44 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Spring 2014 • www.bls.gov/ooq

Mick Carnett never meant to get into 

the business of roasting coffee. 

He merely wanted a decent cup of 

coffee when he moved to Columbia, South 

Carolina, 15 years ago. When he couldn’t find 

one, he started roasting coffee beans in his 

garage.

It wasn't long before Mick's coffee 

attracted friends asking to buy his homeroasted beans. What began as a small effort 

quickly expanded into a small business that 

now includes two roasting machines. “It 

started from desperation, then spread by word 

of mouth,” he says. “It was about filling a 

demand.”

There is wide variation in how roastmasters identify themselves. As a self-employed 

“microroaster,” for example, Mick does more 

than roast small batches of coffee beans. “I'm 

also the CEO and janitor,” he says, “and I have 

to sell what I make at some point.” But all 

roastmasters likely share a passion for coffee.

What they do

Unroasted coffee “beans,” which are actually 

green seeds of the berry that grows on coffee 

plants, are bitter and acidic. Roastmasters 

make green coffee palatable for drinking by 

overseeing the roasting process.

Choosing beans. Often, roastmasters' first 

task is to decide where their coffee beans will 

come from. To ensure that the beans he buys 

meet his standards, Mick works primarily 

with two importers that have direct knowledge 

of the beans' origins. “It's known as ‘relationship’ coffee,” Mick says. “The broker has a 

relationship with the farmer and knows about 

the locale it comes from and the farm where 

it's grown.”

Roasting process. Roastmasters control 

the degree of roast, from light to dark, of 

green coffee beans. Heat causes beans to 

become drier, lighter in weight, and darker in 

color; to crack and expand; and to change in 

flavor, as natural sugars in the beans caramelize during roasting.

Most roastmasters use programmable 

roasting machines for consistent results. The 

roastmaster loads beans into a hopper, which 

stores the beans above a roasting drum. Then, 

the roastmaster releases the beans down a 

chute and into the large drum, where the 

Roastmaster

You’re a what ?

Kathleen 

Green

Kathleen Green is 

an economist in 

the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, 

BLS. She can be 

reached at (202) 

691-5717 or at 

green.kathleen@

bls.gov.
45 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Spring 2014 • www.bls.gov/ooq

beans are circulated as they roast. “Ultimately, 

roasting coffee is not much different than popping popcorn,” says Mick, “but with a much 

more sophisticated popper.”

In large operations, a conveyor system 

may load green coffee into machines that roast 

up to 11,000 pounds per hour; the roasted 

beans are packaged by an automated production line. Roastmasters in these companies 

oversee the mechanized process but may not 

be directly involved with individual batches.

Microroasters, like Mick, specialize in 

smaller batches: the capacity of Mick's two 

machines combined is less than 50 pounds. 

These roastmasters load green coffee into the 

hopper themselves, and they unload and package the roasted beans by hand.

Other duties. As with most manufacturing industries, the smaller a coffee roasting 

organization is, the less likely its operations 

are to be automated and the more varied 

roastmasters' job tasks are.

For example, self-employed roastmasters 

may have other duties related to running a 

business, such as marketing, filling orders, 

paying bills, and updating the website. “All 

businesses, no matter what they do, have some 

tasks in common,” says Mick. “It just happens 

that what I do inside the big room is roast and 

package coffee.”

How they prepare

Roastmasters often start out as hobbyists 

before deciding to make a go of it professionally. Mick recommends that coffee enthusiasts 

try roasting at home and attend coffee 

festivals and trade shows to test equipment 

from different manufacturers. Working for a 

roastmaster, especially one who is willing to 

mentor, is another way to learn.

Knowledge and skills. There are no formal requirements for becoming a roastmaster, 

but getting hands-on experience is crucial. 

Roastmasters often use technology—such as 

digital tools that record temperature and air 

velocity inside the roasting chamber—to help 

monitor each batch.

Photo of Mick Carnett by Rock Star Dad.

Roastmaster Mick Carnett 

checks the roasting drum 

as it circulates a small 

batch of coffee beans.
46 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Spring 2014 • www.bls.gov/ooq

But experienced microroasters may rely 

less on technical feedback and more on their 

own sensory information. “I'm still listening, 

smelling, and watching,” says Mick. “But after 

10 years, I pretty much know how a batch is 

going to turn out.”

Roastmasters who want to open their own 

business need other expertise. For example, 

Mick uses math knowledge to calculate 

expenses; repair skills to keep equipment running; and communication ability for advertising, customer service, and outreach. “You 

have to have basic business common sense,” 

he says, “coupled with real-world experience.”

Training. Information and training also 

help prospective roastmasters prepare. Tutorial 

videos and guides are available online, and 

public libraries may have resources about coffee roasting. Many roasting machine manufacturers offer training on how to use their 

equipment.

Optional certificate programs, training, 

and information are available from trade 

associations. For example, the Roasters Guild 

has programs for two different certificate 

levels; courses include green coffee grading, 

basic roast profiles, and packaging. And the 

Specialty Coffee Association of America 

offers workshops, seminars, and other training 

opportunities.

What it's like

For coffee lovers, becoming a roastmaster 

might seem like a dream job. But, like most 

jobs, roastmaster work isn't always ideal.

Employment and wages. The U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not collect 

employment and wage data specifically on 

roastmasters. Instead, BLS surveys count coffee roasters among food and tobacco roasting, 

baking, and drying machine operators and 

tenders.

BLS data show that there were 18,750 

of these workers in May 2013 with a median 

hourly wage of $13.37—about $27,800 annually, less than the $35,080 median for all 

workers. Those data are for wage and salary 

workers only and do not include the selfemployed.

Work environment. In large manufacturing facilities, roastmasters must keep up 

with production timelines while maintaining 

quality. They typically spend much of the day 

on their feet, tending noisy machinery. Even 

in a small business, machinery can be troublesome: for Mick, repair and maintenance are 

what he likes least about his work.

But Mick likes being his own boss. He 

especially enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for 

microroasting with the community, including 

helping organizations to raise money selling 

custom-labeled coffee that he roasts for 

them—a fundraising option he calls “coffee 

for a cause.”

Still, Mick's favorite part of the job might 

just be the aroma. “The smell of fresh-roasted 

coffee permeates my workplace, from early in 

the morning until the end of the day,” he says. 

“I try not to take for granted that I have the 

best-smelling job around.”

“The smell of freshroasted coffee permeates 

my workplace,” says Mick. 

“I have the best-smelling 

job around.”