful week. Coffee Fest PNW happened which was emotional, community driven, and a celebration of craft. There was also a handful of new coffee gear, like the Fellow Stagg Kettle, xBloom brewer, and melodrip, being released and announced to the public which we wanted to talk about.
Shop Our Coffee: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0JFSdEj_yV43g0-d_WfNTQ
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
37:3508/10/2022
76 | Should You Attend Coffee Fest and Other Coffee Events?
This week we had Coffee Fest Seattle and this year is the 30th anniversary of Coffee Fest. Coffee Fest isn't the only event for coffee enthusiasts and those who contribute to the industry. It's hard to put into words the experience, excitement, and impact these events have on coffee community.
In this episode, we chat about why you should consider going and the value that they offer for the coffee community.
28:3302/10/2022
75 | Are Coffee Beans Worth The Price You're Paying?
There's nothing quite like buying a bag of coffee and being disappointed with the results. Although flavor plays a huge role in this, there's another factor we don't always think about which is price. Should a higher cost coffee come with higher quality expectations? What happens when that expectation isn't met? We've been on both ends of the spectrum. We've been disappointed with bags of coffee we've bought from roasters, and we also understand the nuance of being the ones sourcing and roasting coffee.
In this episode, we take a dive into this challenging conversation that we've had many times both as home brewers but also as roasters.
28:4125/09/2022
74 | Coffee Tasting For Beginners - How To Taste Flavor Notes
Coffee might just taste like coffee to you. The idea of tasting flavor notes in coffee might sound both overwhelming and impossible, but we've all been there at some point. That's what inspired this podcast episode to begin with! We wanted to share a simple guide on how to approach tasting your everyday coffee, and what you can be thinking about as you dive into this hobby. There's a lot more to it than what we covered here, however, this should get you drinking your morning brew a little differently.
We hope you enjoy this episode. Share this with someone who might find this helpful!
29:0018/09/2022
73 | Green Coffee Buying, Burn Out, Learning to Roast Coffee ( Q&A )
This week we're doing a Q&A podcast episode. On Instagram, we asked folks to ask us questions we can cover on the podcast, and we got some really good topics that were hard to answer in such short time. We had questions about direct green coffee buying, how to learn coffee roasting, what are good cafe manager qualities, and so much more. We enjoyed making this episode and hope you get value out of this conversation!
45:5527/08/2022
72 | Pros & Cons of Dark Roast Coffee
The flavor difference between a light roast coffee and a dark roast coffee are substantial. Unfortunately, dark roasted coffee has some weight and negativity attached leaving many coffee roasters around the world, especially those leaning on the lighter side of the spectrum, completely abandoning that approach to roasting. Like most things, there are both pros and cons.
In this episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions podcast, we talk about a topic we don't hear discussed enough which is dark roast coffee.
Based in Bellingham, WA and shipping!
Shop Our Coffee & Apparel: https://bit.ly/36gPLRU
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/
Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MirrorCoffeeRoasters
28:4320/08/2022
71 | Three Things That Change The Coffee Experience Outside of Flavor
Many of us have had a coffee enlightenment at some point in our lives. That moment you taste your first natural process Ethiopian, and you realize the bitter, instant coffee you grew up on was falling short of an amazing coffee experience. The complex flavor of coffee is why we're so meticulous about farming, processing, roasting, and brewing. On the other hand, we've realized that it has become so much more than just a great tasting coffee.
In this podcast episode of the Coffee Roaster Warm Up Sessions, we talk about three things that completely change the daily coffee experience outside of flavor.
32:5013/08/2022