At Rogue Wave, our passion for coffee goes beyond sourcing exceptional beans — it’s also about the hands and hearts that roast it. We’re excited to introduce a couple of the talented people behind the scenes who help bring our coffee to life. Meet Samuel and Greg, two of our roasters whose dedication and skill ensure that every batch of coffee is roasted to perfection. Let's take a closer look at their journey!
How long have you worked at Rogue Wave Coffee?
Samuel: 3 years in February, roasting since Sept 2022.
Greg: I am the newest member on the roasting team, I've been riding the Wave for almost two months now!
What’s been your favourite part of your role?
Samuel: I've had the privilege to taste incredible coffees from outstanding producers all over the world. It's been so rewarding getting to know each coffee so intimately. I love being challenged in coffee and roasting has really satisfied that need.
Greg: Cupping all of our different current (and upcoming) roasts! It's a great routine that provides us not only with quality assurance monitoring, but one that's incredibly helpful with widening our palettes as well.
How did you get into specialty coffee?
Samuel: The AeroPress was kind of my portal into specialty coffee. I had a gorgeous washed Ethiopian coffee and became obsessed with perfecting my recipe. This led me down the rabbit hole. I was inspired to work in specialty coffee and have been fortunate enough to work in many roles: barista, trainer, educator, manager and now roaster.
Greg: I had a delicious cup of Ethiopian coffee at Langano Skies some years ago and it changed how I saw coffee; no longer was coffee just a double-double or a drive thru iced coffee (no shade, both are sometimes exactly what you need)! After that, the door opened wide and fast and I became fascinated with trying any new coffee I came across.
What got you interested in roasting coffee?
Samuel: Espresso was really my first deep love in specialty coffee. Trying to find the perfect parameters for each coffee, trying new things and tasting the results. I love really digging into each coffee and finding my own expression. Roasting feels like a bigger, more intense, more lasting effort in that same pursuit.
Greg: Balancing many components in a uniform process in order to achieve a desired result is paramount to roasting coffee. I first got interested in this sort of process with tea, actually. I worked at a tea shop for a few years during university and became well-versed in different brewing methods, structures, and how that impacted tea. I apply a similar approach with specialty coffee — there are always variables to tweak and imperfections to smooth out! I love expanding my breadth of knowledge and coffee roasting is a vast world I am so excited to continue to explore.
What are some things you think people would be interested to know about being a roaster?
Samuel: We are far more data driven than people may think. The industry now has so many tools available to try and quantify all elements of the process from time/temp during roast to scoring each element of the coffee on the cupping table.
Greg: It requires a keen eye, attentiveness to detail, and a lot of data monitoring — graphs on graphs on graphs!
What about the most challenging?
Samuel: I would argue there's no perfect roast expression of any one coffee. I still seek perfection with each coffee's profile and there's something really humbling about living in that tension. The uncertainty of an objectively impossible quest for perfection.
Greg: For me, so far it's been finding momentum in the different moving parts that make my role effective and helpful for myself and my colleagues. Once I got into the swing of knowing how many bags of coffee can be prepared per roast, it helped me a great deal in managing my time more effectively!
What’s your favourite type of coffee?
Samuel: I have learned to love all coffees and regions and processes for what they offer. That said, it's been a good year for Rwandan coffees and our Kinini Village natural has been so, so delicious. Easily one of my top coffees of the year.
Greg: I love a natural or a honey processed coffee! I'm a huge fan of African coffees, especially Ethiopian coffees, and how bright and lively they tend to be. If you want to try something really funky, check out our new "Ethiopian Heirloom" Ombligon — a coffee rooted in Ethiopian history but grown in Colombia!
What do you enjoy doing outside of roasting coffee?
Samuel: Hanging with my three kids and wife, watching movies, playing strategy games, reading. I'm a big fan of history so I'm usually learning about some people from a long time ago.
Greg: I'm a huge fan of movies and the moviegoing experience! The pandemic took away a lot of the communal aspects of watching movies I enjoyed and I've been loving getting back into it! Whether I'm doing a double feature at Metro, or snagging some new movie rentals from the Lobby, I'm always looking forward to what I'm gonna watch when I get home!
I like creating art — most of which does not see the light of day — for the sake of art, to feel creative and get ideas out in whatever way best fits the moment is a practice I wish adopted sooner but am thrilled to be enjoying now.
