Coffee Roasting and Bar Science
Like Duolingo, but for Coffee Roasting and Bar Science. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Thermal Kinetics and Profile Engineering, Green Coffee Architecture and Formulation, and Extraction Physics and Commercial Bar Systems.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Coffee Roasting and Bar Science
- Thicker thermocouples suffer 5-15 second thermal response lag relative to rapidly expanding bean surface area during exothermic flash
- Over-reacting to lag-induced flat RoR by cranking the burner late in the roast scorches bean surfaces and triggers uncontrolled runaway into second crack
- Exhaust gas temperature trends provide real-time validation of drum environmental energy when bean probe readings decouple due to probe mass or bean puffing
- Development Time Ratio (DTR) is a percentage of total time, not an absolute measure of core heat penetration or chemical breakdown
- Dense high-grown coffees require higher entering thermal momentum at first crack to drive moisture release and prevent internal underdevelopment at identical DTRs
- Solubility and extraction yield in the cafe depend on internal cellular expansion driven by heat flux, not the mathematical ratio on the roast log
- Reducing fan speed lowers convective sweep, shifting heat transfer toward conductive drum-wall contact that extends caramelization and boosts tactile body
- Higher convection during yellowing-to-brown accelerates core drying and cleans up perceived acidity at the expense of mouthfeel weight
- Excessive conductive bias risks conductive contact burn if drum speed and charge weight are miscalibrated
- A flatlined (zero-slope) post-crack RoR bakes the bean core even when target drop temperature and elapsed time are precisely met
- Baking destroys delicate organic acids and complex aromatics without visibly darkening the bean exterior
- A continuously declining, non-negative RoR is required through drop to preserve sweetness and prevent hollow, bready cups
- Drop batch and immediately open door/chaff sweep while dropping heat to shed residual convective energy
- Idle the drum with minimal burner input to allow machine cast iron/steel to equalize temperature
- Ramp burner input back to predetermined charge power to build stable momentum before dropping the next green batch
- Charge green coffee only once both environmental temperature and drum energy reach identical dynamic equilibrium
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Coffee Roasting and Bar Science the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens if you crank the burner in response to a flat bean probe RoR caused solely by probe lag near the end of a roast?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
Where Coffee Roasting and Bar Science takes you
Bridge the gap between your production drum and your espresso bar. Master thermodynamic roast profiling, water chemistry dynamics, and high-yield extraction physics to optimize shop consistency and green bean investment.
- 1
Thermal Kinetics and Profile Engineering
- Roast Curve Diagnostics and RoR Management
- Heat Transfer Dynamics: Convection, Conduction, and Drum Pressure
- 2
Green Coffee Architecture and Formulation
- Green Metrics: Water Activity, Density, and Storage
- Production Blend Architecture and Component Solubilities
- 3
Extraction Physics and Commercial Bar Systems
- Water Chemistry Tailoring for Roast Degrees
- Particle Distribution and High-Yield Extraction
- Production Quality Control and Sensory Calibration
3 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Coffee Roasting and Bar Science is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Coffee Roasting and Bar Science today.
Download Tomo, search Coffee Roasting and Bar Science, and play your first lesson in under a minute.