Ken Davids of Coffee Review gave a thumbs-up 89-point review to a smart-machine roasted blend by Texas Roast.

Mr. Davids describes the blend as having a “very impressive aroma” and “grapefruit notes with distinct cedar and semi-sweet chocolate.”

“Ever since the review, online sales of our coffee have been booming,” says Jeff Schneider of Texas Roast. Schneider founded the Rockwall, TX, coffee shop and roasting business less than one year ago after returning from military duty in Iraq, with no prior coffee roasting experience or formal training. Schneider roasts on an automated machine by Fresh Roast Systems, Inc.

And the Velocity-Coffee take on this?

“Strike one up for science over art in roasting—but don’t discount Schneider’s selection of good beans and appropriate blending. When you factor that in, well, it makes the automated part almost moot. Many will be indignantly skeptical of how this could be, but then there are plenty of roasters that want you to believe in some fanciful tale of artisan skill passed on from generation to generation.”

What this actually shows is just more evidence that it takes more than a machine to make good coffee. And roasting is both art and science. But the science has to come first. Just like espresso—it’s about controlling the variables!