Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/105573
C O U R T E SY O F M AT T LU D W I K O W S K I THE AUTHOR at origin importer, and it has evolved into a roaster. A year ago I was building a coffee mill to process the coffees from my farms. Today I am a salesman and a roaster out of necessity—in short, I had a load of green coffee sitting in a friend's warehouse, and I needed to do something with it. I have heard lots of stories of how people get into roasting. Back in the early 2000s I remember trying to roast myself, but I found it next to impossible to even get my foot in the door—it seemed like five years of experience was required to even apply for a job. I know many people have ended up donating their time or working for very little to get into the roasting room, where they then mostly bagged and shipped beans. My journey was different. I dabbled in the coffee business during college, and I came back to the industry intent on learning how to source coffee from origin. I got a job as a barista to support myself, spent my free time building a coffee mill in El Salvador, trained workers there how to process coffee and spent hours convincing farmers that I knew what I was talking about. Soon enough, I actually had coffee in production, and that led to a whole new world I had to learn. I figured out how to transport, store and prepare coffee for export, coordinate between several beneficios that were housing my goods and prepare import specif- ics. Then I had to wait for the FDA to clear it all and find my coffee a safe, climate-controlled home in Atlanta. I spent pretty much all my money in the process. Though roasting has always been a dream of mine, when I conceptualized Brash, I didn't intend to bring roasting into the equation. I wanted to hire someone who was already great at it and give myself time to focus on sourcing. But for now money is tight, and so every Wednesday night I live the dream. I feel very fortunate that Brash Coffee is happening so organically. The process has been raw and unplanned. And our evolution continues, as this winter we are putting together a café in Atlanta because the opportunity has presented itself. I think it is important for young roasting companies to be OK to let certain things happen by chance. Letting go of "the plan" can work as long as you understand your relationship with your coffee, your work and your life. THE COFFEE The options for sourcing green coffee are increasing as importers evolve to meet new demands. Defining whether you will serve as the importer yourself, import through a partnership or continued on page 54 freshcup.com February 2013 53