Parkside Coffee hires equipment expert Marty Curtis to install custom-rebuilt cast-iron roaster

Bowmansville, NY; October 2005 -- Parkside Coffee has announced the installation of the long awaited circa 1937 cast-iron Probat roaster. Marty Curtis of Combustion System Sales and Service Inc. first rebuilt and then installed the West German roaster in Parkside's Bowmansville roastery.

"The roaster will give us phenomenal new taste profiles and set us apart from other coffee companies," explains the Roastmaster. "It will also increase our capacity and allow us to take more liberties with our smaller [Primo] roaster."

The Roastmaster and Curtis collaborated on layout and installation using their combined 50+ years of experience. Curtis has worked with several large coffee roasters including Starbucks, Caravali, Seattle's Best, Intelligentsia, and Batdorf & Bronson.

Though working with gas-fired equipment since 1978, he turned his attention to coffee equipment in 1986. He explains the transition by saying, "When I saw my first roaster, it was an older roaster and it fascinated me. I was impressed with the quality of construction and material used in the unit. Also, on the way they control heat transfer, air flow and burner systems used. I recommend the German-built units built in the early 1900s to the later 1970s."

Curtis makes his individual roaster recommendations based on the Roastmaster's profiles and the needs of the company. After taking apart, sandblasting, cleaning, repairing and updating the chosen roaster "to satisfy the most discriminate Roastmaster," Curtis works with a Roastmaster to condition the roaster to work with his particular tastes and roast preferences. They then cup together until the Roastmaster has achieved his ideal roast and taste quality. Curtis continues, "I have learned to roast and cup to better understand and meet the needs of the Roastmaster. Working together in this manner allows both the Roastmaster and ourselves to be familiar with all aspects of the roaster and in the future we can easily communicate… regarding the roaster and/or roasting profile… When our roaster rebuilds are completed, they are shipped with our satisfaction of pride and quality of workmanship."

Parkside Coffee is a small-batch artisan coffee roastery in Western New York specializing in home delivery. The highest quality beans are procured for all custom blends and single origin coffees, which are roasted and packaged in-house for quality control. Though currently delivering roasted-to-order coffees by Priority Mail, Parkside is currently scouting locations for a flagship retail store. In addition to its direct-to-consumer business, the roastery also services cafés, offices, country clubs and fine restaurants.