Meet the Roaster: Ian Ballingall

Ian Ballingall, Swift River’s head roaster, has been with Swift River since the beginning in 2010. He manages the operational components of the business, from the roasting and packaging to cupping and blend development. Dakota Ennis, social media manager and longtime coworker of Ian’s, recently sat down to learn a little more about him. Ian is a fun guy—read on for his favorite parts of the roasting process, his favorite blends, and his favorite music.

Dakota: I know you originally started working at The Good Life Market. How did you get started roasting at Swift River?

Ian: I got really interested in making coffee drinks and the coffee brewing and blends in general at the Good Life Market. I think it was a natural move because of my enthusiasm for the coffee and quality. We were getting coffee from another supplier, and we weren’t that happy with them—we had to go and pick the order up, and we weren’t always getting everything we needed. Walt was batting around the idea of getting a roaster inside the [Good Life Market], but we had space constraints in the store. This building [Swift River] became available right around the same time, so it was a win-win. With the adjacent building, we’re able to have some warehouse space and fit in the coffee roaster. He [Walt] asked if I was interested in getting involved and I said, “Sounds great!” We went to a Specialty Coffee Association convention and learned a ton about the roasting process. We bought the roaster, learned how to use it, and the rest is history! We did some experimenting and trying different blends, and there was a little bit of trial and error, but on the whole, it was a pretty quick learning process.

D: What’s your favorite blend to roast?

I: My favorite [blend] to make is the Ice Box Cold Brew, and it’s also my favorite to drink. It’s just a really good blend. It makes great cold brew coffee and actually makes a great hot coffee too. It has some of my favorite [beans] as components, and [I’m] really happy with the blend and the result. It’s always kind of fun to put it together.

D: Do you drink that at home too?

I: Yes, religiously. I brew with [the cold brew pods]—I love the pods. They’re great, and super easy. I make probably a half gallon every three days or so. We go through quite a bit at home. Sometimes I do a little splash of chocolate milk too.

D: Oh yeah, some chocolate almond milk right in there!

I: Yeah, exactly.

D: What do you think is the coolest thing you’ve learned about roasting, or the coffee roasting process in general?

I: Probably the coolest thing is seeing how the individual coffee varietals perform and thinking about and creating blends. Sort of getting a sense of the personality of the coffee, and kind of playing with that. Even if it’s just for me one week, I’ve got a little bit of this and little bit of that I might combine and try something neat at home. It’s just fun to play with the beans to get to know the characteristics of the coffees. Another cool thing is the water- processed decaf. Because caffeine is water-soluble, you can use plain water in a process where you soak the green [coffee] beans, and the caffeine and other water-soluble compounds are all extracted and the caffeine is filtered out. It’s a very gentle process. [Read more about water-processed decaf coffee.]

D: Wow, interesting. Okay, let’s see—What is your favorite espresso drink to make?

I: My favorite coffee drink to make would probably be either a hot or iced mocha. Also one of my favorites to drink. I don’t eat a lot of chocolate, but I drink a lot of chocolate. [Laughs] And it’s good—chocolate and coffee are an unbeatable combination. Cappuccinos are fun too—I like building the foam of the cappuccino.

D: Do you have any hobbies outside of work that you’d like to mention? I know you and your wife have a business.

I: Yep, the flower shop and gardening in general. I think it’s interesting, again, where agriculture and science converge. We have expanded the shop, and we grow a lot of flowers and some veggies. I’ve always been passionate there. Generally, [I] like things that are math and science oriented, or even projects around the house along those lines. You know, starting a new garden, or making a neat system for compost. Whatever it is. Other than gardening my free time is basically R&R, or I play music as well.

D: Oh yeah, I remember that. The banjo?

I: Yeah, banjo, guitar, electric guitar, I’ve got a keyboard and a drum machine too. So, kind of getting a little bit more electronic and hip-hop influence now.

D: Fun!

I: It’s a lot of fun. I do a little bit of everything. And I listen to a lot of different music too so my music taste is kind of reflected in what I play.

D: I was going to ask you—what do you like listening to while you’re roasting, or even when you’re on deliveries?

I: Depends on the day, but music while roasting really helps keep the movement going. Usually some up-tempo stuff. Classic rock sometimes, some indy rock from my golden era, probably 2008-2012. Disco, funk. Those are pretty much my go-to. Anything with good energy kind of keeps things moving.

D: What’s your favorite things about being the roaster for Swift River?

I: I think just being able to see the process through—I start with green coffee and see all these different things happen to it. It ends up in this really nice-looking bag, and then goes to customers, and I know that it’s high quality, consistent, and really fresh. It’s nice to get feedback from customers as well. I interact with our customers regularly at the [Good Life] market or out in wholesale accounts, and we’re just getting very positive feedback. We get emails from customers too, people who order from the website and are really happy, or people that have tried the coffee locally and then reach out to get it delivered at home. When they find out about the website, they’re always really excited. I love knowing the process really well and knowing that we have a great product going out. It’s really satisfying.

D: Is there anything else you would like to mention? What about the new Sprinter van for wholesale deliveries?

I: Yeah, keep an eye out! [Laughs] We are getting [our new delivery van] logoed up and it will be great having that around. Our business is scaling up, and it’s nice to have some extra space for large deliveries. With the new van, we can stick to the regular weekly delivery schedule, but still expand our market and grow the business. It’s very exciting.

D: Cool!

I: Oh, one more thing! A plug for my favorite single origin and favorite hot coffee—Italian Roast. Italian Roast is awesome and a favorite of mine and my wife’s, and I know it’s popular with customers as well.

D: Great! Well thanks so much for your time Ian, I’ll let you get back to roasting.

StaffOctober 12, 2020