Roasters Guild Membership

[fierytryer99]

I have a RG Membership question for the Guild:

I am presently mentoring an apprentice roaster. He watched me roast coffee for several months in 2011 and then began roasting under my supervision a few hours, ONE day each week, Mondays, at most. (His main job title is asst. roaster/post-production manager. We have one roaster (a 12-kilo), so there is limited time in the schedule.)

Over the winter, he did not roast on Mondays at all. We just began him back on the "Mondays only" roasting program, about 9 batches of base coffees. It will be at least another year before he begins to roast more than this--and I suspect longer before there will be opportunity for him to transition to a full-time roasting job.

My question is: Roasting is not his main job. Only 10-12 % of his job. Is he eligible to become a member? I had to wait until roasting was my main job before i was eligible to join, which seems fair. Any info you could provide, I would appreciate.

Thanks

[rojo]

Hey there,

Sorry about the late response. Your co worker is definitely good to join the Guild. If he has a passion for coffee, wishes to excel in the craft of roasting and roasting is a part of his job, i.e. he's involved in roasting coffee as part of his work. We want the tools that the Guild has to offer to be available to all the folks who get their hands on the roasters in the industry so there's really not much limits otherwise... The Guild is, however not really open to the home Roaster or Hobbyist Roaster for membership.

So there you go. cheers.

[fierytryer99]

hey there rojo,

Thanks for the response. Appreciate the feedback. At this point, as the person who would ultimately sponsor him, there remains a significant question in my mind as to whether he has the "passion for roasting". A recent conversation revealed that, not unlike how a lot of folks do it in various occupations, is that he wants to join the Guild for "resume" purposes only...a red flag to me re: potential longevity and dedication in the industry.

I think specialty coffee is an exception to many industries in that almost all of the people in the specialty sector seem to really have that hard core passion and desire to stay humble and learn. So, I don't take the sponsorship issue lightly, as I've been in the business since 2004 and absolutely love it.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

fierytryer99