S7:E11

Welcome back to Roast! West Coast. This coffee podcast started in 2020 with a Google meeting video chat I recorded on my phone with Steve Rayle, Founder-Owner-Head Roaster at Zumbar Coffee & Tea. Steve didn’t know me, but he agreed to spend an hour sharing his story with me. I’m not sure why other than we were stuck in a pandemic, and we were all getting a little stir-crazy.

At the time, I thought I’d interview a few local coffee professionals—primarily for my own self-entertainment—and that would be it. Fast-forward a few years to now, and we’ve crossed the 150 shows barrier. The Coffee Smarter segments I thought would be short five-minute episodes have spun off into their own full-length show.

Things have changed, but not everything. I’m still recording from the same bedroom closet I’ve converted into a small studio. Chris O’Brien from Coffee Cycle Roasting is still my personal Coffee Sensei. I still really love getting a cup of coffee and getting the opportunity to hear and share the stories of coffee people.

The final show of Season 7 will come out next week, featuring the husband and wife co-Founders and co-Head Roasting team Libby and Victor Arreguin of Romantics Coffee. The schedule was changed, and I found myself missing working on the show. You’d think I’d embrace the little break, but my love for this coffee effort runs deep. So here we are for a little interlude enabling me to update you on some Roast! West Coast news, and have a cup of coffee together.

Here is the exciting news that I’ve been sitting on for a moment:

* The Roast! West Coast coffee podcast is being renamed Coffee People. You’ve probably already heard me say that at the top of the show. With the new Coffee Smarter podcast, it made sense to restructure it as this newsletter and podcast continue to grow.

You’ll see a new Coffee People tab at the top of the website, and if you want, you can choose only to subscribe to that thread of interviews with really interesting coffee industry (and industry adjacent) professionals.

* Coffee Smarter has been retooled to focus on coffee education that will enable listeners/readers to make a better cup of coffee at home. We’ll still dig into some deeper coffee science and industry challenges with the experts on special episodes of Coffee People.

* Bill Kennedy and the San Franciscan Roaster Company have joined our epic roster of Industry Partners. He joined the partner crew as an unsolicited supporter after our recent interview. It was an emotional boost for me at a moment when I was a bit overwhelmed by some of the challenges I face being an entrepreneur. I’ve talked about the beauty of the San Franciscan roasters on the show, and I’m looking forward to not only learning more about the machines but seeing the SFR Co. team in person at the Specialty Coffee Association convention in Portland, April 20-23rd. If you’re going to be there, find them at booth 253 on the vendor floor.

* Finally, look for a lot of upcoming collaborations with a new Season 8 Industry Partner, Roastar. They are a coffee packaging company based in Wausau, WI. Wausau is my hometown, but I wasn’t familiar with Roastar until I met one of their teammates at Coffeefest LA last fall.

Roastar provides the bags, pouches, and cans our coffee comes in. They work with roasters on all facets of the packaging process, including collaborating with some awesome packaging designers. In addition to becoming an Industry Partner, they are going to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Coffee People podcast! We’re going to collaborate on a new design column in the newsletter featuring both the best in coffee packaging design and interviews with the artists and designers who create them.

I’ll also be heading up to the SCA convention in Portland, and every afternoon, I’ll be taking over part of the Roastar booth to interview conventiongoers about their coffee journey and much more on Roastar in the near future.

I’m going to end this little interlude by saying Happy St. Patrick’s Day. My morning started out with coffee, and I’m planning to end it with Irish Coffee using a recipe from Talking Crow Coffee Roasters’ recent newsletter. They specialize in decaf coffee. After lunch, I’m a decaf guy, but I have one minor twist.

Here’s my twist. I’m adding an ounce of Irish Whiskey and an ounce of First Light Coffee Whiskey.

And you know what, it’s a holiday, I’m not going to wait. I’ve gotta wrap this up.

Don’t forget to listen to the most recent Coffee Smarter episode on the Melitta pour-over coffee brewer!

CLICK ON THESE R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNER LINKS

Drink their coffees and whiskeys. Visit their cafes. Support local coffee shops. You won’t be disappointed.

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