#YelpCoffee – Listen for the Cracks @ Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee

Snap… Crackle…POP! Ka-​pow-​pow-​pow! I first had the pleasure of tasting Wood-​Fire Roasted Coffee at Two Chicks (they serve it at several other local restaurants, as well) several months ago. I was an instant fan then and am even more of a fan now! We Renoites are very lucky these days to have so many amazing coffee shops to visit these days… I remember back when that Starbucks on Pyramid was our claim to coffee fame! While there are definitely many options in town for your coffee needs, Tim Curry (proprietor of this radtastic company) is one of only nine (yes, NINE) wood-​fire roasters in the states! His love, dedication and detailed work in the roasting process produces a unique, fresh product you can’t find anywhere else. Naturally, this quality of bean is a bit more expensive than what you’ll find at the grocery store, but Starbucks & Peet’s ain’t got nothin’ in Wood-​Fire Roasted Coffee! You get what you pay for, and if you love coffee like I do, the splurge is worth it for a wonderful, unique treat or a gift for a special coffee lover in your life. Thank you so much to Tim and Michael T for giving us this incredible opportunity to learn about such a special gem (er, bean) in our community!

Tim is a perfectionist and will ALWAYS put out top grade products. His Cowboy coffee is my favorite.

WoodFire Roasted coffee Event was amazing.
As a computer programmer i of course have a love affair with Coffee.
I’ve always gravitated towards lighter blends and always had a hunch why they taste better but Tim did an amazing job explaining what happens in the coffee roasting process. I feel i’m a smarter coffee shopper now.
The roasting process is really cool and the beans slowly turn color and develop some amazing flavors. You can totally hear them «crack» as they off gas due to the roasting process. the freshly roasted coffee smells AMAZING. best cup of coffee i’ve had in town was his Ethiopian light roast they had for samples.
I quickly bought a pound of it to enjoy over the next week. and it made an amazing cup of coffee at home as well. :)
I’m one happy programmer. Now i just need to talk my loved ones into buying me a year subscription to the coffee of the month club. :)

Wow! Thank you all for the wonderful words about the Coffee Roasting Demonstration we put on yesterday. I am so pleased that so many people attended and had a good time. Mayra and I enjoyed having everybody stop by, enjoy coffee and have some great conversation.
We had two demonstrations with the same information being presented, at least that was the plan. The questions drove the conversation and it is always fun for me to talk coffee. The questions were engaging in both groups and the direction the discussion took was quite different because of the questions asked. I only hope I was able to answer all of them.
Roasting coffee is my passion and talking about what I do is very exciting for me. Thank you all for coming into my house, watching my processes and giving me the opportunity to meet you all and talk coffee.

To me, this event was as exciting as Christmas morning! Most of the Unilocalers know I am a complete coffee addict so to get the low down on the roasting process that takes place right here in Reno by a local roaster was right up my alley. I learned that Tim Curry is only 1 of 9 wood fire roasters in the entire USA! How lucky are we to have him? The event was filled with passion, craftsmanship and pride. The coffee was some of the finest I have had here locally and I urge everyone to get on his website and order a bag for your own pleasure. Michael outdid himself with an amazing event that connected the community with a unique and awesome local business. I have much respect for Tim and his company, he genuinely cares about the flavors he puts into every single cup of coffee that his company provides. Standing ovation in my book!

Interesting event. Tim Curry is very knowledgable about wood-​fire roasting coffee and presents this knowledge in a clear, concise way. The cold-​brewed coffee I tried was very tasty, and very robust. Roasting coffee through the use of a wood burning roaster is a lot more involved and intuitive than I expected, though Tim made it look easy. This was an educational and enjoyable morning.

Wood fire roasted coffee company has been in business for 14 years. Tim Curry, the owner and roaster chose this profession after getting laid off at brew brothers.
After pondering what he wanted to do, he chose coffee roasting. He had a roaster built that used coal to heat the beans. He used that for as year and then purchased a roaster that uses wood as it’s heat source.
This roaster was built in Italy. It has the same principles of a wood stove. More oxygen means hotter temp, less oxygen means lower temp. This is all controlled by opening and closing a door on the firebox and the drum.
Tim is one of nine wood fire roasters in the U.S.A. He has won awards for his cooffee.
The process of roasting is a 12 to 18 minute process. You have to get the fire up to temp and then dump th ere beans in the barrel. Once the beans are coming up to temp you listen for the first crack. Once that happens the heat is increased to induce the second crack. All along Tim is viewing the beans through a window and has two timers going.
Once the second crack has occurred Tim looks at the color and depending on the roast, an oily sheen. Once that is achieved he will dump the batch into the cool down rotating tray.
From green bean to roasted bean, this process is still an art, and with Tim keeping wood fire roasting alive in Reno,
Hopefully it will prosper and thrive.
Just like Mark at The Hub, Tim puts his heart and soul into every bag he sells.

Another home run event, Michael. Loved watching Tim go through the coffee roasting process start to finish — first time I’ve ever observed the entire process. Very informative. Nice touch to have free coffee in a free mug and pastries before the event. And was delighted to win the bag of coffee drawing! Great event

Came here for a Unilocal event!
Tim curry the owner explained to us the the process he goes through in roasting each kind of his coffee beans!
What a lesson to learn. It’s really nice to know that some people take so much care into the making the taste of your coffee amazing.
When I tried their iced version of his coffee you could taste the woody taste to it. Hence the wood-​fire roasting.
Fresh is best! And you can tell by the smell when you open the bag!
After I drank my full cup I didn’t feel jittery either! So that was nice. Being pregnant an all. Would defiantly recommend in buying their whole coffee beans. We grind our coffee fresh every morning to get the true true flavor of the beans. Can’t wait to try out the bag we bought tomorrow morning.
It’s the best way to go. A grinder is very in-​expensive everyone should have one. It also puts a longer shelf life on your coffee also since your not exposing it to the oxygen, the air, etc.

Snap — Crackle — Coffee… YUMMMMMM!
Learning about wood-​fire coffee roasting from Tim Curry made for an extremely interesting morning. Tim is so passionate about his craft and extremely knowledgeable. He explained his process as he showed us first hand how to wood-​fire roast coffee allowing us to ask tons of questions as we went along. It was so interesting learning all about coffee. My favorite moment was actually getting to hear the «cracking» process that Tim was teaching us about.
Of course there were samples. We were treated to cold brewed or hot coffee. I opted for the hot coffee which was Tim’s Cowboy Roast. It was lively and robust. I did add a touch of cream just because that is my preference; however, in all truth I would’ve enjoyed the coffee without the cream as well.
As with most Unilocal events there was some swag giveaways. Two one-​pound bags of the Ethiopian wood-​fire roasted coffee that Tim did right in front of us were a prize. While I was not one of the lucky two that won the drawing for this prize I was gifted one of the prize pounds by Nancy. Needless to say I was overjoyed and cannot wait to grind that «fresh» (literally roasted moments before I got it) coffee and enjoy it.
Thank you Michael T and Tim for such an interesting caffeinated morning!

Wow !!! This as close as I can be close up and personal to a coffee expert, maker, connoisseur and amazing man who thought himself to make the perfect coffee. Introducing Mr. Tim Curry. He reminded me of that show in travel channel «dangerous grounds» hosted by another expert on coffee… Todd Carmichael. This man knows his coffee and I am a coffee lover. He started self learning and studying how to roast coffee back on 2001 and started his business in 2002. He roast his coffee with wood burning, maintain certain temperature and roast these beans with extra care. He does mainly and solely «arabica» coffee beans which is most common to what we get in let say Starbucks and of course ground coffee at local stores. I have witnessed first hand, from cradle to grave how he roast his coffee and learned to hear the crackling in each steps and levels of roasting good coffee.
We arrived here around 9:50am and met up with fellow elites from Reno …, Paul and his wife Michelle, Nancy and Robert. As we entered, checked in and was greeted with Tim’ assistant, Myra with a choice of iced coffee or hot coffee. I chose the ice coffee and it was so good it
Made my hair stand. Seriously !! We gathered after the introduction for this episode of the the coffee series. We were treated And educated in how to see, listen and taste the coffee. Tim Curry cooked and roasted a batches for us of Ethiopian Arabica. We were shown from start to finish how it’s done … With proper care and proper way… You can tell, smell and taste the difference … And I mean there is much difference from the regular commercialized coffee to what Tim roasted. I admire the passion and care with pride on how he produce his finish products And I mean this by far the best coffee I have ever tasted and we are in RENO not Seattle.
I am very pleased to be invited in this session and I would like to thank Michael T, Unilocal Reno Cm for having us. It was nice to see Lee and her daughter Kiwi (if I mis-​pulled I apologized) who is a amazing 12 year old kid, smart and took some great pictures for this event .
Finally, The best part of was winning the raffle for one bag of roasted coffee (the one he cooked up for us) for us to take home. Witnessing on how the process goes and having to taste and enjoy this batch, we will enjoy this for the next weeks or so. And would like to thank both Tim Curry, the owner of «Wood-​Fire Roasted coffee company «and his assistant, Myra for having all of us in an entertaining but educational day for what we take a daily cup of Jo for granted. I no longer see coffee the same way i use to and take a cup of coffee for granted. If you ever want to try their coffee, you can get on their website and order. Shipping can be pricey but it’s well worth it. I suggest order it, and come here in Reno, to pick it up. I promise to all you coffee lovers, you won’t be disappointed.

Step 2 of the Coffee Saga. The Roasting.
We were treated with a choice of cold brewed or hot coffee, some pastries and a warm welcome by Tim, his assistant, and our fearless leader, Michael T. The room was festooned with Unilocal banners and swag as well as coffee sacks and posters. The small workspace was filled with the aroma of burning wood and coffee.
So the story continues — After it is harvested and the raw beans are packed into burlap sacks, it is sent to the roaster. In this case, Tim Curry, our local «coffee whisperer», roasts the uninspiring little beige bean to make it become the luscious rich dark coffee bean we all crave. What is unusual about Tim’s process is that he is one of the few roasters in the US who uses Wood Fire. The process is very hands on and requires a trained ear and eye and nose to know when the coffee bean has reached perfection. The process only took about 15 minutes so we were able to watch the transformation.
I learned a great deal about coffee. The caffeine in is the bean, the roasting does not significantly increase (or decrease) the caffeine content. Roasted whole beans are at the optimum flavor for only eight days, ground coffee for only three. The darker the roast? The less you can taste the unique and subtle flavors of the different types of coffee.
Great opportunity to learn so much from true masters of their craft.

August 9, 2015 Sunday — 10:00 AM for Coffee Class
2 Adults
Atmosphere — 5 stars
Food — 5 stars
Service — 5 stars
Background — Unilocal and Coffee, they have been teaching me a lot about coffee. It is time to take a class.
Atmosphere — We were behind the scenes at a fire roaster. The event had two focuses and one was the beautiful roasting machine.
Food
Drink — The coffee was waiting for us as soon as we walked through the door. I went for the hot coffee; it was what Tim calls Cowboy. I drank it dark, no sugar or cream. The coffee sang in my mouth.
Service — Tim Curry was very welcoming as we arrived. As we were waiting for everyone to arrive Tim discussed with me how he collaborated with FiftyFifty Brewing Co. His collaboration or contribution making some of the most sought after beer in America. And you thought you were here for coffee. Well we are. Tim is so passionate about coffee showed and it was a treat to meet him and listen to his wealth of knowledge and getting to see a sneak peak of his work day.
Future — Love to get some more coffee from Tim.

Tim Curry!
Here’s a snippet of our coffee ed:
Thank you, Tim Curry, for sharing your expertise and knowledge in roasting your signature coffee and opening your business to host our Unilocal Event! Also known as the Coffee Whisperer, Tim showed about 15 Unilocalers how he processes coffee beans so delicately and precisely in his traditional Italian wood-​fire roaster. He spoke of how he started in the business and opening Wood-​Fire Roasted Coffee Company. … no special school or training. It was all self-​taught.
Tim is truly an artisan in coffee making and while listening to him speak he truly had a passion in his roasted coffee beans. Not being able to travel much because his business takes priority, pouring his heart and soul in it, he takes delight in being one of only a handful of coffee bean roasters in the country. We had a sampling of his signature brewed coffee in which we had a choice of iced or hot. This event has a suggested donation of $ 10 to the Eddy House (
) and made possible by the generosity of the host business, this is a way of giving back to the communty.
jR was so excited that he won a bag of freshly roasted coffee from the raffle. Smelled so good in the car driving back home to Roseville! Special thanks to our gracious host, Tim Curry and his assistant, Myra, for sharing your Sunday morning with us with a delicious cup o’ Joe!. Thank you, Michael T, for having us join you and the Reno Elites. It was great seeing you, Paul and Michelle, and Ly once again! And meeting new friends, Laura, Robert and Nancy, and Jeane and Alex (congratulations on expecting twins!). I must say that I am fascinated with our young photographer, Kiwi! What a delightful, beautiful, gifted, and special little lady she is!