Pueblo company uses solar energy to roast coffee beans
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: KOAA
Steaming hot coffee and espresso are served up at a coffee shop on Main Street in Pueblo. They're brewed from freshly ground beans roasted right in Pueblo County using a solar powered roaster.
Solar Roast Coffee starts with organically grown, free trade beans. They're put in a roaster that uses a 10 foot solar array to focus the rays of the sun onto the roaster. The roaster swivels and tilts, allowing it to track the sun throughout the day. It reaches temperatures of 550 degrees. Roastmaster Michael Hartkop claims it's the only solar roaster in the world.
Hartkop is picky about his beans, selling roasted nuggets by regions of origin, such as Ethiopia Organic, Guatamala Organic ’Maya Ixil’ and Sumatra Organic. Visitors to the Solar Roast Coffee Shop at 2nd and Main can pick up bags of roasted beans along with a sandwich and cup of coffee. The coffee is also sold at Pueblo Community College and online. Ethiopia Bolivia Organic (Shade Grown)
Swiss Water Process)
