TRAINING & EDUCATION FEATURE
Thriving together Roastress Coops, also known as Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters, talks about pivoting her consulting sessions, thriving in an online space, and fostering a supportive roasting community.
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hen cafés closed their doors to dine-in customers at the beginning of the pandemic due to state-wide lockdowns, so too did coffee training centres, which not only affected baristas but those behind the scenes: the roasters. Training is something Anne Cooper has always been passionate about throughout her 27 years of experience in the coffee industry. Initially honing her skills training baristas, for the past six years Anne has been coaching roasters of all levels through her Melbourne-based business Equilibrium Master Roasters (EQMR). EQMR offers roasting education in the form of a two-day comprehensive roasting course, private online consulting sessions, and a combination of private roasting consultation and training at client venues. “My focus is to give my clients a clear idea of what’s involved in roasting and explain a lot of the ‘whys’ behind the process, from novices who have never had formal training to advanced roasters who want to ensure they are on the right track,” says Anne. Having roasted with a range of both commercial and specialty companies across Brisbane, Melbourne, and New York, alongside regularly travelling to Brazil to provide consulting and training, Anne’s wealth of experience and consistent, proven results from her pupils are what differentiates her training programs. “My two-day comprehensive roasting course covers all areas from green bean evaluation to how to operate and manage roasting machinery to understanding roast profiles, production cupping and more. We do strategic roasting exercises like using the same coffee bean and roasting it to three different roast profiles,” says Anne. Initially designed for groups of six each month, Anne’s roasting course has evolved, now running every week with a maximum of two people per class. Anne says these smaller classes allows her pupils maximum, practical hands-on time on the
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Anne Cooper founded Equilibrium Master Roasters in 2015 to share her roasting knowledge and support the roasting community.
roasting equipment, a greater ability to ask more questions, and the opportunity to get the best possible overall experience in the craft and skill of roasting coffee. While these sessions had to be paused during Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdowns, Anne was able to pivot her consultation and training sessions online. Previously, these sessions would see Anne and her clients working together in person, walking through their roasting process, examining the final coffee product, troubleshooting, and defining solutions. “Due to COVID, I had to learn more about digital platforms and communicating
effectively online,” says Anne. “I based my sessions around what would create the greatest engagement and value.” To achieve this, Anne would ask clients to send her samples of their coffee before the session where she would then taste and calibrate to the roaster’s prescribed flavours and, where needed, would troubleshoot any unwanted characteristics. “This information framed the sessions, so when we engaged online, we could be targeted and strategic with our conversation, and start talking about the important things right away,” says Anne. Through the use of shared screens,