Visiting Plowshares Coffee Roasters

So last month, Anne and I were invited to go visit a frequent NYCS cupper, Anthony Kurutz, at his newly minted coffee roastery, Plowshares Coffee Roasters, near Suffern, NY, in the Ramapo Valley.

Anthony is a longtime coffee enthusiast who, after finding himself spending all his free time with coffee, decided he would take the plunge and found his own business. About a year ago he installed a restored vintage Probat (which is a fancy and much sought-after coffee roaster, for those who don’t know) in a warehouse outside of NYC, collected lots of coffee, and started roasting it. He worked at it for an entire year, roasting and cupping nearly every day, and about 2 months he decided it was time to let other people try his coffee.

We were amazed by how good the coffee was (considering how new the roastery was, relatively speaking), and wanted to see his operation. So one day Anthony kindly provided us with a full tour of Plowshares world headquarters.

In addition to the Probat, the roastery has some interesting custom-built features, like the extensive afterburner setup. His coffee lab is upstairs, complete with espresso machine, cupping table, and office.

We turn on some gas, and cup some coffee

Of course, my favorite part of the trip was after we turned the roaster on. As many people who know me know, I want to eventually work as a coffee roaster. Unfortunately though, up until now, I hadn’t actually roasted coffee, I’d only dreamed of it. That day, though, I actually got to touch the roaster and make green coffee turn brown, so I was really very excited to do it!

I made coffee turn brown!

Ok. So I didn’t really get to roast coffee on my own. But I did get to stand next to the machine and pull the gas levers when Anthony told me to. And I ended up with coffee that was roasted. And when I tasted it, it was good. But not great. But I roasted it!

But Anthony’s roasts are great, and Plowshares is making big waves in the New York coffee community. And if you don’t believe me when I say how good it tastes, you can sample it at Kaffe 1668 in Tribeca and see for yourself.

Thanks again, Anthony! This is my happy face.