L’Aube Torrefaction — A Taste of
Europe in the Heart of Philadelphia

When Jean-Luc Fanny arrived in the U.S. from France more than 20 years ago, he had his sights set firmly on a career as an actuary. But after many successful years in that field, he longed for a more creative outlet. He found it when he opened Café L’Aube in the Rittenhouse Square section of Philadelphia.

At Café L’Aube, Jean-Luc brought together his love for authentic French comfort food and his lifelong pursuit of the “perfect” cup of coffee. He and partner Jefferson Green began offering sweet and savory crepes, Brussels waffles, sandwiches and salads along with a selection of artisan coffee drinks in 2008. It was almost everything Jean-Luc hoped for. “Almost” because he quickly realized he wanted more control over his coffee — the flavors, the consistency, the quality. So after being in business a mere six months, Jean-Luc decided that the only way to find what he was seeking was to roast his own beans. He set off to Belgium to apprentice with a family that had been roasting coffee since 1867. While there, he gained a vast amount of knowledge, a personal roasting philosophy and a love of Probat roasters.

Like the majority of European roasters, Jean-Luc’s mentors use Probat machines. So Jean-Luc learned from hands-on experience how Probat’s precision controls and quality craftsmanship give him the flexibility to develop the various profiles he’d always envisioned. “Probat gives me the best aroma and taste,” Jean-Luc says. “It allows for nuances of light to dark that I can’t get from other machines.” When he returned to the U.S. in June 2009, he bought a Probat Burns L-12 roaster of his own and began roasting beans to create the unique blends he would offer at Café L’Aube. “The L-12 was incredibly easy to install,” notes Fanny. “And the Probat Burns team gave me the same level of service and respect as the big roasters. I worked with one of their trainers and Launtia Taylor was always available to answer questions.” Because Jean-Luc has apprenticed on an older Probat roaster, the probat team guided the new roastmaster through the finer points of working with the L-12. Soon after, Jean-Luc started supplying several upscale Philadelphia restaurants with six varieties — espresso, decaffeinated and four regular blends — of his L’Aube Torrefaction brand.

Jean-Luc only roasts blends because he strongly believes that a wider range of flavors can be obtained this way than through single-source beans. He notes that blends are the standard in European coffee roasting. “I’m always looking for the real taste of coffee, the kind I grew up with,” he says. “Too many roasters go for quick and easy. There’s no art to what they do; no development of flavors. Blending allows me to create different tastes from buttery to smokey to chocolatey,” he continues. “With the L-12, I can precisely control pressure and heat to get the most out of every bean.”

During his apprenticeship, Jean-Luc recalls watching the master roaster manually manipulate the damper on an old Probat Burns UG-45 roaster to create dense smoke during the last 40 seconds of roasting to create a smokey aroma. Jean-Luc remembered the satisfying flavor this produced and devised a way to achieve the same results with the L-12. “A few of my customers asked what I’d done differently. They said, ‘Your coffee has always been great, but now it’s even better!’ I was thrilled that the L-12 gave me the flexibility and control to get those same flavors.”

Café L’Aube opens its second Philadelphia location in October 2010 and L’Aube Torrefaction continues to expand its restaurant supply business. Jean-Luc credits his success to his wife and two children, and to his Probat roaster. “It’s simply the best machine a roaster can own,” he says. “I look forward to every day because every day is different. The roaster gets more seasoned with every use. The beans are different. The weather changes. I always have to adjust the flame, the pressure by just a few degrees to create certain tastes. I’m always learning and that’s what makes this job the best in the world.”

Stop by Café L’Aube and discover a true European-style coffee experience.

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