Hire for palate and habits, train for the machine. The roaster will teach someone the drum in a few months; nobody can teach curiosity or tidiness, and a production room is 70% tidiness.
What to look for, in order:
1. Cupping habit. Have they cupped anywhere regularly, even at home? Ask them to describe the last coffee they drank in three words. Any three words beat "it was nice".
2. Repetition tolerance. Packing 300 bags to the gram, correctly labelled, on a Thursday afternoon. Ask about the most repetitive job they have loved. The answer tells you everything.
3. Numbers. Weights, dates, lot codes, batch logs. A person who keeps a notebook at their current job will keep your roast log.
4. Physical. Green comes in 60–70 kg sacks. Not a deal-breaker, but be honest about the room.
5. Interest in the seat. Say out loud that this role grows into roasting. The people who want that will show up differently.
First three months that produce a roaster:
| Weeks | They own | They shadow |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Packing, labelling, warehouse layout, cleaning schedule | Every cupping |
| 3–6 | Green intake and weighing, sample roasting prep, QC cupping notes | Warm-up and first batch of the day |
| 7–10 | Sample roasts on the small machine, cupping calibration with the roaster | Production roasts, watching the curve |
| 11–13 | One production batch a day, supervised; batch logs | Profile discussions, green buying calls |
Pay it as a production role plus a stated review at three months with a roaster's rate on the table. The cheapest way to lose the right person is to keep them at packing pay for a year while they run your batches.
Roasters: what did you get wrong with your first hire, and what would you ask in the interview now?