If you work behind the bar
A barista moving into roasting
You already taste coffee all day. These two days give you a practical way to understand how roasting decisions become the cup you serve—without assuming you have used a roaster before.
Cottle Coffee Academy · Practical roasting entry program
Learn to roast in two practical days.
Start with no previous roasting experience. Learn by operating, observing, tasting and understanding what to change next—then leave with the foundation required to continue developing in the Sunday Roasting Lab.
RM2,490
Two practical days · Two weekdays or two consecutive Saturdays · Petaling Jaya
Led directly by Tristan Creswick27 years of Australian coffee-industry experience.
None
No experience required
Two days
Two practical days
Tristan
Directly taught by Tristan
Required
Starting point for the Sunday pathway
Is this my starting point?
Designed for people who want to understand roasting by doing it.
If you own the shop
Café or roastery owners
Gain practical understanding of what happens in the roast so you can talk to production with more accuracy. This is not the business-launch consultancy.
If you want the profession
Aspiring professional roasters
Start correctly. Fundamentals is the required foundation before coached Sunday development—not a shortcut to professional competence.
If you are serious about coffee
Enthusiasts ready to leave theory
Move from reading about roasting to operating, observing and tasting with a trainer in the room.
If Sunday labs are the aim
Future Four-Week or Ten-Week students
Complete the required starting point so later Sunday time is spent developing coffee, not learning the machine from scratch.
What the two days build
A working foundation—not mastery.
You begin to roast with a method. You do not become a professional roaster in two days.
Green coffee to finished roast
Understand the working sequence from green coffee through the roast, so you know where you are in the process.
Watch coffee change
Observe how coffee changes through the roast, and begin to notice the moments that matter.
Decisions and results
Begin connecting roasting decisions with physical and sensory results, instead of roasting without a reason.
Aim at a drink
Work toward a defined finished beverage rather than roasting without a target.
Record and adjust
Record what happened and identify what should change next.
Ready for Sundays
Build the practical and conceptual foundation required for coached Sunday development.
How practical learning works
Roast. Taste. Understand. Change.
Fundamentals prepares you to participate meaningfully in the development loop used later on Sundays. Later Sunday development evaluates rested coffees in their intended finished beverage.
1
Set a target
Decide what the coffee is for before you roast it.
2
Make decisions
Make and record roasting decisions as you work.
3
Observe
Observe the coffee through the roast.
4
Evaluate
Evaluate the result against the target you set.
5
Change next
Decide what the next roast should test.
The roasting lab
Learn inside a real multi-platform roasting lab.
Cottle Coffee Academy in Petaling Jaya is a multi-platform lab. Time on a given machine follows the teaching plan for your intake—not a guaranteed rotation through every platform.
Platform
Skywalker Cubean Plus
Platform
Kaleido M2
Platform
Aillio Bullet R1 V2
SCA Roasting
Specialty Coffee Association
Optional official credential
Add SCA Roasting Foundation for RM400.
Fundamentals develops the practical capability. If an official SCA credential also matters to your goal, add the corresponding Foundation online course, written exam and certificate during your original enrolment.
Standalone SCA Roasting FoundationRM1,890
Fundamentals student enhancement+RM400
You saveRM1,490
Combined enrolmentRM2,890
Included with the enhancement
- SCA Roasting Foundation online course.
- Downloadable PDF course reference guide.
- SCA online written exam completed in the student’s own time.
- Official SCA certificate after meeting the requirements.
- No additional physical class or practical-assessment time — no further physical class.
Prerequisite: none.
Enrolment preview
RM2,490
Preview: Fundamentals only — RM2,490. This does not change a cart.
The RM400 enhancement is available only when selected with the original Fundamentals SamCart enrolment. It cannot be added later at the same price.
Fundamentals includes a Cottle Coffee Academy completion certificate. Official SCA Roasting Foundation is an optional credential enhancement selected during original enrolment.
Your next roast is where development begins
Fundamentals is the starting point—not the end of the pathway.
Four-Week and Ten-Week follow Fundamentals. They are not interchangeable alternatives to it.
Four-Week Roast Development Program
Four rolling Sundays + final tasting
RM4,490
For repeated coached development after Fundamentals.
Ten-Week Professional Roaster Mentorship
Ten rolling Sundays
RM10,900
For deeper professional development after the required foundation.
Four-Week into Mentorship
If a Four-Week student progresses into the Ten-Week Mentorship, the full RM4,490 already paid is credited. Remaining balance: RM6,410.
Practical information
What you need to know before you write.
- Duration
- Two practical days.
- Scheduling
- Two weekdays or two consecutive Saturdays, subject to confirmed intake dates.
- Location
- Cottle Coffee Academy, Petaling Jaya, Greater Kuala Lumpur.
- Experience
- No previous roasting experience required.
- Trainer
- Tristan Creswick.
- Next dates
- Supplied through the current enquiry flow until confirmed public cohorts exist.
Questions
Before you choose Fundamentals
Do I need any roasting experience?
No. Two-Day Coffee Roasting Fundamentals is the practical starting point. No previous roasting experience is required.
Is this an SCA course?
No. Fundamentals is an independent Cottle Coffee Academy practical program. It includes a Cottle Coffee Academy completion certificate. Official SCA Roasting Foundation is an optional credential enhancement selected during original enrolment.
What does the optional SCA Foundation enhancement include?
The SCA Roasting Foundation online course, a downloadable PDF course reference guide, the SCA online written exam completed in your own time, and the official SCA certificate after you meet the requirements. There is no further physical class.
Can I add the RM400 enhancement after I enrol?
No. The RM400 enhancement is available only when selected with the original Fundamentals SamCart enrolment. It cannot be added later at the same price.
Does SCA Foundation add another physical day?
No. There is no additional physical class or practical-assessment time.
Can I take SCA Foundation as a standalone course?
Yes. Standalone SCA Roasting Foundation is RM1,890 and does not require the practical program. The RM400 student enhancement is only for original Fundamentals enrolment.
Why is Fundamentals required before the Sunday labs?
Sunday labs assume you can already operate, observe and understand a roast. Fundamentals builds that starting competence so Four-Week and Ten-Week time is spent developing coffee, not learning the machine from scratch.
Can I go directly from Fundamentals into the Ten-Week Mentorship?
Ten-Week Professional Roaster Mentorship follows Fundamentals. Some students continue through Four-Week first. If a Four-Week student later enters Mentorship, the full RM4,490 already paid is credited; remaining balance RM6,410. Ask Tristan which sequence fits your goal.
When does the course run?
Two weekdays or two consecutive Saturdays, subject to confirmed intake dates. Next dates are supplied when you enquire. Confirmed public cohort dates are not listed here yet.
Which roasting equipment will I learn on?
The Academy is a multi-platform lab with Skywalker Cubean Plus, Kaleido M2 and Aillio Bullet R1 V2. Specific machine allocation depends on the confirmed intake and teaching plan.
What certificate will I receive?
Fundamentals includes a Cottle Coffee Academy completion certificate. It is not automatically an SCA certificate. Official SCA Roasting Foundation is optional and selected during original enrolment.
Start with two practical days. Decide how far you want to take it next.
Tell Tristan what experience you have, whether you want the SCA Foundation credential and whether weekdays or two consecutive Saturdays suit you best.