Since 2013, we have had the privilege of accompanying people on their coffee journey. Many come to us because they have found their hobby and want to learn even more. Others come to us because they see coffee as their future career path. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of them: Simon Inniger.
“Coffee is simply extremely diverse; I learn something new every day,” says Simon when asked why he is so intensely involved with coffee. Yes, we feel the same way – coffee can do a lot and connects not only worlds but also completely different taste preferences.
Simon works full-time in IT consulting and came to coffee somewhat by accident. As is so often the case, he was “hooked” – interest turned into a hobby, the hobby into a passion, and the passion into his own project: Simon’s coffee roastery in Frutigen in the Kander Valley.
Simon’s mini roastery
After Simon completed a sensory course, the barista advanced course, and most recently the roaster 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 space of barely 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 second-hand. Especially when you are just starting out and want to stick to a budget.
Everything that belongs in a roastery is in the mini roastery. 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 for a consulting day and supported him in finding the roast profiles for his coffees. Simon’s goal is simple:
Simply really good coffee. What sounds like a trite marketing slogan embodies my goal: I want to roast really good specialty coffees and make them easily accessible to 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 consumed from fully automatic machines rather than filter coffee. His goal must therefore be to meet his customers where they are. Thus, his focus is on coffees that work well in a fully automatic machine but still taste like specialty coffee.
Consequently, a Jura fully automatic machine and an espresso machine stand side-by-side in his roastery. During quality control, he can use them to extract the coffee just as his customers would at home.
In his online shop, he offers single origins, blends, but also two filter coffees. Those are primarily for him, as he just really enjoys drinking filter coffee – a coffee from Nicaragua and a classic Ethiopian Sidamo profile.
Simon, have fun!
The trip to Frutigen alone is fun – so anyone who finds themselves in Frutigen should definitely visit Simon. We have never seen such a small roastery before.
We wish you much success and, above all, fun on your coffee journey, Simon, and we are happy if we were able to support you a little.
Your Kaffeemacher team
