A Day in the Life of Head Roaster Kosuke

Hi everyone, it's Kosuke writing to you today. I will be walking you through my daily routine as Kurasu Head Roaster. This is the first time I'm sharing my routine to the public - the secret is out now!

My day begins at 6AM.

I used to make sure to secure at least eight hours of sleep, but recently I've realized that hours don't matter much. I'd be waking up at 6AM everyday, whether I go to bed at 10PM or 2AM (realistically, I'd never be up that late.)

I get out of bed, wash my face and within five minutes I would be out on a morning jog.

To achieve the Triple Crown of Hiking is on my bucket list, and that's why I commit to a run streak. I set a distance and complete it everyday. What matters is that I push myself to run everyday, rather than the distance itself.

After I run for about 30 minutes, I do some reading and make coffee for my partner. Then finally I'm off to work.

This all may sound quite ordinary, but each step is an important part of my morning routine. I feel and breathe in the morning air as I walk out the door, and predict the roasting environment for the day. I do it all naturally now.

I don't keep the exact same routine all year round. I adjust it depending on my age, season and my partner's situation. However, I do commit to the routine I set for myself. I think this is in my blood as a roaster.

Now moving on to my routine at work on a typical roasting day.

<7:30AM>

First, Quality Check.

I start with cupping all the coffee I roasted the week before. If I find any errors, I think of ways to fix it.

<8:30AM>

After QC, I get ready for roasting. I check the orders and prepare green beans accordingly. Since installing Loring, each batch is significantly bigger compared to when I was roasting with Giesen. This has reduced the number of batches to roast but has in fact made the roasting process physically challenging. On a typical roasting day, I weigh approximately 200kg of green beans so I've gained a right arm of Mighty Thor. I might be able to beat our barista Tsubasa in an arm wrestling match very soon!

<9:30AM>

Once roasting begins, there's no time to rest.

I run through the day with the shortest intervals in order to consistently roast 200kg of coffee in a day.

Intervals are breaks between batches. It can't be too short or too long in order to maintain a steady, consistent roasting environment. I need to find the perfect balance to keep every batch under the same condition.

But I guess that's the only concern I have when I'm roasting. To be honest, preparation determines 99% of the outcome. There's never a time that roasting doesn't go to plan - if the results aren't ideal, then you need to revise the preparation process.

Once you begin roasting, you just pursue the approach and adjustments you've planned before hand. (Of course, simply putting the plan in to action does take some time get used to. )

That's why having a routine is important.

<12:00PM>

Lunch break! While I usually take about an hour off, I warm up Giesen. (We're using both Loring and Giesen at the moment.)

In case you want to know what I eat in a day - I eat fermented brown rice for lunch. White rice tends to raise my blood sugar level so my partner now packs me brown rice instead. I can now go through the entire day in my best condition.

<15:30PM>