Roasting: Why Does It Matter?

You may have heard that fresh coffee is always best. Unfortunately, that statement is only a half truth. Fresh roasted coffee will always taste better than stale coffee (which is what most people drink), but that doesn’t mean it’s good coffee. A lot of coffee shops will buy the cheapest unroasted coffee they can find, and sell it to you at a premium because it’s “fresh roasted.” It’s really sneaky.

I can go now and buy some really low-quality green coffee for $2.30 a pound. In fact, that’s what I used to practice with while I got used to the controls on my most recent roaster. I could slap a $20 price tag on a pound bag of those, call it “Fresh roasted, artisan coffee,” and run off into the sunset with your money. Sure, it will taste better than the stale stuff you buy from most places, but just because coffee is “more tolerable” does not mean it’s good.

I let some of my family try some of those low-quality beans and was praised for how much better they tasted than local shops and coffee beans. It made me sad that beans like that have become the standard when there’s so much better out there.

One thing that I’ve found after chatting with some of the few coffee roasters who truly care about the craft is this: the vast majority of roasters buy low quality coffee out of negligence or padding their profits. They spend so much money on their location and a trendy atmosphere and advertising that they skimp where it matters—the quality of their coffee and their knowledge of the craft.

These low-quality coffees make it into your favorite shops, because most people would prefer trendy marketing and branding than they would an actual good cup. It’s really unfortunate.

Myth & Ember is not a roastery that’s going to hand a fake diamond and call it real. We buy the best quality beans we can from some of the best suppliers and farms in the world. We tailor each and every roast to those high-quality coffees to bring out the absolute best flavors. Because of this, we can give you coffee with confidence that we have done everything to give you the best roasted coffee we possibly can. We’re not here to pull the wool over your eyes. We take a lot of pride in what we serve and love seeing other people enjoy the experience of a truly delicious cup of coffee.