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Roasting Plant Coffee Company
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:21 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
This is a post about a retail coffee roasting thing that I had never seen before. It’s a series of posts with lots of pictures, but I think you’re gonna like it… I was on a business trip to NYC last week. In our work session, one of the guys told me that if I was really into coffee, I just had to see a new retail concept just opened. Ok, I said, let’s go. We pulled up in front of Roasting Plant Coffee... dg
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:23 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
There is a fluid bed roaster in the storefront window!! Whoa.
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:23 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
I walk to the front door, and I see espresso machines (superautomatics), but with weird tubes…
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:24 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
I get a better look at that roaster. You can see the beans spouting – outstanding!
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:25 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Now I get a better look at the espresso machine, well, machines, as the counter island has three (3) of them. They are video-screen-driven supercharged versions of the cappuccino, hot chocolate, latte machines mashed up with superautomatic espresso machines.
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:25 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Now what about those tubes coming out of the machines? The tubes all emanate from a central point in the ceiling.
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:26 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Then, I notice the beautiful series of tubes along the wall – greens by origin on the left and roasted by the same origins on the right. Sulawesi, Kenya, Harar, Costa Rica, HHT, etc.
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 5:27 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Now for the part that blew my mind: the green bean inventory, the roaster, the roasted bean inventory and the brewing machines are all interconnected with vacuum tubes! Holy Cow. Yep, that’s right. 1. A computer-controlled vacuum loads the green beans from the inventory tubes on the wall. 2. The airbed roaster works its magic based on computer driven profiles. 3. When the roast is done, the vacuum immediately blasts the beans over the roasted inventory tubes on the wall. Here they sit until needed. 4. When a customer orders a coffee drink, the vacuum moves just the right amount of beans from the bottom of the inventory tubes through the ceiling tubes to the espresso machine, where the superautomatic grinds, tamps and brews into the waiting cup! If a customer orders a “regular coffee”, then they are served an Americano. But wait, this gets even crazier! You can request your own blend – up to four bean origins!! The computer screen allows an selection of up to four equally weighted components for each shot. Unbelievable. I can order a S.O. Harrar espresso, or I can get a Brazil, Sumatra and Yirga blended shot. There are, of course, standard presets for the house espresso blend (which is what I tried.) If you want a pound to go, you can pull it from the gravity-fed spouts on the fronts of the tubes. They also sell all manner of frozen, iced, blended drinks, typical home brewing equipment, roasted beans by the pound, and frozen gelatos and ice creams. Affogato al caffe, anyone? Below is the photo showing the roaster, the green/roasted storage tubes and the vacuum-fed super automatic espresso/drink maker. Turns out this is the brainchild of Mike Caswell, an industrial engineer and former Starbucks executive, and is called the Roasting Plant Javabot (tm). Here is the link to their company site, and better pics than mine. http://www.roastingplant.com/ Just HAD to share… DavidG p.s. They have 2 locations, per their website. I visited the one at the intersection of 7th Ave, West 11th St and Greenwich Ave. in the West Village.
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Edited by DavidG on 04/25/2010 5:32 PM |
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seedlings |
Posted on 04/25/2010 9:07 PM
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1 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 4226 Joined: June 27, 2007 |
Baristas can now sympathize with bank tellers. What a phenomenal concept and execution. I don't see a lot of customers in the pictures... would be a shame if they had to fold this concept! Great post David! CHAD Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500 Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover |
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/25/2010 9:43 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Quote seedlings wrote: Baristas can now sympathize with bank tellers. Laughing so hard I am coughing! I tried to avoid getting customers in the photos... hard to do in NYC on a sunny Friday. The place had quite a few people in it, and both the real estate rep and the manager on duty said that they were steadily "converting" from the *$ half a block away. europiccola | yama + coryrod | chemex | AP | clever
wbp1 | wepp1 | bm/hg | co hybrid (still coming soon...) |
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beanflying |
Posted on 04/26/2010 3:20 AM
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![]() 1/4 Pounder ![]() Posts: 56 Joined: April 23, 2010 |
Technically an awesome achievement but the all important thing how was the brown stuff coming out of the superautos or was it average like they normally are :( Exhibit A is below from their website Slightly seriously unless all the beans get turned over fairly constantly how is the exposure to repeated bursts of low pressure and air generally going to accelerate the beans going off? ![]() Edited by beanflying on 04/26/2010 3:25 AM My name is Tim and I have a coffee equipment addiction problem :)
Two Hottops - modded TJ 067 Electric 1kg 5+years old Insert new 5-8kg Roaster here urgently ![]() |
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Unta |
Posted on 04/26/2010 9:51 AM
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![]() 1 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 788 Joined: January 26, 2010 |
...RADICAL IDEA...
Edited by Unta on 04/26/2010 10:00 AM Sean Harrington
educate. |
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/26/2010 11:13 AM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Quote beanflying wrote: Technically an awesome achievement but the all important thing how was the brown stuff coming out of the superautos or was it average like they normally are :( Exhibit A is below from their website Slightly seriously unless all the beans get turned over fairly constantly how is the exposure to repeated bursts of low pressure and air generally going to accelerate the beans going off? Tim, Great questions. Also, how much rest do the tubed beans get? For espresso, this can be delicate, as we all know. For grabbing a bagged pound for drip-brew, not as much. First impression was a superauto shot served in a small paper cup. The house blend 'spro was average, at best. The crema was thin, more blond/white than I like, and the body rather flat. However, most serious espresso shops in NYC as a rule serve 1 oz shots using the double-sized portafilter -- powerful, syrupy wonderfulness (maybe my 6 shop tour deserves it's own thread!). So, in comparison to what I had been drinking that day, these were thin and lacked the potency of the standard ristretto (forgive me if I err on the technical 'spro words). On the other hand, and to their credit, most of the shots would be meeting milk, ice, whipped cream, flavor, etc., before being tasted. So, from that standpoint, consistent production and perfectly good quality. The part that still blows my mind is that the customer is given the blending choices, if they want, up to four origin components. I think, given enough time, I would line up 12 shots to taste all the differences/combinations. How much fun would that be! (On second thought, other customers might think it off-putting to see a wild-eyed blond guy explosively slurping on 12 espresso shots only to spit them out! ![]() David europiccola | yama + coryrod | chemex | AP | clever
wbp1 | wepp1 | bm/hg | co hybrid (still coming soon...) |
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ginny |
Posted on 04/26/2010 2:37 PM
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![]() Founder ![]() Posts: 3476 Joined: October 24, 2005 |
GREAT POST David: awesome pictures and ideas. how does it taste? looks like my favorite Brew Pub in Booneville, CA. ginny thanks for taking time to post this along with pictures. we are getting ready to open our Photo Albums so you can do it all at once. ![]() ![]() Edited by ginny on 04/26/2010 2:38 PM |
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Unta |
Posted on 04/26/2010 2:46 PM
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![]() 1 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 788 Joined: January 26, 2010 |
how many people were working in the shop, and what was there level of education. looks like you might be able to save on baristas in exchange for engineers..![]() Sean Harrington
educate. |
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/26/2010 8:36 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Quote ginny wrote: thanks for taking time to post this along with pictures. we are getting ready to open our Photo Albums so you can do it all at once. Ginny, I thought the issue was me... the other day, I set up my facebook public album to link multiple photos here at HRO to the same post. But, for the life of me, I couldn't get it to work. Maybe I need to use photobucket or some such other cloud album. So, I prewrote the narrative and posted them up one after the other... let us know when any upgrade goes live... oh, and thanks for your kind words. DavidG Edited by DavidG on 04/26/2010 8:51 PM europiccola | yama + coryrod | chemex | AP | clever
wbp1 | wepp1 | bm/hg | co hybrid (still coming soon...) |
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DavidG |
Posted on 04/26/2010 8:57 PM
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![]() 1/2 Pounder ![]() Posts: 216 Joined: April 20, 2009 |
Quote Unta wrote: how many people were working in the shop, and what was there level of education. looks like you might be able to save on baristas in exchange for engineers... Exactly, Sean. I asked the manager on duty who had the best latte art -- he said sheepishly, "well, we're all still working at it..." Apparently, they are still working out the kinks in having the superautos also steam and froth the milk. Does that make it a superduperauto? Then, it really is just a push button deal, once the whole thing is dialed in. Staff was a younger crowd -- exactly the same folks you'd see at your local *$. DG europiccola | yama + coryrod | chemex | AP | clever
wbp1 | wepp1 | bm/hg | co hybrid (still coming soon...) |
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