5THWAVE Podcast - Forward-thinking series examining the business of progressive coffee culture

8 March 2024 | 46 mins

Episode 103: Optimising roastery equipment for success

In today's episode we're continuing our series on the business of coffee roasting and focusing on the essential infrastructure required for a successful roastery.

We'll speak with Scott Stouffer, Chief Sales Officer, Probat and Andreas Idl, CEO & Founder, Cropster to get an overview of the roasting equipment market globally and find out how technology and AI can be used to improve coffee consistency and quality.

We'll also speak with Brian Rice, Roaster, Counter Culture Coffee and Simo Kristidhi, Production and Logistics Manager, Solberg & Hansen about the essential pieces of equipment and technology needed when setting up a roastery and how to optimise the space for efficiency.

Credits music: "Merry Go Around" by The Velvet Fuzz in association with The Coffee Music Project and SEB Collective

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Guests

Scott Stouffer

Chief Sales Officer, Probat

Scott Stouffer studied Chemical Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. During his career, Stouffer has held positions at GE Plastics, Kraft Foods, Starbucks, and Probat, Inc. Stouffer joined PROBAT in October 2022 as the Chief Sales Officer responsible for all global sales and project management.

Andreas Idl

CEO & Co-founder, Cropster

Andreas Idl founded Cropster with his two business partners in the mid-2000’s after working in agricultural research in Colombia. They spotted a gap in the market to provide software and tools to help producers and roasters create consistently high-quality coffee, and now also offer tools for the cafe end of the supply chain.

Brian Rice

Roaster, Counter Culture Coffee

Brian Rice is a coffee professional with over three decades of experience in the coffee industry. A barista turned music editor turned roaster, Rice joined Counter Culture Coffee in 2017 and works on the roasting team headquartered at the business’ Durham roastery in North Carolina, USA.

Simo Kristidhi

Production and Logistics Manager, Solberg & Hansen

Simo Kristidhi is Production and Logistics Manager at Solberg & Hansen - the largest and oldest specialty coffee roastery in Norway, established in 1879. Kristidhi has been with the business for 20 years and is the four-time Norwegian Roasting Champion and placed 2^nd at World Coffee Roasting Championship 2022.