Polish roaster Hard Beans Coffee Roasters
THE BEGINNINGS OF HARD BEANS - FROM CAFÉ TO ROASTERY
Although the roastery's production is one of the largest in Poland, it has only been roasting for four years. However, the roastery's inception was preceded by 10 years of experience with select coffees and eight years of running a café with select coffees. And it was at Kofeina Art Café in Opole that it all began. It was awarded the best café in Polandby the International Selected Coffee Association (SCA) in 2016.
Kofeina Art Café is no longer the only Hard Beans café. Since 2012 they have also been running a business called Kofeina 2.0, which is a combination of a café, restaurant and bar.
COFFEE SELECTION AND VALUES OF WORKING WITH COFFEE
If you choose to work with and roast select coffee you need to set certain rules and values. What are these for Hard Bean? Preparing coffee and also roasting it is a certain ritual for them, and they try to bring this to their customers. They describe themselves as not producing coffee, but creating it. Apart from sharing their passion for working with and love for coffee, there are a few other values.
THE QUALITY OF THE COFFEE
They choose exceptional beans for roasting that are hand-picked on organic farms and then carefully stored. Each lot has its own roasting profile. The shift in coffee quality also sparks an interest in being better and better.
TRANSPARENCY OF DATA
Theyallow the customer to find out all the info about the coffee from its packaging. They know very well where their coffee comes from and want to pass this information on.
HUMAN CONTACT
Drinking coffee is often associated with spending time with friends and family. At Hard Beans, they want to make those moments with their loved ones more enjoyable with good coffee.
HARD BEANS COFFEE AND ITS ROASTING
Thebeans at Hard Beans are roasted on Diedrich and Giesenroasters . They roast coffee from all over the world, both for espresso and filter coffee. Roasting in smaller roasters allows them to better control the important parameters of the entire roasting process.
COFFEE PURITY
The journey from the plantation to the roastery is not a short one, and even long journeys affect the coffee, which is why Hard Beans has shortened this time. They store up to 30 tonnes of coffee in their warehouse, which is stored under strict storage conditions such as constant temperature and humidity, as well as airflow.
QUALITY CONTROL OF THE COFFEE
Before roasting, the coffee is checked for moisture content, hardness and bean size. Theythen combine this information with that of their origin, processing and growing method to set an individual roasting profile . If they are satisfied with the result of the temperature setting, airflow, time and result, they start roasting larger quantities.
The coffee needs to be checked not only before roasting but also after. A sample of each coffee is checked in their laboratory, which also works with the technology faculty of the local university. In the lab, they check that the beans are the right colour on the outside and inside. They also check the quality bycupping, where they observe the coffee's flavour, aroma, acidity, sweetness and consistency.
In addition, the roasting process is overseen by head roaster Krzysztof Barabosz, who keeps the roasting process and all its parameters under control. Thanks to his experience, he can react to any changes during the roasting process.
HARD BEANS COFFEE PACKAGING
The whole roasting process does not end with the inspection, but with the packaging of the coffee for sale. This is also a ritual for Hard Beans, where they use their meticulousness. Thecoffee is packed in packets with a single-sided valve that allows the coffee to breathe. This keeps the coffee fresh for longer.
The packages are then packed in boxes with all the important information and printed with their typical beans. The colour of the boxes varies according to the country of origin.