Roast Summit 2025 | Speakers & Sessions

← Back to Roast Summit | Portland, Oregon | October 2-3, 2025

---

Speakers

---

Sessions

Confirmed sessions are listed below. Please check back for updates and additional session descriptions.

• Coffee Literature Review: What we learned from a year of reading all the scientific papers

  Presented by Christopher Hendon

  In 2024, Chris Hendon and his graduate student, Doran Pennington, began documenting their scientific readings in a podcast, Coffee Literature Review. There are plenty of scientific articles published every month on coffee, but which ones move the needle? This seminar explores recent literature on topics ranging from agriculture to economics, chemistry to café operation.

• The True Cost of Electric Roasting and What You Need to Know Before You Start

  Presented by Karl Schmidt

  Newcomers to the coffee Industry increasingly turn to electric roasters to meet sustainability goals in response to rising energy costs and the perceived lower barriers to entry and installation cost.
  
  While electric roasters may seem like an attractive choice because of their simplicity and ease of setup, this presentation will highlight the significant challenges and considerations that often accompany this decision.
  
  The presentation will address the complexities and challenges of transitioning to electric coffee roasting systems, particularly within the framework of the global push toward Net-Zero by 2030
  
  Key points will include the complexities of preparing for electric roasting, such as ensuring adequate power supply and infrastructure. Attendees will learn about the limitations imposed by local power availability and the need to coordinate with power companies to support the energy demands of electric roasters.
  
  It will emphasize that while electric roasters may initially appear straightforward, the process of setting up a new coffee shop requires thorough preparation and an understanding of both the technical and regulatory challenges involved.
  
  The goal is to provide a realistic view of what it takes to successfully enter the specialty roasting market with an electric roaster, moving beyond surface-level appeal to ensure a well-informed and strategic approach.

• Roasting Dark: Investigating Flavor, Texture and Balance in Darker Roasted Coffee

  Presented by Rob Hoos

  The session goal is not only to make a case for how dark roasted coffees can be great, but to also showcase how to modulate the flavor of dark roasted coffee to craft the kind of coffee you want!

Advertisement