Interviews

Interview: Marlee Benefield of Gather Coffee

May 23, 2017 By Michael Leave a Comment

Marlee Benefield

Most of the interviews we’ve done here at The Coffee Compass focus on the baristas and roasters who make your coffee. But there’s a whole group of farmers, importers, educators, and consultants that are behind the scenes, improving the quality of your morning cup. Today we interview Marlee Benefield, cofounder of Gather Coffee, a coffee consulting company that offers Q Grader courses, roasting classes, and a variety of other services.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get started in specialty coffee?

After traveling to, and living in, some coffee-centric countries (Indonesia, Turkey, Uganda), I started to see coffee in a whole new way. Not just as a beverage, but as a plant, as a livelihood, as a catalyst for relationships, and as a profession. When I returned home from living in Turkey, I began working for Equator Coffee. It was mostly just a clerical position, but they were open to any employee joining the cupping table and learning more about coffee. It was my first experience with true specialty coffee and I was hooked. Several months later I was hired by Willem Boot to work at Boot Coffee. Working there was an invaluable opportunity and I learned more about roasting, cupping, importing coffee, sales, teaching and consulting than I ever imagined I would.…

Tartine Manufactory: An Interview with Maja Vojnovic and Chris Jordan

October 19, 2016 By Darren Leave a Comment

Tartine Manufactory, located at 595 Alabama St in the former Heath Ceramic warehouse in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA made its debut in August as Tartine’s long awaited second brick and mortar. While marking it as the latest bread mecca, the company has also established a coffee brand – Coffee Manufactory. We spoke with Maja Vojnovic and Chris Jordan, the team behind the venture. …

The Apprentice: an interview with Bethany Hargrove

September 23, 2016 By Michael Leave a Comment

Bethany Hargrove

Two years ago I tried to overcome my disappointment with not qualifying for the semifinals at the United States Barista Championship by going to a local latte art throwdown. I was no more fortunate in the throwdown, but I did make a friend in a fellow competitor. Bethany Hargrove, like myself, was a first-time USBC competitor representing a small coffee company. In the short time since, Hargrove has gone on to become an accomplished latte artist, USBC judge, and, most recently, apprentice roaster at San Francisco’s Wrecking Ball Coffee. I caught up with Bethany to try to find out what it’s like to transition from retail to production and Portland to San Francisco.

First of congratulations on your new job! Tell us about what you’re up to at Wrecking Ball.

Thank you! I came to Wrecking Ball to apprentice with Trish Rothgeb. I had few expectations when I started this job, but it’s been amazing. I’ve learned a lot about the back side of coffee business that I knew had to exist but hadn’t really considered before. Plus learning how to roast coffee from someone who is not only very skilled as a roaster and a teacher, but is generally one of the best people you’ll meet– it’s a dream.

Prior to this your career has been focused on the barista side of things. What’s it like to work on the other side of the bar?

It’s different. It’s more different than I expected. I expected a bit of a learning curve, having been a barista for 6 years, but it was steeper than I anticipated. In a cafe, there are about a dozen things that require your vigilance at a time– and that’s just the inanimate objects. I’m a classic extrovert so going from a rotating cast of dozens of people throughout the day to just one or two team members has been challenging, and focusing on one big task at a time instead of chains of small tasks has been new. It’s all good for me. Mono-tasking is a weakness of mine, so packing and roasting is helping me hone that.

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From the Court Room to a Coffee Farm: an Interview with Thrive Farmers’ Ken Lander

May 31, 2016 By Michael 3 Comments

Meet the man who wants to change the way you buy coffee. Ken Lander is cofounder of Thrive Farmers, a coffee company championing a farmer-direct model in which the farmers retains ownership of their coffee until the final sale. Thrive’s unique model allows the producers to share in a larger percentage of the profits. We caught up with the former trial lawyer to ask him about what it takes to create a sustainable coffee supply chain.

What inspired you to start Thrive Farmers?

My inspiration for thinking about making a living as a coffee farmer was out of necessity. In 2008, I lost all of my real estate holdings in the U.S., which was my exit strategy to leave with the family and move to Costa Rica in 2005.
We lived on a coffee farm, grew coffee, and that was the only and most immediate source of income other than returning to the States and being a lawyer again. …

Josh Littlefield Embarks on the Great American Coffee Tour

May 23, 2016 By Michael 6 Comments

Many of us fantasize about quitting our job, throwing a bag in the back of a truck, and café-crawling our way around the country. Josh Littlefield is actually doing it. The former New York-based barista is spending the next year sipping his way around the 48 contiguous states, and he’s got a website to prove it. We got a chance to ask Littlefield a few questions about his journey before he debarked on the Great American Coffee Tour earlier this month.

What inspired you to quit your job and go on a nationwide road trip centered around coffee?

The specialty coffee community has been a welcoming home for me over the last 4 years. From NYC to New England, at competitions and all over the country, so many folks I’ve met have been just wonderful. This seemed like…

Matt Argo of Good Folks Coffee Talks Rebranding, Origin, and Expansion

April 25, 2016 By Michael 1 Comment

Matt Argo is quietly building a coffee empire. From humble beginnings in a basement to a brand new roasting facility in Louisville’s Shelby Park neighborhood, Argo’s Good Folks Coffee Company is going places and shows no signs of slowing down. We recently caught up with the Arkansas-bred entrepreneur to ask him what we can expect from Good Folks in the future.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you end up starting a coffee company?

I grew up in Arkansas and spent 8 years in the Army National Guard after high school. I did a good amount of international travel during that time in the military (one tour in Iraq) as well as with my wife in Africa a few times. We spent 5 months in Tanzania before we moved to Louisville. During my time in the military and throughout our travels, we developed a love for coffee. We loved the social aspect as well as the economic impact it has in producing countries. I knew I wanted to start a business after my military contract was complete, and I loved to travel and work with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Coffee seemed to be a perfect fit. …

Introducing the Dominican Republic’s First Specialty Coffee Roaster, Gente de la Isla

September 29, 2015 By Michael Leave a Comment

Coffee producing countries are beginning to roast and serve craft coffee. We recently came across an exciting new roastery in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic that is introducing specialty coffee to the Caribbean nation. As we learned more we became intrigued by Coral and Edouard, the wife and husband team behind Gente de la Isla. Naturally, we felt an interview was in order.

Tell us a little bit about Gente de la Isla. Who are you? What do you do?

Gente de la Isla is a specialty coffee roastery. We also bake our all natural granola and are currently working on developing other breakfast products. Everything is hand made by a small team of 4. We distribute our products via our online store and through 15 small resellers in Santo Domingo. We organize tastings and coffee tasting workshops.

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Empire State of Grind: Erika Vonie Leads Expansion at Brooklyn’s Variety Coffee Roasters

August 24, 2015 By Michael 2 Comments

One of the most rewarding aspects of competing in barista competitions is not the moment in the limelight or even the free swag, it’s the friendships one makes with other committed coffee professionals. We were excited to learn one of our barista comp friends just took an exciting new position with Brooklyn’s Variety Coffee Roasters. We caught up with Erika Vonie to chat about working with a new roaster, competing in barista competitions, and the best place to drink coffee in NYC. All photos by Ashley Revell.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get started in the coffee industry?

My involvement in specialty coffee began when I moved to Philadelphia in 2009 and started …

Palace Coffee Shares What it Takes to be America’s Best Coffeehouse

August 2, 2015 By Michael Leave a Comment

palace_coffee

Recent controversy around the cancelations of regional barista competitions by the SCAA has led to lively online discussion concerning the future of coffee competitions. Many voices are calling for a competition that features teamwork, audience interaction, and realtime judging. In many ways, coffee professionals want a competition more like America’s Best Coffeehouse, a competition put on by one of our sponsors, CoffeeFest. In addition to having one of the largest prize packages in competitive coffee sports, we think this competition has the highest correlation to a barista’s actual job: serving real people coffee in a café setting. We recently had the opportunity to interview Patrick Burns, owner and founder of a previous winner of the competition, Palace Coffee in Amarillo and Canyon, Texas.

Whether it’s USBC or latte art, you and your staff are seasoned competitors. What inspired you to compete in the ABC competition? What’s unique about this competition?

ABC offers something that you don’t get in most barista competitions, teamwork. As a barista you rely on your fellow coffee professionals to create an environment for your customers and to make it a memorable experience. We wanted to put our style of service and coffee against other great shops to see how we stack up.

There are many unique aspects to ABC. The most noticeable is being behind an active bar. This makes it as realistic as a competition can be. You are getting to serve true coffee people and are wanting to win them over with your quality, ability, and hospitality. It’s great because you can be true to who you are as a shop compared to just trying to rack up points on a judges score sheet. There is that aspect as well but it is more true to what will help you improve as a shop.

What did you learn? Did it change anything at Palace Coffee or confirm what you were already doing?

Personally I learned that it is better to trust your team and step aside sometimes.

The feedback we got from the judges is great. We did change up some and put in better practices when it comes to efficiency and closing down.

Photo by http://www.coffeeloversmag.com

ABC is unique with its three-person team format. What was the experience like for your team?

The team format is great. We work most barshifts with a team mindset and not just a position concept. We were able to help each other with our areas while we were taking care of the customers coming through the line. Our crew loved it.

What was the biggest challenge? Why do you think your team was able to win?

Understanding the scoresheets and focusing on the what would be most beneficial was a challenge. Also the set up and tear down is unbelievably stressful.

At Palace we want coffee to be approachable, light, and fun. We took that concept in with us to ABC and together that with some killer coffee we where able to pull it off.

Whether it’s the material cost or the long hours of preparation, competing can be a big sacrifice. Was it worth it?

Going to competitions is one of the most important expenses we invest in as a company. It helps you become a better barista, team, and all around coffee professional. The camaraderie with your team and honestly the other shops and judges is what makes it well worth it.

What advice do you have for other teams considering doing this competition?

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A Look Inside BLK \ MRKT In Traverse City, Michigan

June 25, 2015 By Michael Leave a Comment

The greatest joy of working in coffee is not having access to industrial grade equipment or even the incessant supply of free espresso. Instead, it’s the interesting people you meet, serve, and work alongside of. Few people have made an impression on me like my first manager, Chuck Korson. Chuck and I worked together at a since rebranded café which straddled the line between specialty and commercial. Besides teaching me everything I know about wine and sheep milk cheese, Chuck showed me how to pursue excellence while recognizing one’s constraints. This passion for quality and service has stuck with me. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I heard Chuck had finally realized his dream of opening his own coffee shop in his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. I haven’t been able to visit BLK \ MRKT yet, but I did get the chance to ask Chuck a few questions about his shop.

Many baristas dream of opening their own shop, how long have you been planning BLK \ MRKT?

It have been dreaming of my own shop for about 10 years, but the actual planning phase of the business took about a month, followed by an almost seven month build out.

The pictures we’ve seen look gorgeous. Did you work with a designer?

Thank you so much! I’m glad the shop photographs well. I think it is a pretty awesome space in person too. I didn’t work with a designer on the space (I would not have been able to afford one even if I wanted too). I did the layout and decorating myself, but had a ton of help putting it all together. I worked with an amazing carpenter, Eric Liggett, that did all of my casework, counters, and table tops. My dad and brother put in a ton of work to helping with the shelving and all the little details. They also were instrumental in helping turn the shipping container the Spirit was sent in into the communal table in the shop.

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