Roasted by Hand, Perfected by Passion: The Role of Baphi and the Probat 12

When the Machine is Not the Master

At 7000 Steps, our small-batch roaster isn’t the star of the show.

Yes, it’s a Probat P12 a German-engineered icon in the world of specialty coffee. Built for precision, reliability, and elegance, it’s the kind of machine used by craft roasters around the world.

But in our roastery, the machine doesn’t lead.
It listens. It responds.
Because every roast every bean is guided not by pre-set algorithms, but by the expertise and instinct of one woman: Baphi.

She is not just our master roaster.
She is the soul behind the science.
The fire behind the flavor.

Who Is Baphi?

If the story of 7000 Steps is one of intention, care, and connection, then Baphi is its most eloquent chapter.

She didn’t grow up with a coffee lab. She grew up with an intuitive understanding of transformation how heat, time, and patience could change something ordinary into something unforgettable.

What sets her apart isn’t just her technical mastery. It’s how she listens to beans.
Not metaphorically. Literally.

“Every origin has its own voice,” she says.
“You just have to be still enough to hear it.”

Roasting in Phases: A Roaster’s Journey

Every batch Baphi roasts just 8 to 12 kilograms at a time passes through a three-phase journey on the Probat P12. But her role isn’t simply to watch it unfold. It’s to shape it.

🌿 1. The Drying Phase

This is where the moisture exits where green becomes yellow, and the room fills with the grassy scent of transformation.
Baphi’s eye stays on the drum speed and exhaust air. A few seconds too fast, and you’ll lose balance later. Too slow, and the roast drags.

🔬 2. The Maillard Reaction

Here, the real magic begins.
Sugars and amino acids react to build melanoidin the compound responsible for aroma, caramel tones, and color. The beans start to brown. The smell shifts from fresh grain to warm toast.
This is a critical moment for complexity.
Baphi may adjust the gas mid-phase, noting how fast or slow the color changes, trusting her nose to alert her if she’s rushing it.

🔊 3. Development & First Crack

At the first audible pop the first crack pressure releases from inside the bean. This is where a roaster makes bold decisions.
Do you stretch the development for sweetness?
Pull back for brightness?
Baphi navigates this with split-second judgment, crafting the cup’s final tone chocolatey or citrusy, syrupy or floral.

The Roast Curve Is a Story, Not a Recipe

Modern roasters can print out roast curves graphs showing temperature changes over time and replicate them blindly. But Baphi uses the curve as a memory, not a rule.

Each coffee she roasts gets its own profile: a living document of heat, air, and time that she builds through repetition and experience.

But she never follows it exactly.
Because coffee is never the same twice.

“The same bean, a different day the weather changes it. The air changes it. You change it.”

This blend of structure and spontaneity of graph and gut is the heart of artisan roasting.

What Machines Can’t Replace

Here’s the truth: the Probat P12 doesn’t make our coffee special.
Baphi does.

• The curve doesn't hear when the crack is too soft.

• The drum doesn't smell when sugars are on the edge of scorching.

• The software doesn’t feel when the roast needs one more breath of air.

Only she does.

This is the irreplaceable human element in craft roasting.
And in a world chasing consistency at the cost of character, it’s what sets 7000 Steps apart.

More Than a Roaster: A Flavor Architect

To watch Baphi roast is to witness someone painting in heat and time.
Each roast is a composition. Each cup, a finished performance.

She doesn’t just roast coffee. She curates flavor.
And like any artist, she signs every batch not with a signature, but with sensory precision.

Experience the Difference

When you drink 7000 Steps coffee, you’re not just drinking beans.
You’re tasting:

• A roast tailored to origin

• A curve guided by intuition

• A human being’s decisions, care, and conviction

You’re tasting craft in its truest sense.

So the next time someone asks:
“Who roasted this?”
You’ll know the answer.

It wasn’t just a machine.
It was Baphi.

☕ Try a Roast Signed by the Roaster Herself

Explore our lineup of small-batch coffees, each one hand-guided to perfection.
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