We recently sat down with our good friend Carlene Schuder at Dunn Bros Coffee in St. Paul’s Como neighborhood. She just completed her coffee roasting certification and we wanted to learn a little more. She has been managing the Como store for six months but has four years experience in the coffee industry.
Coffee Roasting Certification Regimen
Dunn Bros certification involves 100 hours of independent roasting, training, and roaster maintenance combined. Carlene worked with all of the company’s roasting machines to learn different styles. For graduation she and fellow roaster, Abraham Ponce, recently hosted a “Coffee 1 Oh! 1” seminar before a group explaining the history of coffee, various roasting styles and how to brew the perfect cup of coffee. We attended and it was fascinating. Tasty too.
The Most Challenging Requirement for a Coffee Roaster
For Carlene, completing the paperwork for every different roast and keeping up is tiring and demanding. For the certification packet she had to profile, or “cup”, the finished roast to determine the quality in roasting time, color, aroma and flavor. This all sounds like a lot of work! We asked Carlene, ‘was there any fun to be had during this process?’:
“Getting to know and build a relationship with the roaster. You have to know the quirks and mishaps that could happen during any roast. Putting in the hours while listening to good music and getting in the zone. There is rhythm literal and metaphorical that you get into and you feel good about it. I feel good about what I’m doing because I’m making a product that has my touch and style in it. So I would say the most fun is watching myself grow confident in each roast. “
Abraham Ponce and Carlene Schuder teaching their coffee seminar.
A Bit More About the Dunn Bros Coffee, Como Location
The Como store is small but has consistently been in the top 25 for beans sales for the past year franchise-wide. They don’t sell any sandwiches or bakery like many of the other stores because they share a space with the Finnish Bistro who sells beautiful pastries and savory breakfast and lunch items. The two businesses compliment each other well and have formed a great partnership. The Como Dunn Bros location does so well because of their fantastic roasters, employees and loyal customer base.
Building Community Through Good Beans
What sets this Dunn Bros location apart is their support of the local community and deeper connection with customers. They pride themselves on knowing their customers as individuals, many by name and recalling regular orders, even having the drink ready before they reach the counter! Carlene and her team care about quality and making sure the customer is overwhelmed with satisfaction. It is apparent that this Dunn Bros team enjoys coming to work and their customers benefit from the great energy of this coffee shop.
Como Dunn Bros just added a mug club with Grey Fox Pottery’s handmade coffee mugs to offer great savings and an eco-friendly coffee mug option to their regular customers. Thinking about a mug club for your coffee shop, read “How to Start a Coffee Shop Mug Club”.
Thank you to Carlene for sharing great information on coffee roasting certification and we are excited to have the opportunity to partner with you!