Ask the Roaster - Chris & Neil from Unorthodox Roasters

How was the Roastery founded, what was the inspiration?

Unorthodox Roasters are a coffee roasting venture borne out of a 10 month trip to Latin America. Neil and Chris quit their jobs as a restaurant manager and media accountant to pursue a hunt for knowledge amongst the coffee plantations. The two travellers succeeded in learning from the best coffee roasters on the continent and visiting almost all of the coffee growing regions from Bolivia up to Mexico.

It was time to bring it all back to Scotland.

In 2016 Unorthodox Roasters was founded and we began roasting. In 2017 we reached roasting capacity of our two sample roasters. We then upgraded to a 6kg Giesen and began renting a shop on Kinross High Street.

What's your favourite part about working at the Roastery?

Certainly the creative aspect is pretty sweet. Being able to create what we want to create and be who we want to be… without limits! Thinking up ridiculous names for our coffees like Trump is an A$$, Yellowcake, Brew Bag, or Cycle Psycho is one creative element where we can make our mark. Being thoughtless is boring, so we crank up the inspiration by involving our entire team.

What's your proudest accomplishment?

We don’t chase awards. Awards are a waste of time. A piece of paper saying you are the best roaster or best flat white drinker doesn’t earn you the respect of your customers - the quality of your service and product does. Instead of spending time applying for and practising for pointless awards, instead our efforts are channelled into spending time with our customers. Learning what they like, setting trends they like to follow, and being a coffee roastery producing on-point speciality coffee, every time. This, is time well spent.

What three words best describe your Roastery?

Dull - Normal - Uninteresting

What’s your favourite place to enjoy a coffee, and what coffee would that be?

Cost-Bucks has to be our favourite independent megachain - and you have to order an extra-tall (6ft) carbon-infused-no-milk-latte. Those are the greatest… they really are.

Finally, what Dog & Hat combination would you choose?

A Doberman wearing a Deerstalker