The thought of pursing a craft involves the cliche romantic ideas of uncharted waters and inspiration, and at times those are involved in craft. However in the day to day activities of a craft we often overlook the rote nature of crafting something in production. When I got started in coffee roasting I had these images in my mind of what it meant to be a roaster. I was drawn to developing the skill and accentuating the positive attributes of a bean, the part no one told me about was the repetition that would be involved. Trying desperately to recreate the same roast time after time. There are many characteristics of craftsmanship that are free and unhindered those are tethered down by production and replication. Part of honing our skills involves being able to replicate results. Once I grasped this concept it made more sense. Anyone can accidentally roast coffee and it can even taste good (I know because this was the case for my early roasting career) but to understand why it tastes the way it does and be able to replicate those results is what displays skill.

Replication of an action, when honed, is a beautiful expression of our crafts. The good people that make the barrels for Jack Daniels are a great example of repetition and craft.