It was an exciting day when our new Giesen W15 Roaster arrived! Randy has been privileged to roast on top quality machines by Diedrich and Probat, but this particular roaster is the perfect fit for our needs as we grow and evolve. We are so excited for the potential to further improve upon the nuances and sweetness of our best coffees, which we so carefully source.
Giesen is a relatively new company for the US market. Based in Holland, Giesen is known for top quality craftsmanship of classic drum-style roasters (they were manufacturing smaller German Probat roasters for years), and have become very popular in Europe. Currently, we are one of a small handful of roasters in the U.S. using Giesen, all of whom are very quality oriented.
There are a number of reasons why the Giesen W15 is such a quality machine. Among them are the double-walled cast-iron and steel drum perfect for even heat distribution to the coffee bean. There's more control over airflow with the Giesen roaster, which gives us an opportunity to create a more nuanced and flavorful cup. And likewise we now have a roast profiling system that allows us to record and repeat precisely the same roast profile for a given bean, resulting in a more consistent product. From a production standpoint, our capacity has increased significantly. While this roaster is only 3 kilos larger, it allows us to pour a new batch while the previous one is in the cooling drum.
We are fortunate that the U.S. technical support representative for Giesen, Michael Whitley, is right here in Sandpoint. And finally we'll be getting a slightly larger thermal oxidizer (to incinerate the smoke and pollutants from coffee roasting) locally from our friend out of Sagle, Craig Munkaby, who owns and operates Selkirk Manufacturing.