Common Grounds Ottawa: Home Roasters Tasting Lab

This home roasters cupping showcase has members roast a coffee purchased through Common Grounds Ottawa and bring their best interpretation to a shared cupping table. The goal is two-fold:

• Each roaster gets an opportunity to present their roast, taste it alongside others, and get structured feedback from fellow roasters.
• Every participant shares how they approached their roast — equipment used, charge temps, roast curves, airflow strategies, roast goals, and lessons learned.

This way everyone benefits from experiencing multiple roast profiles, experimenting with different techniques, and seeing how others approached the exact same green coffee and extract different flavours. And because everyone uses different equipment, the idea here too is to allow people with similar home setups to network and share tips to get the most out of their roasters.

We will also be sampling a series of robusta coffees as well. Interest in robusta has grown with high volatility of the 'C' pricing and its impact on specialty arabica.

Event Format (90 minutes)

• Welcome + sensory intro
• Short technique talks from volunteer roasters
• Guided tasting (“cupping”) examining how method shapes flavour
• Open group discussion focused on learning and connection