Enjoy with all your senses
At towering altitudes, where air density decreases and oxygen becomes scarce, humans face a harsh reality: without acclimatization, sickness − or worse − can quickly follow. Climbers tackling the world’s highest peaks turn to bottled oxygen for survival. But what happens when your challenge is not summiting a mountain, but rather setting up a coffee roastery near the roof of the world?
This customer project takes us to Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, sitting a breathtaking 3,661 meters above sea level. It is here that K's Espresso, together with Fudapack, the Chinese representative of PROBAT, achieved a remarkable feat − installing and commissioning a P05e specialty roaster at one of the highest altitudes on earth.
"We had to consider many factors - safety, stability of gas supply, cost of Rise (RoR) − metric that indicates the rate at which the beans absorb heat from the roaster − reached around 24°C/min, good conditions for roasting a 5 kg batch in the desired 12 to 15 minutes.
But the story does not end there. The team sought more power to gain further control when roasting specialty beans. After careful consideration, they pushed the fan to 55Hz, achieving a peak RoR of 26-28°C/min. Finally, after days of adjustments and testing, the perfect roast was achieved.
"I can't describe how excited I am to be standing next to the first PROBAT roaster in Lhasa," says Beans. "Its performance is simply unbelievable. I remember
Roasting where the air gets thin efficiency and environmental concerns," explain Gaga and master roaster Beans, the sibling duo behind K's Espresso. With advice from Fudapack, they chose the electric version of the P05 roaster. The decision was made and the Fudapack engineers set off for Lhasa, where both physical and technical challenges awaited.
The high altitude is not only a problem for people, but also for the roaster. The engineers quickly realized that the supply air temperature was not reaching the required levels. After the roaster had been running at 100% power for 20 minutes, the air temperature had only risen to 260°C − less thanexpected. Fortunately, a solution was quickly found: The engineers increased the speed of the supply air fan shaft from 40 to 50 Hz. With this adjustment, the air temperature also increased, and the Rate
when my dream started at Repetition Coffee in Kansas, where they had a 5kg PROBAT. At the time, I did not understand why they called it 'Repetition', but after roasting sample after sample, day after day, I got it. They wanted every cupto be an experience worth repeating. That is the same goal I have for our business.”
Precision became Beans' trademark. Every day he adjusts his roasts to the moisture and density of the beans and conducts up to twenty cupping tests to perfect his craft. His goal is to make K's Espresso a local beacon of quality coffee in Lhasa, where specialty coffee is still in its infancy.
