Since 2013, we've been able to accompany people on their coffee journey. Many come to us because they've discovered their hobby and want to learn more. Others come to us because they see coffee as their future path in life. We're introducing one of them today: Simon Inniger.
"Coffee is simply incredibly diverse; I learn something new every day," says Simon when asked why he's so passionate about coffee. Yes, we feel the same way – coffee can do a lot and connects not only worlds but also completely different tastes.
Simon works full-time in IT consulting and stumbled upon coffee more or less by chance. As is often the case, it just happened on his sleeve – an interest became a hobby, a hobby became a passion, and a passion became his own project: Simon's coffee roastery in Frutigen in the Kandertal Valley.
Simon's Mini Roastery
After Simon attended a sensory course , the advanced barista 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 roasting facility in the almost 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 if you're just starting out and want to stick to a budget.
The mini-roastery has everything a roastery needs: a green coffee scale, various buckets, a roaster, and the green coffee storage. If Simon's roastery were to grow, there would still be room for green coffee in his parents' basement.
“Simply really good coffee”
In March, I attended a consultation with Simon and helped him find the roast profiles for his coffees. Simon's goal is simple:
Simply really good coffee. What sounds like a cliché 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, therefore, must be to meet his customers where they are. His focus is therefore on coffees that work well in fully automatic machines but still taste like specialty coffee.
A Jura fully automatic coffee machine and an espresso machine stand side by side in his roastery. For quality control, he uses them to extract the coffee the way his customers would at home.
In his online shop, he offers single origins, blends, and two filter coffees. These are especially for him, as he simply loves filter coffee: a coffee from Nicaragua and a classic Ethiopian Sidamo profile.
Simon, have fun!
The trip to Frutigen is fun in itself – so if you ever find yourself there, you should definitely visit Simon. We've never seen such a small roastery.
We wish you much success and, above all, fun on your coffee journey, Simon, and we would be happy if we could support you a little.
Your coffee makers
