Kaslo coffee 101

Glen Stewart and his wife, Heidi, appreciate a good cup of coffee

1 of 3Glen and Heidi Stewart own and operate Kaslo's Bean Roasting in Kaslo, B.C. — Photo courtesy Glen Stewart

2 of 3Glen and Heidi Stewart operate their coffee-roasting business right in their backyard. — Photo courtesy Glen Stewart

3 of 3Abigail and Joshua Stewart, Glen and Heidi's children, like to participate in the family's coffee-roasting business. — Photo courtesy Glen Stewart

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The Stewart family moved to Kaslo, B.C., from North Vancouver in September 2009. Heidi and Glen Stewart love the friendliness of the community, finding it an ideal place to raise their two children, Abigail, who is 5½, and Joshua, who has just turned four. Heidi is a full-time mom and Glen is the pastor of Kaslo Christian Assembly.

That first cup

“My wife is the visionary of the two of us,” said Glen. “She was the one who suggested that we roast coffee beans for our own use back in 2010. So we ordered some green coffee beans and were amazed at the variety of flavours and aromas we discovered.”

In June 2012, while the Stewarts were on a driving holiday heading for the Oregon coast, Heidi was inspired to ask Glen a question that had occurred to her long before: would he consider starting a coffee-roasting business to supplement the family income?

“It was out of character for me,” said Glen, “but I said 'yes' immediately. Then, within two minutes, along that middle-of-nowhere road, we drove past a building and as I looked back, I saw the word ‘Roastery.’ So I turned the car around and discovered that it was a coffee roastery!"

Serendipity? Perhaps. In any case, the Stewarts parked their vehicle and went inside.

Glen and his bean talk

After their vacation, with information and encouragement from Richard, the owner of the Roastery, the Stewarts started their research into roasting coffee as a business. Glen told us that green coffee beans are good for a year or two before they start going stale, and once roasted they stay fresh for four to five weeks. Once they are ground, the freshness lasts just a few hours, and of course once brewed and left on the heat, coffee starts to go stale within minutes. In your cup, though, the flavours of the coffee beans actually develop as the coffee cools.

“Each bean has its own sweet spot, where the flavour is at its best,” said Glen.

Heidi’s father kindly built them a custom coffee roaster similar to the one at the Roastery, as well as a structure to house the operation. Glen decided to use a fluid bed roaster because its short roast time causes very little flavour and aroma to escape from the beans. Research shows that the lighter the roast, the more caffeine and flavour are retained. With darker roasts, the carbon taste tends to dominate over the flavours of the beans. Flavours found in coffee beans can include chocolate, caramel, citrus, spices, fruit and more.

A backyard business

In April 2013, after settling on four types of coffee from the many they had tested, the Stewarts began selling the high-quality, freshly roasted coffee beans from their newly built coffee shed. The venture is called Kaslo’s Bean Roasting.

“We roast and package the coffee on site,” Glen said. “This will always be a part-time venture for me, so we only occasionally do a private sale—we are selling to stores in Kaslo, who distribute the coffee for us. The feedback we’re getting is really positive.”