Situated in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, The Black Bear Micro Roastery is an authentic micro-roastery; small, dedicated, and highly focused on quality. Three years of hard research went into the formation of this very unique company. The BlackBear Micro Roastery blends advanced technology with traditional Yankee work ethics to produce outstanding coffee. Simply put, the big companies won't produce the product that we produce, because high quality and high volume just don't mix. On the other hand, most small companies don't achieve high quality consistently, because they don't employ all of the necessary technology that is indispensable for the highest quality.

Green Bean Purchasing

What makes us different from the larger roasters is the way we purchase our green beans. The beans we purchase have arrived in the United States and have been professionally evaluated for taste characteristics. We do not buy on speculation, that is, we don't buy future contracts of coffee consignments that haven't even been harvested yet. We select our beans only from crops that have been harvested and thoroughly evaluated for "cup quality" ... taste. Our method of purchasing means we have to pay top dollar, but we are paying for a proven product of known high quality.

Green Bean Storage

High heat, humidity, and light will damage green beans during the summer months, and dry conditions of the winter months will dry out the beans.. Important chemical compounds in green beans will degrade rapidly in a hot, humid environment, and too little moisture content will prevent all of the necessary chemical reactions from taking place during the roasting process.. High quality green beans must be properly taken care of to insure high quality roasted coffee. We store all of our green beans in a refrigerated storage room, where the temperature is kept below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity is held at 58 % RH, and there is no light.  This enables us to purchase green beans in much larger amounts when the quality is at its best.  Rather than buying any given variety is small amounts all year long, we purchase enough of "the best of the year" to last us the year.  Since the beans are not subjected to the ravages of light, heat, and humidity, we are able to deliver high quality coffee to our customers all year long.

Our Unique Roasting Process

Our coffee is roasted in a "hot air - refractory lined" roaster with an extraordinary level of control. A computer program controls a "fully modulated" burner. The power output of a modulated burner can be completely regulated. Most small coffee roasters use a single stage burner which offers virtually no control during the roasting process.

The significance of relying on a high volume of hot air to roast coffee beans can't be overstated. The older and more traditional method of roasting is to rely on conducting the heat from very hot metal surfaces to the surfaces of the coffee beans. This results in excessive trauma to the surface of the beans. A roasting machine that is referred to as a "hot air roaster" means that the heat is transferred to the coffee beans by means of a fluid (air) that flows in, and amongst the beans. This is a much gentler method of roasting coffee.  Relying on hot air as the method of transferring heat to the beans is one of the most significant advances that has occurred in the evolution of coffee roasting.

The roaster is completely lined with refractory material, providing a superior roasting environment when compared to conventional roasting machines. The refractory produces a much more even roasting environment, and significantly reduces hot spots which can damage coffee beans .

The most significant aspect of our roasting process is that the computer program is responding to the temperature of the beans themselves. For an in depth description please see the discussion of our Linked Temperature Roasting process.  This is unusual, even for large companies that utilize computer technology. A common practice of larger companies is to force the beans to follow an arbitrary roasting schedule that is based on time. Coffee beans are a product of nature and as such, they always differ from one another slightly. Batches of coffee beans never behave exactly the same. During the roasting process, the beans express themselves most clearly by temperature. The beans tell us when they are ready for more or less heat, and they tell us when they have reached the state of perfection. Each batch of beans being roasted has its own "personality" which our process treats with respect.

A prominent feature of our roasting process is that the roasting temperature is reduced as the roast progresses. This is known as "contour roasting". Controlling the "heat contour" precisely according to the bean temperature, and being able to repeat any given contour formula every time is where we stand out.

Judging the degree of roast by eye is the common method at the micro-roastery level. This method is simply not accurate enough. The chemistry of coffee is very complex and things happen very quickly during the roasting process. Driving coffee beans with too much or too little heat at the wrong time, or stopping the roast at the wrong time, results in coffee that is just not as good as it can be. We get all the flavor potential out of our beans by working precisely with them rather than forcing them or approximating their degree of roast. The proof is in the cup... cup after cup. The bottom line on our roasting process is that relying on sophisticated technology enables us to achieve results that are simply beyond that which a human being is capable of. We know, we've used both methods.

Air Quenching

Coffee beans must be immediately cooled down when they come out of the roaster. This is called quenching. To expedite the process, it is standard practice in the industry to add water to the air stream that is cooling the coffee beans. This is called water quenching. Water quenching does damage to the surface of the beans, resulting in immediate loss of important chemical compounds, and significantly diminishing the shelf life of the beans. Of course the moisture adds weight back into the beans that was lost during the roasting process. Since coffee is sold by weight, increasing the weight of the coffee with water is very profitable. Water quenching is no different than putting your finger on the scale.  We do not use water!  All of our coffee is air quenched only!  Only clean New Hampshire air touches our beans during the quenching process.  You add the water when it's supposed to be added ... at the time of brewing.

Packaging / Freshness

It is all too common for micro-roasters to package their coffee in "atmospheric" packaging.  The term "atmospheric" means the oxygen and moisture have not been removed from the bag.  Oxygen and moisture are the most significant enemies of coffee. When our whole bean coffee is packaged, each bag is thoroughly evacuated and then backflushed with nitrogen.  Nitrogen is an inert gas that is used throughout the food industry to prevent oxidation. Properly packaged coffee not only has greatly extended shelf life, but it is perfectly prepared for long term freezing.
     
Our coffee is packaged immediately after roasting. High quality specialty coffee is very perishable. Freshness is a crucial factor when buying specialty coffee.  We do not allow our freshly roasted coffee beans to sit around for a day or two while they "de-gas" which is standard practice in the industry. As soon as the coffee comes out of the roaster and has been cooled down, it is packaged.

Near-Infrared Spectrophotometry.

This process is as important as it is difficult to pronounce. The human eye is simply not capable of determining the exact color the coffee beans have been roasted to. A roaster must be able to precisely determine the degree of roast in order to maintain consistent results. We use a near-infrared spectrophotometer to precisely determine the color of both whole beans and ground coffee. This enables us to intelligently develop roasting formulas by knowing whether or not the coffee beans are developing at the same rate internally as they are on the surface during the roasting process. This is a standard and essential process, but, due to the expense, is not commonly used at the micro-roastery level. In order to maintain product consistency and excellence we have to eliminate guesswork in this critical area if we are going to deliver on our promise of consistent high quality.

We have made a considerable investment in our business in an effort to produce an outstanding product. While we think it is unethical for any coffee roaster to claim that their product is the "best", we proudly claim that our business is totally dedicated to the continual pursuit of perfection.