Since 2013, we have been privileged to accompany people on their coffee journey. Many come to us because they've found their hobby and want to learn even more. Others come to us because they see coffee as their life's path. We're introducing one of them today: Simon Inniger.
"Coffee is just extremely diverse, I learn something new every day," says Simon when asked why he engages so intensely with coffee. Yes, we feel the same way – coffee can do a lot and connects not just worlds, but also completely different taste preferences.
Simon works full-time in IT consulting and came to coffee somewhat by chance. Like so often, it "grabbed him" – interest became a hobby, hobby became a passion, and from that passion came his own project: Simons coffee roastery in Frutigen in the Kandertal.
Simon's Mini Roastery
After Simon attended a Sensorikkurs, the Barista Advanced Course and finally the Röster-Level 2 Course with us, he felt more than ready to start his own project.
In Frutigen in the Canton of Bern, he realized his dream in a small garden shed. With the help of his family, he converted the "shed" and installed his roastery in the roughly ten square meters.
He bought his coffee roaster, a Probatone 5kg, from his colleagues at GoodLife Coffee. Coffee roasters are primarily made of steel and depreciation is minimal – so it makes a lot of sense to buy used machines. Especially when you're just starting out and want to stick to your budget.
In the mini roastery, everything you need for a roastery is there. A green coffee scale, various buckets, a roaster, and the green coffee storage. If Simon's roastery grows, there would still be space for green coffee in his parents' basement.
"Simply Really Good Coffee"
In March, I visited Simon on a consultation day and helped him develop the roast profiles for his coffees. Simon's goal is simple:
Simply really good coffee. What sounds like a worn-out marketing slogan embodies my goal: I want to roast really good specialty coffees and make them simply accessible for my customers.
Simon Inniger, Simon's Coffee Roastery
And Simon understands that every market has its own rules and taste preferences. In his region, much more coffee is drunk from automatic machines, not filter coffee. So his goal must be to meet his customers where they are. Thus his focus is on coffees that work well in automatic machines, but still taste like specialty coffee.
So there's a Jura automatic machine and an espresso machine side by side in his roastery. For quality control, he can extract the coffee the way his customers would at home.
In his Onlineshop he offers single origins, blends, but also two filter coffees. These are mainly for him too, since he simply loves to drink filter coffee – a coffee from Nicaragua and a classic Ethiopian Sidamo profile.
Simon, Have Fun!
Just the trip to Frutigen is fun – so if you ever find yourself in Frutigen, you should definitely visit Simon. We've never seen such a small roastery before.
We wish you much success and above all fun on your coffee journey Simon, and we're delighted we could support you a little.
Your Coffee Makers
