Ask the Roaster

Click the link to read more from Carlo, founder of Milk and Beans Coffee Roastery.

About

Milk & Beans was initially started due to a real lack of quality coffee options in Milton Keynes. There really wasn’t an awareness of what speciality coffee was and not many people had tried it. I had been in that same position, I worked for a big high street coffee chain and while falling in love with the process of what makes a coffee, I realised that the coffee world was far, far bigger than what I knew.

So, I decided I needed to learn a LOT more. So, I bought my first roaster ,a Gene Cafe, which only roasted 250g of green at a time and lots of brewing equipment V60, Aeropress etc. I experimented a lot, sent coffee out to lots of friends and family to get feedback and then got myself out there by signing up to a local farmers market and serving pourovers.

Since then, the emphasis has changed. While the coffee still has to taste great, it’s been about the connections made with great importers and producers and of course the customers that I roast coffee for whether wholesale or retail. I just really enjoy making or roasting coffee for people.