Interview with Luke - No Coffee No Life
No Coffee No Life - Interview
Luke has just launched a blog talking with coffee roasters all around the UK, doing interviews and Q&A's , and we have been put in the spotlight as the first featured roaster of many to come!
You can check out Luke's interview with Zach below and find more of Luke's work on Instagram @n0coffeenonlife
Plus check out Luke's awesome original artwork!
1) What is your roaster setup, Model, company?
@diedrichroasters IR-12
2) What do you like about this model or company?
I've worked with most of the different roasting manufacturers out there and in all honesty, I can't say any one roaster is better than the other, it's all down to personal preference.
I personally really enjoy roasting with Diedrichs because of their simplicity and ease to clean, on the roasting side they have amazing thermal energy retention in the drum which is great for my day to day roasting but also really useful for doing profile experiments.
3) Your favorite brew method?
I really love the clean brews I can get from brewing a V60 and also generally more consistent.
4) Based on advice given to you or your experience from what you have learned over 100's or 1000's of roasts what is:
A) a great general roasting tip or trick?
Cup everything! Every single batch of coffee you roast make sure to cup it and analyse it, where could it be improved?
B) a more specific tip or trick?
I used to get a lot of questions when consulting about why one batch would differ to the next throughout a roasting day and the answer would usually be, between batch protocol, make sure you're doing the exact same thing from when one batch drops to the next going in, same amount of time left, gas and airflow settings, etc. Consistency is key!
5) What does coffee mean to you?
Coffee to me, is an incredible global community. We get the opportunity to connect and work with amazing people all over the world and be able to help one another do better things.
6) Your green bean supplier , if you have one.
I work with several suppliers for various different things, I've built up some great relationships over the years with suppliers who know the sort of coffees I'm hunting for and for their purpose.
My main ones are @olamcoffee , @
7) If you could drink only one style of roasted coffee the rest of your life... or from a specific farm for the rest of your life what would it be?
Colombia - Villa Maria; it's actually a washing station cooperative made of 60+ smallholders.
8) If you could have any roasting related question solidly answered once and for all what would it be?
How can we make the roasting process collectively better for the environment?
9) Favourite colour?
How can we make the roasting process collectively better for the environment?
9) Favourite colour?
Yellow
10) Favourite flavour or aroma in coffee or general?
Coffee - Grape
General - Cheese
11) At the end of the day we all want to feel fulfilled, maybe this means doing something with intention , meaning, somehow making a difference or maybe it's just making money. What does fulfilment & happiness mean to you?
I think it's a few different things, being able to positively affect other peoples lives, creating sustainable living and just enjoying everything you do.
12) Hobbies outside of coffee?
I've been a drummer for about 15 years now and play in a punk/rock band called DAVES.
I've been getting big into film and 35mm photography over the last couple of years and then I've also started playing Dungeons & Dragons with a group of friends since the start of the year which has been really fun through this whole pandemic.
13) Any other roaster you would like to give a shout out to that we should check out.
Ooh there's a few! @fortitudecoffee roasters in Edinburgh, @deargreen in Glasgow and @crafthousecoffee in Sussex!
Zach was gracious enough to share with us the roast profile attached from a honey processed Kenya Gulmarg. YES a Kenya honey!! With notes of Aperol Spritz