At the heart of Full Of Beans Coffeehouse & Roastery is the in-house roaster that owner Lori Nytko uses to get the best out of every bean. Before she opened her cozy café along Dundas Street West in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood, Lori knew she needed this antique, cast-iron gem to act as the foundation of her business. “If I hadn’t found the type of roaster we have now, I wouldn’t have opened,” she says.
The roaster itself is an exceedingly rare, early 20th century Jabez-Burns Sample Batch Roaster with five cylinders. The high quality machine allows Lori and her specially-trained staff to roast the beans in small batches and create custom blends for their discerning clientele. There is no temperature gauge or timer. Instead, the delicate art of roasting is conducted using sight, sound, smell and acute attention to detail.
On-site roasting in small batches allows Lori to simultaneously stock multiple varietals of beans from suppliers whom she deals with personally. Lori uses her experience to source beans from established suppliers and she samples every batch to ensure quality.
