251 | Coffee Q&A: varietals, dialing in pour over coffee, & starting a roasting company

Omni, filter, and espresso roast. We’ve all heard those labels, but are they still relevant in 2026? In this episode, we talk about the differences between those three, why we think filter roasts can taste good on espresso, and why espresso roast needs to be redefined.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

Many coffee enthusiasts stress roast level whether that's medium roast, ultra light roast, nordic, American light roast, and so on. It's not wrong because roast level plays a huge part in coffee flavor, but it's not the full picture. There are many other variables that can make a coffee taste better or worse. We discuss all of that in this episode.

The Cafec Deep 27 dripper is a game changer for a very specific use case. The Deep 27 dripper tackles a problem that few drippers on the market have addressed. In this episode, we talk about why this has become one of our favorite drippers, how it helps with brewing expensive premium lots, and a simple recipe you can use. Wholesale Form: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/pages/wholesale-partnershipPick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

This is part II of our Q&A episodes where we answer questions submitted by you. We tackle dialing in coffee with temperature vs grind size, repeatability, and more on changing our roasting approach.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

This is part 1 of our Q&A episodes. We took all the questions you all asked and answered them on the podcast. This episode, we covered our favorite varietals, how to dial in new coffees on pour over, and the costs associated with starting a new coffee roastery.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

We're reflecting back on the last 6 years of coffee roasting at Mirror Coffee Roasters. It's been a long journey of unlearning things we thought we knew and discovering new things in the process. These years have formed the way we roast and source coffee today. In this episode, we are talking about how brewing coffee at home changed us, the lessons we learned along the way, and how we're doing things differently now.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

The OXO Rapid Brewer broke the internet for coffee enthusiasts. It was a new brewer that changed how we thought about brewing coffee and pushed us coffee fanatics into a realm we didn't know existed. Today, we chat with Chris Diskin, the lead engineer at OXO who helped build the rapid brewer. He shares about the early stages of building the ORB, how it came to be, R&D discoveries, and how the brewer was actually meant to brew coffee.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

There are A LOT of coffee brewers and drippers available on the market, and most of them are not that much different from one another. Many of them have subtle differences that highlight design and aesthetic more than actually being practical when it comes to brewing delicious coffee.In this episode we cut through the noise and recommend 3 manual brewers and drippers you need for your home coffee bar.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

Coffee shops are usually split into two categories - those that roast their own coffee and those that serve other roasters. Both have their strengths and weakness, and both offer a different experience to the customer. Is one better than the other? What do people prefer?In this episode, we dive into these questions and discuss the pros and cons of both models.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA

In this episode, we breakdown 3 of our current favorite pour over recipes that get us delicious cups. All three recipes have different workflows, procedures, and flavor presentations, however, each has its own strengths and weaknesses.Pick up our coffee here: https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorcoffeeroasters/Mirror Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster located in Bellingham, WA