“We have found that your influence broke the very serious attitude in approach and allowed us to enjoy roasting even more and experiment to understand what results we can expect in the cup and why.”
— Rudi
“Rob’s guidance and insights have helped me to understand how to develop roast profiles based on a coffee’s individual characteristics, rather than relying on generalized profiles or guesswork.”
— Mathias B.
“Ich kann jetzt keine Erfahrung in Zusammenhang mit Consulting oder Coaching mit dir teilen aber ich habe zwei Bücher von Dir und was du schreibst und wie du schreibst gefällt mir und ich kann auch einiges davon in meiner Art zu Rösten übernehmen.”
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“I can’t share any experience with consulting or coaching with you, but I have two of your books, and I like what you write and how you write, and I can also incorporate some of it into my own roasting approach.”
— Stefan
“As a home roaster who was all self taught with no prior experience with coffee, reading Modulating was a real eye opener to see evidence of how minor changes in the process can have consequences. After many years, not a roast goes by where I don’t, either mindfully or inherently, contemplate the principles I read in the book.”
— Justin
“The Cultivar Project has been a game changer for me. It’s helped me understand how much genetics matter in roasting, and given me confidence in approaching different coffees.”
— Josh H.
“Rob’s teaching style is so approachable. He explains complex topics in a way that makes sense and provides tools I can actually use every time I roast.”
— Dan B.
“Rob was able to guide and assist Arrosta Coffee Roasting Co. to recreate our award-winning reference curves from our 15kg Toper drum roaster to the new Loring. The results have been scalable and achieved with a more comprehensive understanding of the advanced Loring roasting system so that we are able to implement our philosophy of continuous improvement within our production function.”
— Kristy
“I went from feeling frustrated with inconsistent results to feeling like I have control and understanding over my roasting.”
— Chris R.
“His mentorship has allowed me to get unstuck with certain coffees and develop approaches that fit both my equipment and my flavor goals.”
— Eric S.
“Rob’s resources have been my go-to for years. His data-driven approach has given me a framework that continues to guide my development as a roaster.”
— Craig D.
Me haz ayudado a entender que las cosas en el café no tienen que ser como los extranjeros quieren que sean, y a sentirme orgullosos de mi propio proceso en el desarrollo del café y del conocimiento en mi país, que para mucha gente como tú en la industria su ego es más importante que lo que ocurre en el campo, me haz enseñado a que no quiero ser como tú, gracias!.
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“You have helped me understand that things in coffee don’t have to be the way foreigners want them to be, and to feel proud of my own process in the development of coffee and knowledge in my country. For many people like you in the industry, their ego is more important than what happens in the field. You have taught me that I don’t want to be like you. Thank you!”
— Misael
Old Reviews
Here are some of the reviews that people are giving me. There may always be more to come, and if you would like to submit an experience you’ve had working with me, please email me.
“Rob helped us hone in a profile conversion from Probat to Loring so we had an easier starting point to work off of. Also roasting and help set up some batches for us to evaluate to establish if the deviation was greater or less than what we currently see across markets. When it comes to his work, Rob is professional, positive, and free of ego. Just there as a resource but not needing to exert influence. Inter-personally, Rob is like a colleague, a friend and a fellow inquisitive mind. Someone who enjoys the journey and exercise independent of results. I would highly endorse working with Rob and in fact will continue to keep him in the companies periphery as a future resource.”
– Steve Kirbach, Head Coffee Roaster, Stumptown Coffee Roasters
“Our Allegro Coffee Roasters (ACR) team has grown and expanded its micro roasting program around the country and Rob’s training and classes were a perfect match for our needs in bridging consistency and quality across our program. Specifically, Rob’s understanding of, not only Loring Roasters, but the science and craft of roasting itself proved to be an immediate asset. His deep knowledge of the science of roasting will continue to have a lasting impact on how we approach a myriad of factors in roasting and the quality inherent to the craft.”
– Darrin Daniel, Director of Sourcing and Quality Control, Allegro Coffee Company
“After many years of roasting on an ancient Diedrich roaster we were happy to receive our brand new Loring Kestrel in the early Summer of 2014. Suddenly, a whole new world of possibilities opened, a wast number of potential roasting times and curves. Before the Loring, we could only slightly influence our profiles resulting in sluggish roasts driven mostly by the old machine’s inherent inertia; now, we can tweak the roasts with instantaneous response. With so many achievable roasting profiles it became apparent that the only way to steepen the learning curve and get our roasts to where they should be in an expeditious manner some outside help would be needed. That help came from Rob Hoos, a roast master recommended by the Loring and co. As luck would have it, Rob turned out to be the perfect guy for the job. In scant three days, he taught us everything about Loring Kestrel, the needed maintenance, controls and proper daily use. A series of coffee roastings that followed were guided by logical, scientific, empirical reasoning and focused on detailed data point collection and analysis-what a radical departure from the commonly encountered “artisanal” approach in which one discovers something that “works” and then justifies it with post facto reasoning that best matches their roasting mantra. The fact that Rob is a very nice and friendly guy who views the roasting mastery as an evolutionary, life-long learning process only made the whole experience that much better. With the key guidelines in place and a world of coffees and roasting possibilities to explore, we are looking forward to a continued collaboration with Rob. Moreover we recommend him warmly as about as good of a roasting teacher as one would be lucky to find anywhere.”
– Sinisa Novakovic (Owner) and the staff of Mishka’s Cafe in Davis, California.
“This book is my favorite book on roasting! It was so helpful for me to understand roasting better. I also learned so much by doing experiments based on the book. I wouldn’t have placed second in the Swedish national coffee roasting championship without it. There is a direct relationship to me interacting with this book and me having more control of getting what I want from my roasts. Thank you!”
– Michel Brode, Owner and Roaster, The Beautiful Bean – Sweeden