What REALLY Makes Our Coffee Beans Standout? Our Fluid Roasting Method!

Most commercial coffee roasters use a Diedrich drum roaster. DRIP coffee stands out primarily due to its use of the Artisan 9 Coffee Roaster, which utilizes the fluid bed roasting method. In 1974, Michael Sivetz invented and patented an improved method for roasting coffee beans: hot air fluid bed roasting. A key difference between this new roasting method and the more traditional Diedrich drum roasting method is the way that chaff is handled. 

Our actual coffee roaster! Isn't she great?!

The fluid bed roasting method involves roasting with hot air. The beans are in constant motion and roasted through convection. The heat distribution is more even, and as the beans reach a specific temperature that causes the outer casing to "crack" off in the form of chaff, a cyclone collector sweeps this chaff away. By contrast, a Deidrich drum roaster is a mechanical roasting method that provides both a convection and conduction roast by mixing beans in a heated metallic drum. The chaff from the beans is mixed in through the duration of the roast. As the chaff is mixed in with the beans, it burns against the sides of the drum and produces smoke. This smoke in turn generates carcinogens, similar to cigarettes. The result is beans that are more acidic and bitter.

These carcinogens are not present in fluid bed roasting, because the chaff is collected, resulting in a cleaner and less acidic cup of coffee than Diedrich drum roasting produces. Our chaff is then added to our compost to improve soil used for our urban farm. Our customers that identify as regular coffee drinkers often comment on how they no longer find themselves experiencing stomach aches or indigestion after switching to DRIP coffee.