What is your position in the coffee industry?
barista, home barista, coffee enthusiast, industry professional, service tech/repair
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Where are you located? ( City and Country )
Seattle, WA
How many years have you been in the industry?
14
Tell us more about your coffee shop or barista skills.
I currently spend more of my time building espresso machines than using them, but still make my own espresso at home every morning (on a custom machine I built myself) and I pull shots several times a day during breaks at work. It's been many years since I've had to make drinks in a busy environment, but I'm still in tune with espresso. Prior to summer 2009, I spent 6 years as a professional micro-roaster and barista at a great roaster-retailer in St. Louis, MO (Northwest Coffee Roasting.) I was also a barista with the same company for 5 years before that, but we weren't doing a great job on drinks before we re-invented ourselves as a roasting company!
About Me:
After years of great specialty coffee work, I followed my wife to Detroit for her education and worked full time as a coffee/espresso service tech from summer 2009 to summer 2012. The coffee I was working with then wasn't so great, and I really missed the good stuff! After my wife graduated, we moved to Seattle and I was lucky enough to find work with Synesso, where I get to build great machines and we always have a supply of fresh, high quality, usually locally-roasted beans for me to play with. I also love hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and rock-climbing. I play the drums and originally went to school for audio-engineering. I still do a little recording work on the side when I have time.
About My Company:
I work for Synesso, building some of the best espresso machines in the world. Moved to Seattle and started with Synesso in August, 2012 and absolutely love my new town and my new job. Really great group of people to work with!
What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?
The never-ending depth, complexity, and variety of flavors in coffee.
