Common Grounds Ottawa
Welcome to the Common Grounds Ottawa Community Forum
Hello everyone — and welcome to the heart of our community!
Common Grounds Ottawa was created with a simple goal: to bring Ottawa area home roasters and curious newcomers together in a space built on knowledge, transparency, and shared passion. Whether you’re here to learn, to experiment, or to deepen your appreciation for ethically sourced green coffee, you’re in the right place.
This forum is your place to:
Ask questions and share what you’re learning
Swap tips on roasting, brewing, and gear
Discuss coffee sourcing, sustainability, and industry trends
Get early access to member updates, offers, and community events
Connect with like-minded people across Ottawa and beyond
We believe that great coffee starts with great community. Thank you for being part of this growing movement — your curiosity, participation, and insight make Common Grounds Ottawa stronger and more vibrant.
Grab a cup, say hello, and enjoy exploring the conversations.
We're glad you're here.
New subreddit r/OttawaCoffeeRoasting is live - encourage newcomers and coffee curious folk to come check out our hobby. I’m looking for a mod to assist- if interested let me know!
I’ve asked what people are roasting this week (genuinely curious) so if you are on Reddit please join the subreddit and respond!
Yesterday's (January) Home Roasting Lab
Yesterday’s Home Roasting Lab was a great success with 10 participants and lots of hands-on brewing and discussion. We tasted multiple coffees, including three distinct roast profiles of Ethiopian Lekempti Grade 5 (natural), a Costa Rican medium roast, and an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, which sparked some excellent comparison conversations.
We also ran a Robusta flight, which was eye-opening. Feedback was candid: only one of the four samples was generally well received, with the others showing a pronounced rubber aroma and flavour that heavily impacted cup quality. Everyone who roasted the Robusta noted just how differently it behaves compared to Arabica - and agreed that 100 g samples aren’t enough to really dial it in - if it’s even something they’d pursue further.
Huge thanks to Mike O’Connor for hosting this month’s lab, and to Ian Beausoleil-Morrison, Mike Nolet, Christian Lainesse, and Orko Garai for generously bringing their roasts to share and Collin Shaw for the Robusta samples. Looking forward to the next one!
Calling DE
Fun exercise on Reddit about when to call Dry End (DE). Many rely strictly on temp. This is something I have been paying particular attention to lately as the balance of getting right and marrying it to Maillard as a percentage IMO reduces the grassy taste if not done right. Take a look and I’d like to hear your thoughts? https://www.reddit.com/r/roasting/s/I9BAzre5Be
Finally finished setting up the roaster space in my workshop. Pity about the lousy internet access out here though.
New Set-Up
Got the lunar module (aka Kaleido roaster) set up and operational. Completed a series of seasoning roasts and a first roast. They look OK but I will reserve judgement until after I try it in about 48hrs. I will say the learning curve is steep here but the FreshRoast I used previously sure helped in knowing the fundamentals.
