Interviews

James Hoffmann on the World Atlas of Coffee, Second Edition

November 5, 2018 By Michael Leave a Comment

If there’s only one book on your shelf about coffee, there’s no doubt in our mind which one it should be: The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffmann. Hoffmann, famously, is the co-owner of London’s Square Mile Coffee Roasters and the 2007 World Barista Champion. His popular Youtube channel has changed the way we use our French press, helped us keep chaff off our counter, and given us some candid commentary on everything from “specialty” instant coffee to new products. Hoffmann’s groundbreaking book is now available in a second edition, which includes six new country profiles. Hoffmann was gracious enough to answer a few questions we had about the book.

First of all congratulations on the second edition of The World Atlas of Coffee. How long has the second edition been in the works?

In some ways work started on the second edition the moment the first was released. I kept a running file of people’s feedback, captured little tiny errors or things I wanted to improve. The edition was actually commission over 18 months ago. The nature of books like this – very heavily illustrated – is that they need to be wrapped up nearly six months before publication, so there’s weird period of nearly half a year after you’ve finished the work before you can really talk about it….

Welcome to Flavor Country: the Rob Hoos Interview

November 1, 2018 By Michael Leave a Comment

If you roast coffee, Rob Hoos likely needs no introduction. His book, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee, and articles in Roast Magazine have been a lodestar for many aspiring roasters. We caught up with the Portland-based roasting guru to find out what roasters are overrated, what mistakes most roasters are making, and what’s in his cup.

When I think about books about coffee roasting, yours is one of 2-3 that come to mind. What inspired you to write the book?

First of all, you’re kind to think of me in that way. To be fair, it seems like there are only 2-3 books out there! I was mostly inspired to write the book because of the lack of readily available information out there about coffee roasting. I come from a barista background, and seeing how much there was (even early on) related to brewing, extraction, and just really every element of being a barista was set in harsh contrast to the relative silence between roasters. When I originally started working on the experiments that became the basis for the book in 2011 (ish) my goal was to bring much of the openness and collaborative spirit that I had loved and appreciated from the barista side over to the roasting. This paired with the realization that part of what I wanted the roasting community to be sharing (profiling for flavor) wasn’t being shared because it was novel information. The reason for calling it a manifesto is because I didn’t want to be claiming to be the end-all-be-all of roasting, but to establish my observations and the changes I’ve seen in flavor due to roast profile changes….

Introducing Bellwether Coffee: A Zero-Emissions Roaster

May 14, 2018 By Michael 1 Comment

Bellwether Coffee roaster

With the most pessimistic reports predicting the near extinction of arabica coffee in the next fifty years due to climate change, the specialty coffee industry has an invested interest in reducing coffee’s environmental impact. But most coffee roasters utilize technology that is more or less a century old, and far from fuel efficient. A conventional drum roaster burns a lot of fossil fuels, not to mention the by-products that are put into the atmosphere. But a new in-shop roaster from Bellwether Coffee aims to change the way the industry roasts coffee. We interviewed Bellwether Coffee’s COO Arno Holschuh to find out how their zero-emissions roaster works, and why he thinks it could disrupt a whole industry.

Bellwether Coffee is manufacturing the first zero–emissions coffee roaster. I’m sure your technology is proprietary, but can you tell us something about how the roaster works?

I can tell lots of things about how it works! For starters, our roaster uses a fixed-drum roasting architecture. This is also known as the “modified drum” architecture. What I mean is that the roasting drum is made out of stainless steel and does not rotate; the beans are mixed to assure even roasting by “paddles” that lift the beans off the drum surface and loft them into the air. (This design was popularized by …

Dear Coffee Buyer: The Ryan Brown Interview

April 24, 2018 By Michael 1 Comment

Dear Coffee Buyer

I’ve often bemoaned that specialty coffee doesn’t have a book like Kermit Lynch’s classic memoir Adventures on the Wine Route. The story of how coffee travels from remote farms in the tropics to cafés around the world is rarely told, and when it is, it’s usually stripped down to utilitarian logistics. But an exciting new book from coffee industry veteran Ryan Brown aims to offer aspiring green coffee buyers a field guide to a largely mysterious, but incredibly important, aspect of the coffee industry. We caught up with the author of Dear Coffee Buyer: A Guide to Sourcing Green Coffee to find out what inspired the book, who’s it for, and what gear he packs when he travels. …

A More Than Decent Espresso Machine: the John Buckman Interview

April 13, 2018 By Michael 4 Comments

Decent Espresso Machine

For all the talk from coffee professionals about how coffee is a science, there’s not a lot of hard research, especially when it comes to espresso. Much of the received orthodoxy surrounding espresso is a random combination of tradition, hunches, and preferences handed down from barista to barista.

But a new piece of technology promises to usher in a golden age of enlightenment, in which espresso shots neither channel nor under-extract. Or perhaps more accurately, the machine promises to inform the user when channeling occurs, as well allowing for control and customization previously unavailable from an espresso machine. This miracle machine is the DE1+, from the rather modestly-named Decent Espresso. We caught up with Decent Espresso’s founder John Buckman and asked him to explain the technology that has the coffee world buzzing.

Your new espresso machine, the DE1+, has been making waves at coffee trade shows around the globe. Exactly, what’s so special about the Decent espresso machine?

The Decent is a software-based espresso machine. Rather than having a single way of making espresso,…

The Hype Queen of OZ: Michelle Johnson of Barista Hustle

January 17, 2018 By Michael Leave a Comment

Whether it’s reinventing something as ubiquitous as a milk pitcher or shipping some of the most expensive coffees anywhere in the world, there’s few companies more hyped than Barista Hustle. And at the center of the hustle is the hype queen herself, Michelle Johnson. We’ve been following Johnson’s career since meeting her at the 2015 US Barista Championship, and we’ve been impressed by the diversity and depth of her accomplishments. We recently caught up with her to learn what exactly happens behind the scenes at Barista Hustle and if the coffee really is better down under.

You’ve worn a lot of hats in the coffee industry. Barista. Competitor. Writer. Speaker. Marketer. I’m sure I’m missing something. What’s that journey been like?

Jesus, when you lay it all out, it really is a lot! It surprises me how much I’ve done in such a short amount of time. I’ve been in coffee for just over six years, but the bulk of my professional growth into these other avenues has happened in the last two or three. Oftentimes, I stop and question how I even got here! That imposter syndrome is real and there are periods of time where those feelings are magnified, for sure. Reflecting on how far I’ve come and everything I’ve learned by having such a diverse skillset as a result of my journey is proof to myself I can do even more.

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Meet the Youngest Coffee Farmer in Boquete, Panama

August 15, 2017 By Michael 1 Comment

Earlier this year we traveled to Boquete, Panama for the Best of Panama competition. While we were there we met a remarkable young coffee farmer named Keith Pech, who manages his family’s farm Damarli Estate. He was kind enough to host us on his farm, serve us some delicious coffee blossom tea, and teach us about the unique microclimate that makes coffees from Boquete some of the most sort-after coffee in the world. Whether it’s his background as a professional ping pong player or his experience working for a négociant in Bordeaux, France, Pech is an exceptional person that we knew we had to interview.

You grew up near Cleveland, but now you run a coffee farm. How did that happen?

Yes I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and lived there until I was 22 years old. My father is …

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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