Classroom example Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
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Ask the classFor you
About Phil & Sebastian Coffee RoastersFor you
SourcesHow can measurements help make a roast repeatable?
Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters · The company identifies the Simmons Building as its Calgary roasting facility.
Where it fits
Pick your class- Physics 30 · Reflection and optical measurement
How it works
Schematic · not to scale
Connect process records to product evidence
Record the roast conditions.
Take a sample from the batch.
Measure light reflected from the sample under controlled conditions.
Compare readings and adjust the next test.
The instrument and charts are illustrative. Light travels from source to sample to sensor; the different arrow colours identify paths, not a wavelength change. Reflectance does not measure flavour.
The lesson, in the real world
Consistency depends on checking what happened, not just repeating a recipe.
- 1
A roast changes a batch of green coffee through heating. Time and temperature matter, but they do not describe every property of the result.
Our explanation - 2
The company says it records roast data and checks samples with a reflectometer.
Our explanation - 3
A reflectance reading measures how light returns from the sample under specified conditions; it is not a direct measurement of flavour.
Our explanation - 4
Comparing process records with product measurements can reveal variation and guide the next controlled test.
Our explanation
Who does this work
Role
Instrument development and testing
Help build and check the equipment that produces measurements. Instrument work joins hardware, software and experiments rather than treating a reading as automatically correct.
What might you actually do?
Investigate
Check performance using a known reference.
Test and compare
Investigate drift, noise or inconsistent readings.
Explain and improve
Document tests so later users know what the instrument can establish.
Typical of this kind of work in general. Not a description of any one person’s job at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters.
- Often works with
- Scientists, electronics specialists and software developers
- Classroom connection
- Measurement uncertainty is part of using a tool responsibly.
Related job postings
Similar work at other employers in Calgary, AB, not openings at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters. These are live searches: results change daily and we have not checked them.
How to prepare
Instrumentation Engineering Technology
SAIT
Mechanical Engineering Technology
SAIT
Ways in
For your students
Ways to prepare for this work
Programs that teach skills this work uses. Each is one route in, not a requirement, and no program has endorsed this page.
Showing routes for instrument development and testing. Show all
SAITDiplomaCalgary
Instrumentation Engineering Technology
Work with measurement devices, calibration and automated process controls.
About this route
Check the provider’s current prerequisites and intake availability. This is a related learning route, not a hiring promise or an employer requirement.
Why it connects to the work · our interpretation
Instrument development and testingSupports process testing, troubleshooting and control systems. Measurement uncertainty is part of using a tool responsibly.
SAITDiplomaCalgary
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Study mechanical systems, design and manufacturing, with specialization options.
About this route
Check the provider’s current prerequisites and intake availability. This is a related learning route, not a hiring promise or an employer requirement.
Why it connects to the work · our interpretation
Instrument development and testingSupports component design, prototyping and equipment work. Measurement uncertainty is part of using a tool responsibly.
Ask the class
Use it in class
Ask the class
If two batches have the same recorded temperature history, what else would you want to measure?
Compare three fictional batches: A and B share a heating record but have different colour readings; B and C share colour readings but have different sensory notes. List what each comparison can and cannot show.
Mindset it shows
The fictional comparisons are not company results. No coffee consumption or hot-equipment activity is required.
About Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
Consistency depends on checking what happened, not just repeating a recipe.
- Headquarters
- Headquarters not separately verified for this example.
- Local connection
- The company identifies the Simmons Building as its Calgary roasting facility.
- Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)
- Team size
- Not verified. We have not found a dated, sourced figure.
- The problem
- How can measurements help make a roast repeatable?
- Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)
- What they do
- Coffee roasting and batch quality checks using process records and product measurements.
- Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)
- Who uses it
- Café teams and coffee drinkers who depend on consistent batches.
- Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)
Phil & Sebastian operates a roasting facility in Calgary’s Simmons Building. The company describes a custom roaster, logged roast data and additional reflectance measurements used to check batches. The story connects food production with instrumentation: recording operating conditions and checking the product answer different questions. Its claims about competitors are not needed for this example.
Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab); Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)Read each source’s date and scope: a documented role is not proof of a current vacancy or of where every position is based.
Reported as Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters states it. Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters has not reviewed or endorsed this page.
Sources and course fit
Sources checked 17 Oct 2026
Where it fits
- Physics 30 · Reflection and optical measurement
Editorial mapping to published CBE course topics. Pending educator review. No outcome-code alignment is claimed.
Sources
- Alberta Physics 20–30 performance standards: A1, B1 and C1(opens in a new tab)
- Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1(opens in a new tab)
- Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2(opens in a new tab)
- Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3(opens in a new tab)
- SAIT — Instrumentation Engineering Technology(opens in a new tab)
- SAIT — Chemical Laboratory Technology(opens in a new tab)
- SAIT — Mechanical Engineering Technology(opens in a new tab)
Organization claims are reported as the organization states them. Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters has not reviewed or endorsed this page.
What we know, and how
| Type | Claim | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| work | Phil & Sebastian operates a roasting facility in Calgary’s Simmons Building. The company describes a custom roaster, logged roast data and additional reflectance measurements used to check batches. The story connects food production with instrumentation: recording operating conditions and checking the product answer different questions. Its claims about competitors are not needed for this example.Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3 | Source-backed company/project account |
| local connection | The company identifies the Simmons Building as its Calgary roasting facility.Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3 | Source-backed local work |
| course fit | Physics 30 C1 includes reflection. Trace light from source to sample to sensor; roast data and flavour are separate evidence.Source: Alberta Physics 20–30 performance standards: A1, B1 and C1 | Editorial application of verified curriculum topics |
| limits | No exact roast temperatures or proprietary machine internals. Colour and flavour must remain distinct.Source: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 1; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 2; Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters — company/project evidence 3 | Scope of this example |
Solid green: the organization states it. Outlined: seen in a dated source. Dashed: our interpretation, not yet researched, or announced but not yet real.