Latest / Coffee People Podcast / Roast! - Jared Hales, Hacea Coffee Source

Transcript

Roast! - Jared Hales, Hacea Coffee Source · Coffee People Podcast

0:00
Like, hey everyone, if you like the roast West Coast coffee
0:03
podcast, you might also appreciate the, I like, beer the
0:06
podcast, listening to these guys is like being a fly on the wall
0:10
of the pub with a few of your favorite mates.
0:11
Having a pint these professional beer appreciators, have plenty
0:15
of stories to share on everything from the mating
0:18
habits of penguins to there behind the scenes Brewery
0:21
experiences check out the, I like beer the podcast where
0:24
ever, you are listening to this show about coffee or head.
0:27
To, I like beer, the podcast.com Hey, good morning everyone.
0:44
Welcome to season 4 episode. 14 of the roast West Coast coffee
0:48
podcast. I'm Ryan Walton.
0:50
This is the show where I bring you the stories of coffee
0:52
professionals entrepreneurship and coffee education.
0:56
Today, I'm joined by Jared Hales.
0:58
He along with several members of his family owned and operated
1:01
Hosea coffee Source in Anaheim, California.
1:05
Besides being a co-owner he is the acting coffee, buyer and
1:08
broker Isaiah is the company that works the supply chain
1:11
between the farmers coffee, Brokers and co-ops and your
1:14
favorite local coffee roasters, home Roasters and anyone else
1:18
who has a need for cream coffee on the show.
1:20
Today, we're going to talk quite a bit about working with family.
1:23
And what makes someone take that next step from working for the
1:26
man to becoming the man the next time you're on the internet, be
1:30
it on your phone or computer. I'd appreciate it.
1:33
If you'd had to roast westcoast.com and subscribe to
1:36
the newsletter that goes along with this show you'll find No,
1:39
Recaps More Coffee News, education and updates on what is
1:42
happening with guests and partners of the show.
1:45
The newsletter is always free. But if you choose to pay for a
1:48
subscription or bias, a cup of coffee, it'll help us continue
1:52
to grow this show, and the show is why you're here.
1:55
So let's get into it. I'm drinking a batch.
1:58
Brew foremost, your coffee that I picked up on my way to the
2:00
podcasting Booth earlier today. It was a very roundabout trip.
2:04
Considering the podcast Booth is in my closet and mostra.
2:09
Well, moster isn't but hopefully I've stalled enough here for you
2:12
to fill up your own cup of coffee because it is time for
2:15
this interview with Jared, Hales of Hosea, coffee Source, on the
2:19
roast West Coast coffee podcast. Jared.
2:26
It's really nice to meet you. Yeah, welcome to the roast West
2:30
Coast coffee podcast. And before we get too far, if
2:34
you could just State you know your name, what your business is
2:37
your job title, favorite, Ninja Turtle if you have one.
2:43
Yeah. My name is Jared, Hales owner
2:45
and I guess operator of house a coffee source.
2:50
Favorite Teenage Ninja Turtle. Never really watched.
2:54
It hurts me in my heart a little bit.
2:58
I'm so sorry, I'm about 50/50 with people.
3:02
I ask that question to now that was just all a little trick to
3:05
get you to pronounce the name of your business.
3:08
Which when I was looking at it, I was like, man, I could say
3:11
this, a bunch of different ways. Let's start by, what are you
3:14
drinking over there? Looks to give a cup of coffee.
3:16
Yeah, that's why I was about two minutes late.
3:18
They're sorry. I'm drinking a Kenyan coffee, we
3:22
just brought in, I brewed it with the trickle. 8 Brewer, who
3:26
you seen that Brewer before? I have not, it's pretty
3:29
interesting. The idea is you can get some
3:32
pretty high, extractions with less coffee.
3:35
So, so far, works pretty well, yeah, I'll check that out in and
3:39
never apologize. For being late if you're making
3:41
a cup of coffee, we're just fine with that.
3:45
I'm actually drinking a coffee myself, which I don't always do
3:48
on the show, just depending on when we were Word, but I just
3:51
made a pour-over. Mourning Dove coffee from lofty,
3:54
coffee lofty. Is not like an official sponsor
3:57
the show or anything. But I just want to say it on the
3:59
record that I stopped by there and had this coffee on their
4:02
batch Brewer the other day. And I was just like so taken
4:04
with it that I bought a bag to bring home.
4:07
Absolutely true. That I try to visit lofty every
4:11
time I'm passing by. I tried to visit a lot of new
4:15
Shops and and I don't want to say that means I forget about
4:19
some of like All these great long term Roasters but I was
4:22
like, no, I'm going to make a concerted effort today, to drive
4:25
down and stop there. That's the only thing I'm doing
4:28
and it was definitely worth it. I wanted to kind of get some
4:32
back story on you and on this business and I just want to make
4:35
sure I'm pronouncing it right, it says Saya.
4:38
So part of our name development, if those listening don't already
4:46
know, we have four family members, Equal Partners in our
4:51
business and when we first came up with the name, we disagreed
4:56
on how to pronounce it and still do.
4:58
So I would say there's no right way to pronounce it or wrong
5:03
way. I say huh?
5:04
Say a lot of people say, Asia it's kind of whatever, whatever
5:09
flows, whatever sounds good to the person who's buying the
5:12
coffee. It sounds like yeah.
5:13
Exactly. Well.
5:16
So let's start. Let's go back before that you
5:18
working with family. But prior to opening this
5:21
business, did you have any experience running a business?
5:25
Or owning a business or working with family?
5:28
So, I've worked in coffee, since 2008 and various roles and the
5:34
supply chain, obviously, on the US side of things, I have quite
5:40
a bit of experience in manager, positions during that time.
5:43
So, although I've never owned my own business prior to this.
5:48
I had a lot of experience. Managing other people's
5:51
businesses as did, you know, my family.
5:54
So we're all managers outside of us are right.
5:59
As far as working with family goes, Yes, actually my previous
6:03
position. I was fortunate enough to have
6:09
my wife working there. My sister worked there for a
6:12
time. My brother who is now business
6:14
partner work there and my friends worked there as well.
6:18
So, Definitely working with friends and family is not new to
6:23
me. It's actually quite normal
6:25
which, you know, David I think has great positives.
6:30
There's the human element and the, you know, the dramatic
6:36
element of it where personal relationships bleed into work,
6:40
right? But I feel like personally, I'm
6:43
pretty good at keeping things separate in professional and
6:48
let's bring your brother into the Room.
6:50
No, I'm just kidding. Well, that's really interesting.
6:55
You know, I've said on the show Bunch but I've worked with
6:57
family quite a bit too and in the early days of our
7:00
relationship, my wife and I work together quite a bit, you know,
7:04
each other better, and you can kind of predict each other
7:07
better. But sometimes when there's
7:08
disagreements, it's can be a little bit more emotional and
7:11
harder to navigate, because this is someone that you, that you
7:15
can't just go home and take the day off from being family,
7:18
right? Exactly.
7:19
Exactly. And so and so like you kind of
7:22
hinted at the trust and the dependability is there a hundred
7:26
percent? It's just when the conflicts
7:30
come up there a little bit more intense and passionate as you as
7:33
you put it. So I think having kind of
7:36
boundaries, you know, for example, if it's if it's off
7:40
hours, which are pretty slim hours around here, you know,
7:43
we're not, we're not really talking about work after 9 p.m.
7:47
would say, right? It's like cater, Get off.
7:50
We're done with that or you get a jousting stick out.
7:54
And you said well, you know, like you're 12 years old again,
7:58
right? Well, that's pretty interesting.
8:00
Let's talk about you specifically and just you said,
8:03
you've been working in coffee, since 2008, in some capacity.
8:07
Did you have kind of a first experience with coffee that
8:11
made? You think this is really
8:12
interesting. I want to get into this sort of
8:14
Industry as a career. What led you down that path?
8:18
That's kind of a big question there, but I started actually,
8:23
my first job you could kind of consider it coffee was
8:28
McDonald's. I was working in the McDonald's,
8:30
drive-through in high school. And so, obviously Brewing up
8:35
McCafe drinks with the push of a button.
8:39
No. But then, my friends had
8:40
actually worked in a coffee shop together for a couple of years
8:47
before I got a job. Job at a friend's coffee shop.
8:50
They purchased this local shop and you know, needed people.
8:55
And so I kind of jumped in more from, you know, just a teenage
9:00
customer service position and then started going to school
9:05
college, and then manage that shop.
9:08
The manager that was originally there.
9:11
When I started was an SCA back, then they had like level one
9:15
level two, right? And so he was in SC.
9:18
Certified Barista and he is the one who taught me how to you
9:23
know prepare espresso correctly and you know the whole best
9:28
practices and then kind of from there having friends who are
9:33
also in the coffee industry. We kind of exchanged you know,
9:37
mostly customer stories. Right?
9:39
But also coffee stories and just kind of the longer we all did it
9:44
the more we obviously start to learn just naturally I wouldn't
9:48
say A I was actively seeking out new coffee information for a
9:52
long time. Until I don't know, until really
9:57
until I saw green coffee for the first time and I mine was kind
10:03
of blown and there was I really can't explain it, there's just
10:07
something about it. Where Like a whole door opened
10:12
and I realized I knew nothing and this was an entire industry
10:18
like a machine, right? Just feeding the world really,
10:23
there's something like 2.5 billion cups of coffee drink
10:26
every day globally. And so, seeing seeing green
10:30
coffee kind of just sparked something in me where I really
10:34
wanted to learn more and be a part of really sounds cheesy.
10:40
Part of something bigger than just a coffee shop.
10:43
And kind of never really look back.
10:45
I started to just show up at this place that green coffee and
10:52
and I would sweep the floor, literally.
10:55
I Hey, where's the broom? I'll sweep, I'll sweep tell you,
10:58
hire me, you know, and, and that's how I went down.
11:01
I started working for a coffee importer, as actually,
11:04
delivering sacks of coffee, and managing Warehouse in the
11:08
coffee. And so from there also started
11:12
learning to Cup and Sample roast and roast.
11:16
And yeah, the rest is kind of History.
11:19
You mentioned that you saw green coffee and a door opened and I
11:24
think a lot of people have moments like that, but it's a
11:26
scary moment where you could close that door.
11:30
You could also say, you know what, I don't want to step
11:32
through and discover this thing, but if it happens to be the
11:35
thing in your life that you're passionate about, it seems like
11:38
a no-brainer. Like, I'm, I'm stuck.
11:40
Now, I'm following us till the end, but that's not always the
11:44
case. I think and depends on the
11:46
person and the personality. But I want to make sure that
11:49
people know where you guys based, we didn't actually say
11:51
that at the beginning. We're based in Anaheim Anaheim
11:55
Hills right off the 91 freeway, which is to me a kind of a
12:00
unique location, because you're between Allah or between Orange
12:03
County, Riverside, San Bernardino, you know, open
12:06
you've kind of access to everything, right?
12:10
What kind of benefits are challenges?
12:12
Do you face kind of having your business there as that Pivot
12:15
Point? Well like you say we I mean,
12:19
we're from that area. I was actually born in the
12:22
hospital on the same freeway exit that I take to get there
12:26
now. So definitely familiar with the
12:28
area but we really chose that specific area because of the
12:33
access, right? I mean, we were looking in
12:36
places around Fullerton and orange basically, Lie, anywhere
12:41
near the 91 freeway where we could get to the five quickly
12:44
that way. As you put it, we can get up to
12:46
Riverside San Bernardino. So, the decision to be, there
12:50
was very much intentional for that access.
12:54
We also are doing, you know, a lot of tastings and person and
12:59
we're hosting classes. So it was important that the
13:03
space be somewhat presentable, which, you know, didn't stuff us
13:08
into the back of a Hardcore industrial zone.
13:12
So that was another criteria that we kind of had to meet.
13:15
Honestly, we haven't felt any any negative aspects of being
13:20
where we're at so far. We have great neighbors, that's
13:26
good, very good. And I apologize to you and
13:29
anyone listening because I'm a little jumpy this morning, so my
13:32
second or third cup of coffee, so I've kind of saved them out
13:34
of the timeline a bit, but you're working in coffee and
13:39
you're working for a coffee importer in your learning as you
13:41
go at what point do you start thinking about opening your own
13:45
business and and opening it with your family and saying man this
13:50
is just something we were managers and we want to we want
13:53
to go to that next level, right? Honestly, I've almost said last
13:58
year, I feel like pandemic start is kind of from pandemic start
14:02
to now is kind of one year, right?
14:06
When you are three, was the difference?
14:07
Yeah, it's one circular Loop that in We get out of it is all
14:10
just the same day, right? So I almost said last year, but
14:14
really it was back in 20, probably early 2019, my family
14:21
and I started getting together and kind of talking that way,
14:25
not about coffee, but just, you know, in the context of hey,
14:30
we're all in management positions.
14:32
With a lot of responsibility, we all know you know, how to run
14:38
things. Basically is what we I kind of
14:40
realizing and the conversations turned into, why don't we do
14:44
something? You know, why don't we do
14:46
something together? If we can do it for somebody
14:49
else, and we can certainly do it for ourselves.
14:51
And so we had started doing meetings somewhat regularly
14:57
regularly, and kind of talking about what we might actually do.
15:02
And it wasn't until March 2020. When the pandemic actually, you
15:09
know, took full advantage. Affect I got laid off and within
15:13
a month, we had our green coffee business.
15:16
It was an easy choice, you made it may Force the decision.
15:21
How did you come up with that name?
15:23
You mentioned that it, that it causes some dissension, but how
15:28
did you choose it? And then kind of, you know, what
15:30
does it mean? And then you guys have an
15:31
interesting logo and I have a thought on it, but I want to
15:33
know how you would describe, right?
15:36
So we honestly, we no exaggeration wrote down about
15:40
250 to 300 names. It was quite process, you know,
15:45
maybe another Drawback of working with family as everyone
15:48
is somewhat similar in personality types.
15:51
And so it was really difficult to find something that we could
15:54
all agree on because we're so stubborn or as you probably know
16:00
there's just a lot of coffee companies out there so it's kind
16:03
of difficult to find, you know, a name that hasn't been taken
16:06
that you like so ultimately how we found this name, we actually
16:11
took the plant family name that coffee is a part of which is
16:16
Ruby Ruby a Saya. Ruby is Saya and combined, our
16:21
family name which is Hales. Kind of just did a little custom
16:26
mashup to get us a or Asia and then the logo.
16:30
What would you? How would you describe the logo?
16:33
I'm kind of curious to hear what you think before I answer that.
16:37
So I waver because every time I've looked at your website, my
16:41
my brain will go, oh, there's an avocado or it'll go Oh, there's
16:46
a climbing Carabiner. Oh, maybe it's a coffee bean but
16:53
I still think it looks more like a carabiner to me.
16:55
Like and I but I think I've had a different reaction kind of
16:58
every time and it's a very kind of a an oval oblong, maybe an
17:03
abstract Cochrane thing. If I were thinking about it from
17:06
a design standpoint. But so the first version we all
17:10
looked at it and we thought that's an avocado.
17:13
But so we actually had to make Changes to it to try and make it
17:17
less like an avocado again. There's the avocado joke remain.
17:22
So this is definitely going to reignite a lot of conversation
17:26
here now. That's good.
17:28
I'm glad I like, hey, I love avocados.
17:30
It's my one of my favorite foods, but, but no, it was
17:34
actually, it was actually at the very surface level based on a
17:41
motorcycle Drive, Chip drivetrain, so, chain and
17:44
sprocket. So, you have the The, you know,
17:46
the drive sprocket and the sprocket on the wheel and the
17:50
the chain or belt to drive it right?
17:53
That's like at the very, very surface level.
17:55
One of the things that we all have in common is we all ride
17:59
motorcycles together. It's probably the only activity
18:03
that we all do, you know, collectively.
18:07
So so at the very surface, it was kind of based on that and if
18:12
you go into our Tasting Room, you know, we kind of have some
18:15
little splashes of motorcycle culture in there.
18:19
Actually, the colors were pretty much taken directly from
18:24
Husqvarna motorcycles. I was going to ask if you had a
18:28
brand that your family was partial to.
18:31
Yes. That we um, quite a few
18:34
Husqvarna modish motorcycles. Too many probably this logo was
18:40
developed by our good friend, Nathan, who, you know, he's a
18:43
professional designer and branding expert and he took us
18:49
through hours and hours of Q&A. And, you know, it was really,
18:55
really in-depth kind of questions about who we were
19:00
going to be. And, you know, he is incredible
19:03
for that because he can kind of guide someone Come on to another
19:08
level. That personally, I can't really
19:09
get to on my own. And so, you know, not only is
19:13
it, the, at the first glance that drivetrain.
19:17
But also, you know, an infinite Loop of connectedness, you know,
19:21
Hosea is really about connection between producers and Roasters.
19:27
Our role in this supply chain is really a middleman, you know,
19:31
not to put it to glamour, glamorous lie.
19:35
So so kind of realizing that leaning into that and adding
19:39
value with you know our service or transparency the quality you
19:44
know we are we need to make sure that The producers and exporters
19:49
that we work for or work with are happy and the roasters that
19:53
we work for or with our happy and everyone in between is happy
19:58
if everyone is, you know, getting a win and their own role
20:03
in the supply chain, there's no reason why, you know, the
20:06
business can continue year after year in a very sustainable way
20:11
and I you know, the word sustainability gets kind of
20:15
blown out of proportion and coffee.
20:17
But what I kind of mean by that is is recurring business, right?
20:22
We're not interested in one and done on any level.
20:26
We're not interested in buying from a producer, one year and
20:29
bailing the next we're not interested in selling to a
20:31
roaster one time and never seeing them again.
20:34
You know, we're really focused on these long-term kind of
20:39
business relationships because I think I think that they really
20:41
are more sustainable and resilient, you know, especially
20:45
in times like now. Our everything is so out of
20:49
whack and so unpredictable, these long-term relationships
20:54
that I've had with producers and Roasters have kind of what made
21:00
this whole thing possible. Sure, let's make it clear just
21:03
for anyone listening what has Saya is doing which is you as
21:08
the middleman. You're working with producers
21:11
and farmers and other Brokers to bring coffee into, you know,
21:14
into your business, which you were then Distributing out.
21:17
In a sales format to Roasters or or who is the customer for you
21:22
guys. It's really all Roasters.
21:24
We only offer green coffees. And as you said, we're working
21:28
with, you know, depending on the country of origin, a few
21:32
different actors in this industry could be Farm owner
21:36
directly, it could be an association or a co-op of small
21:41
farms. It could be an exporter who's
21:44
working with those people on our behalf could Washing station
21:48
owner, right? It's it's complex something that
21:51
I love about coffee actually. And then we bring the coffee to
21:55
the us. And we sell only on roasted
21:59
green coffee to Roasters really of all sizes.
22:03
So we not only do we sell the full sacks of coffee that, that
22:08
coffee is traditionally exported in, but we also break them down
22:12
and we weigh out. One pound five pounds, we even
22:15
offer 20 kilos sack, That we make ourselves to Roasters who
22:20
are just hobby Roasters doing it for fun and learning or you know
22:25
startup Roasters side hustle Roasters.
22:28
You're doing in the garage and, you know, just selling the
22:30
friends and family and all the way up to containers of coffee
22:34
to get more established Roasters with multiple shops and
22:37
wholesale programs and everything.
22:39
So in brief answer, our customer is Roasters and a longer answer.
22:46
They're really all sizes. In various walks of their kind
22:50
of roasting Journey. Sure.
22:52
Has there been any impetus to do your own roasting?
22:56
I mean making this choice to work in the middle is is a
22:58
choice clearly. So, was there anyone on the, you
23:02
know, in this in this family structure that was like, you
23:04
know what we should do? We should take this step to or
23:06
do both sides or how did you decide to just stick with the
23:09
green coffee? For now that may have been
23:13
discussed very early on but probably got a hard no from me.
23:17
Me I I have had the luck and opportunity to to really learn
23:25
kind of this Niche industry of green coffee and so I really
23:31
wanted to lean into that specifically.
23:34
I think that those are my skill sets.
23:35
As I mentioned, I have relationships on both ends.
23:39
And so, I really wanted to, you know, to continue working with
23:43
those people. And I don't want to compete
23:47
with. With our customers, really?
23:49
I mean, it's a hard game, the roasters, you know, they have
23:52
the best margin, but they have the most competition.
23:55
And so I'm happy to be supporting Roasters and, and not
24:00
in that competition field you. So you don't realize, but what
24:05
you do is, you offer coffee education, 101 courses, which I
24:09
was reading about, you do Brewing courses, roasting
24:12
tasting. How did you guys go about
24:14
developing those classes and kind of, besides Obviously just
24:18
selling tickets. Like what is the goal of the
24:20
class? For you guys, I started I
24:23
started teaching those classes at my previous position, like
24:26
about six years ago now and actually I have recently kind of
24:32
done the math on that. And I think that's close to
24:36
about 700 people that have come through classes, that I've
24:39
taught, which is kind of crazy because I'm actually very shy
24:43
person and I hate public speaking.
24:46
So that has been Critical for my personal development.
24:50
But anyway the classes the classes for me are not anything
24:53
new, right? Really.
24:55
They're kind of I feel like they're pretty dialed in based
24:59
on those. 700 people that have asked me, all sorts of funky
25:04
left-field questions, you know that I would never expect which
25:07
has been great. I knew that when I started the
25:11
business, I wanted to continue doing those classes for that
25:14
reason. I mean, like I said, I get
25:17
questions that I would really never think about on my own and
25:22
so it kind of forces me to look at things from a different
25:25
perspective. And from there really stretch me
25:29
and you know my knowledge. So someone asked me a question,
25:32
I'm happy to say, I don't know, let me let me try to find out
25:37
right and Then that way when the next next time that gets a store
25:42
I'll even follow up with that person specifically and I'll
25:45
have that answer. Hopefully or maybe the answer is
25:48
no answer. My my first thought when you
25:52
start talking about this was I wonder what the weirdest
25:54
question has been. Do you have any that stand out
25:57
to you that like man, where did that come from?
25:59
And I Canna coffee class. I and then come to mine,
26:03
honestly. I feel like all the questions
26:05
are fair. So I would say out of all, All
26:09
out of all those 700 people, as Kind of a Funny anecdote, I had
26:13
one, one person insist on milk and sugar in there cupping, I
26:19
gave him milk and sugar. That's a really interesting in
26:24
the cupping where your, yeah, get the flavors.
26:27
You know what, I think the best coffee for anyone is the coffee
26:30
that they're drinking, you know, ties their hands, the coffee
26:33
that they're enjoying coffee. They're enjoying.
26:35
That makes them want a better cup of coffee.
26:38
And to come to a class. Yeah, yeah, I'm wondering if
26:42
there's anything, you know, about working with coffee for
26:46
almost 15 years now. That really says surprised you,
26:50
or that you kind of learned the hard way through experience, and
26:52
maybe we can even dial that in further.
26:54
Like anything you've learned over the last two years while
26:57
you were starting your own business.
26:58
That surprised you interesting question, it's pretty.
27:01
It's a pretty, I mean it's a big one, right?
27:04
So yeah, I like big broad questions that way.
27:07
I have to make you think about About it.
27:09
But I'm also thinking, you know, there's a step that you and your
27:12
family have taken where you went from managers to owners and I'm
27:16
wondering if there was any Growing Pains to some extent.
27:20
And if there's anything you like, well I wasn't expecting
27:22
this or and maybe it's coffee specific.
27:25
Maybe it's business specific. Maybe it's just, you know,
27:29
day-to-day life. I think I made it bigger.
27:32
You did. I did.
27:33
But me I mean hit the first part I, you know, I mentioned, I
27:38
started working at a coffee shop in high school.
27:41
So I have really spent my entire adult life working in coffee.
27:48
So it's kind of hard to say, what about coffee specifically
27:52
has kind of, I guess, what have I learned or what has shaped me?
27:57
Because, I mean, I am shaped by this, you know, because I've
28:02
been in it as I've grown into an adult and My entire life is
28:07
around coffee. So I've learned as I mentioned
28:11
in just doing the classes public speaking, you know,
28:14
communication, green coffee specifically is open me up to
28:19
International cultures and languages, you know.
28:23
So I get I get to talk to people on different continents on a
28:26
daily basis, right? From, you know, getting to the
28:30
second part of your question. I feel like nothing has been
28:36
Been super dramatic in the changeover other than the level
28:41
of stress, which is, honestly decreased significantly as the
28:47
freedom, to kind of, you know, do things, the way that I want
28:52
to do them. Obviously, I have to get my, the
28:56
approval of my partner, / family.
28:59
But for the most part, you know, just being able to do run things
29:03
away. I think they should be run, you
29:06
know. Transact in the way that I think
29:08
that they should be done. All these things have really
29:12
been a lot easier to be totally honest than in my previous
29:17
position where I couldn't exactly have that freedom to do
29:20
things at least that really, really high level.
29:25
Exactly as I wanted to, as far as like challenges, it sounds,
29:30
it sounds kind of crazy, but I've just been doing the same
29:33
thing for so long, that I just kept doing it really.
29:37
So I haven't really faced anything too crazy.
29:41
I would say the pandemic, it would be the big exception to
29:46
that. We are essentially Logistics
29:51
providers right to get coffee from point.
29:53
A to point B and Logistics has just been totally turned upside
29:59
down. That has definitely been a huge
30:03
challenge but everyone is dealing with it.
30:05
So, It's not like we're isolated or having to figure it out a
30:10
loan, right? We everybody is kind of in the
30:13
same boat sometimes, literally, so.
30:15
So we're all just trying to figure it out together and I
30:19
have a lot of good relationships with, you know, basically our
30:22
competition other Traders, other importers.
30:25
And so I'm constantly talking to them and exchanging information
30:29
and trying to learn from people who know more than me.
30:33
But yeah, the pain, the pandemic has Been crazy.
30:36
I couldn't even begin to to explain the complexities in less
30:42
than an hour. You know, sure you mentioned
30:45
something now about talking to people who are essentially your
30:48
competitors to figure out problems.
30:50
And it leads to the collaborative, nature of
30:53
business. And there are certainly some
30:56
businesses that, you know, keep everything close to the chest,
30:59
and don't want to share it and get that Advantage.
31:01
But you mentioned early on that, there's less competition in.
31:06
Or specific business than there would be if you were a coffee
31:09
roaster. And I think that kind of also
31:12
means there's less of, there's less people that know what
31:15
you're going through at your work on any given day, so you
31:19
can maybe commiserate in my understanding that.
31:21
Maybe that's something. Yeah, it's kind of again, like I
31:24
mentioned, it's so specific role, right?
31:27
And so there are very specific problems and and yeah, we can
31:32
not only share information about how to solve those.
31:36
Those problems but also vent to each other a little bit, right?
31:39
And and kind of talking back to what you said about
31:43
collaboration. That's that is really something
31:46
that I love about coffee and I just want to throw that out
31:49
there that I have an opportunity to talk to direct competitors on
31:53
a daily basis. And you know, we're friends and
31:56
we can actually help each other which is something that I don't
32:01
see in other Industries, right? I haven't worked in a lot of
32:05
other Industries The but, you know, especially working in my
32:08
family and getting their kind of backgrounds in automotive and
32:13
Manufacturing Etc, right? That it's not that way in the in
32:18
their Industries and so that was kind of a learning curve for
32:21
them. I think is like, no, guys.
32:23
We are open. And, you know, we're basically
32:25
open books to anyone that wants to check us out.
32:29
So that's, that's a little bit different.
32:30
And, and something that I really appreciate in coffee, I noticed
32:34
that when I was Rolling through your social media feeds that at
32:38
least in a very small way. You had some coffee plants
32:43
planted. Maybe they're just you know, for
32:45
the desk or whatever. But I'm one of a kind of made me
32:47
wonder how you guys feel about the growth and domestic coffee
32:50
crops Pro against the think it's going to succeed Niche.
32:55
You know, any sort of thought we'd come up from that.
32:57
I mean, I personally, I just grow the coffee plants as kind
33:02
of a learning experiment, right? I've killed quite a few.
33:06
Babies. Unfortunately it's pretty sad
33:09
but for me for me it's more about like watching the plant in
33:13
2005. Give it this nutrition.
33:14
It reacts this way excetera. As far as domestic cultivation I
33:20
think it's interesting to me. I've been following it for a
33:25
while. You've got coffee growing north
33:28
of Santa Barbara, right? That's been there for quite some
33:32
time. I think I first tasted it back
33:34
in 20, 2015 or something. And, you know, it wasn't great,
33:42
it wasn't very good either. Unfortunately, I think these
33:47
types of products kind of become over height and they turn into
33:54
something other than what they really are.
33:57
You know, they turn into marketing, really, which I'm not
34:00
a huge fan of But at the same time, you know, it's coffee.
34:06
How do I put this coffee is a complex thing, right?
34:12
And what's going on with our climate is challenging?
34:18
You know what we can do with coffee and so I think the
34:21
research aspect of attempting to grow coffee and different areas
34:26
that traditionally you wouldn't think to do.
34:28
It is a good thing overall, I think the Our world is really
34:32
trying to figure out how can we grow this stuff?
34:35
Long-term talking like 20, 50, 100 years.
34:40
So I really appreciate it. As kind of a research project.
34:47
I just hope that it doesn't turn into this kind of over-height
34:51
marketing Ploy, right? Or like a cash, grab, or
34:54
something. And as far as the quality
34:57
itself, you know, on a blind cupping table.
34:59
I don't think it'll ever With a lot of the coffee's that were
35:03
working, with sure, there's an interesting kind of balancing
35:07
act, I would imagine that domestic people, that are
35:10
attempting domestic growth are we've talked to a few on this
35:13
show where, who had been very upfront about some of the
35:16
marketing and some of the Rarity of it causing the price has to
35:19
be what they are but also saying but that's how we're funding the
35:21
research side of it and not sure right.
35:24
And and I think there's some interest in that and I I've been
35:28
following it mostly because I've met people through this show.
35:31
That is kind of turned me on to the idea of it and it is just a
35:35
really interesting concept, but even they who have J rescue from
35:41
Fringe coffee. We talked to in the show and one
35:43
of the things he said was he doesn't view any of the coffee
35:46
that he grows as a replacement for coffee.
35:49
That's coming in from producers that have been around, he views
35:52
it as this is something I'm passionate about and learning
35:55
about. And I want to see grow and also
35:58
I'm a farmer who has a business. Sure.
36:00
So it's an interesting Housing Act.
36:03
I don't mean to put you on the spot too much there, but
36:07
Hopefully, he's not listening to me.
36:10
Oh, I'm sure. Jay listens to the show every
36:12
episode. You'll probably call you
36:14
tomorrow. No, if anything, I would say
36:18
that most of the people that I've met that are producing
36:20
coffee and any scale have been very open to conversation about
36:24
the concept. Because I think there's a lot of
36:27
levels of coffee production, from Beyond, just the product,
36:32
but into how employees are treated around the world and
36:36
coffee Farm. MERS the market that they're in
36:38
and and how domestic crops could impact them and vice versa that
36:42
I think everyone's so sensitive to.
36:44
All right, you mentioned early on that, you got your start at
36:47
McDonald's, making the cafes. And it made me think of my dad
36:51
who I know used to always make sure he got his, you know, his
36:55
coffee for McDonald's, every morning, he might still do that,
36:58
but I also know that he's, you know, taking a step up in his
37:00
coffee drinking as well. Yeah, he went of, if he wasn't
37:03
drinking coffee at McDonald's, at one point, is Anything we
37:07
didn't talk about today about your business about you that you
37:11
think people should know about. Give me some time to collect on
37:16
that. Yeah take a minute and I can
37:18
also ask you maybe this is a probably a better question that
37:21
we can we can address which is who among your partner's, does
37:25
the most work, the record just give you're gonna get me killed
37:35
What? I do want to know is if you're
37:36
out grabbing a cup of coffee from somewhere else, maybe
37:39
you're visiting a roaster. What is it that you're ordering?
37:42
You know, what do you kind of gravitate to you as a person?
37:44
I would say I'm 90% or more just a black filter drift coffee for
37:50
a couple of reasons. That's what I like, you know, I
37:53
really drink that at home, whether it's, you know, manual
37:58
Brew or I use my bonavita Brewer a lot.
38:03
But I also think it's a good. I actually think it's a good
38:05
judge of quality and attention to detail at a coffee shop
38:10
level. You know the batch crew often
38:14
kind of gets lumped into this batch Brew category and you know
38:20
someone is paying close attention to that category then
38:24
it kind of says a lot about the attention to detail and and
38:27
commitment to Quality. So I usually I usually use it,
38:31
kind of as a too. Old criteria, right?
38:36
Yeah, it's a barometer for, if they put attention into this,
38:40
what is maybe stereotypically? Looked at?
38:43
As the lower end offering then it's only going to be that much
38:47
better as you go up the chain. Sure.
38:49
And the coffee I was drinking today.
38:51
This morning dove was a batch Brew, you know?
38:54
And it was it was great and I had one the other day from
38:57
another roaster in town and I walked out of there going, oh my
39:00
God, like that batch. Brew was Because I do the same
39:03
thing, you know, it was you and also it's a good way for me to
39:07
to create a baseline of coffee experiences around town, right?
39:12
That's a good point. To a minute ago, I asked you
39:14
kind of throws, anything else that we should know about HDs
39:17
and I might add to that by just saying, if I were, if I were a
39:21
new coffee roaster, kind of getting my start and, you know,
39:25
either on a small scale or starting a cafe.
39:28
How does that relationship with you start?
39:30
As the person who's sourcing coffee?
39:33
Yeah, that's a great. That's a great question.
39:37
I think a lot of times I get emails, you know, from people
39:41
that are that will just say, hey, send me a price list, you
39:44
know, and that's not how we really operate.
39:48
So my response to that is always, yeah, I'll get you a
39:51
Priceless but let's have a conversation first, you know,
39:54
let me find out what you actually do, what your goals
39:57
are, what you need and I can make, you know, better
40:01
recommendations. I can Maybe you don't need the
40:04
most expensive coffee for what you're looking for or you don't
40:08
want to buy this less expensive coffee because it's not going to
40:11
meet your customer expectations, right?
40:14
Really getting getting to work with us is about that first
40:18
phone call and usually it's 30 minutes to an hour honestly and
40:22
it's almost like an interview back and forth.
40:24
I like to share, kind of what we're all about, you know.
40:28
So I really appreciate this opportunity because I feel like
40:31
a lot of the things we're talking about.
40:33
You're kind of in that vein of what those phone calls.
40:37
Go. You know, that we talked about
40:40
my background, how we can help specifically and then kind of
40:43
get into the coffee last, which maybe is not the more
40:46
traditional route but again it's about creating something that's
40:51
a win for everybody, right? In a recurring kind of way.
40:55
So that these customers you know it's really about trust they we
41:00
need to build trust with each other.
41:02
Trust that We can get them what they need, what they're looking
41:05
for, and that when we ship it, we're going to get paid, right?
41:11
So I mean that goes all the way down to the, to the producer
41:15
level, really. So maybe our workflow is a
41:18
little bit different in that way, where we really like to get
41:21
to know who are working with and meet their needs specifically
41:25
rather than just kind of blanket price list and you know, blanket
41:30
ads or anything like that. Well, I think as the coffee is a
41:35
product that isn't grown overnight and you're working on
41:39
kind of future products. Sure.
41:41
And you know past product and so there has to be a longer-term
41:44
relationship. Then then just buying it off the
41:47
shelf and walking away exactly. And and being the coffee,
41:52
importer the buyer. You know, we have to buy a lot
41:55
of coffee up front and a container is about 42,000 pounds
42:00
of coffee. And so, We definitely do not
42:04
want to over by so we are we as kind of the middleman actor.
42:12
You know, we're really more of a sourcing partner than just like
42:17
selling you coffee. And as you mentioned, sometimes
42:20
we may not have the coffee that you're looking for for several
42:23
months, right? But those conversations are
42:27
extremely important to have especially in this crazy covid
42:31
supply chain world where Everything is delayed.
42:34
Nothing can be counted on as at least as far as shipping and so
42:39
those conversations are pretty critical and kind of the green
42:42
coffee planning, right? Sure.
42:45
I think covid is taught business is in particular, a lot of
42:49
flexibility whether they wanted to or not.
42:52
Yeah. Because there's not much you can
42:54
do if you're if the coffee you were expecting to roast for
42:58
Christmas is on a container ship until the end of January.
43:01
There's nothing you can do about it.
43:03
It's therefore for. So you have to learn to adapt.
43:06
So last last kind of just to make sure that I'm covering it.
43:10
But anything else that you thought of that, we should tell
43:13
people about Hosea. No.
43:15
I mean kind of feels weird to like plug feel like I'm writing
43:20
an advertisement or something here.
43:21
But yeah, if you if anyone wants to chat about green coffee, just
43:28
honestly give us a call or email us.
43:30
You know, we've got a lot of great information on Website
43:33
about the coffees. And yeah let's let's cut this
43:38
cup of coffee to recap from the interview.
43:45
A say, a coffee source is the Connecting Point between a
43:48
coffees origin and the domestically located Coffee
43:51
Roasters, and a resource, for coffee education, there are
43:55
advantages and disadvantages to working with close family.
43:58
And finally, the name Hosea is a mash-up of Jared's last name.
44:02
Hey, Al's Andrew bisaya, which is the parent plant of the
44:06
coffee family. Think of it as Arabica and
44:09
Robusta is grandparent, there is still some dispute as to how to
44:12
pronounce the company name. But whether you say Hosea or
44:16
hacia, they'll answer the phone. If you're calling about green
44:19
coffee, you can find more info about the company's coffee
44:22
services, including green coffee, sales, and coffee,
44:26
education classes at Hosea, coffee.com, and of course, I'll
44:30
link to it on roast westcoast.com.
44:33
Thank you for listening to the show today.
44:35
The next coffee smarter episode will be out later this week.
44:38
Chris O'Brien is back, and while we start and, and on the topic
44:42
of Barista competitions, we really Meander down a winding
44:45
path to get there. Thanks to the roast West Coast
44:48
coffee industry Partners. Cafe litter ignite Coffee
44:52
Company. Most your coffee company, leap,
44:54
coffee, Maria, coffee steady-state, coffee, roasting
44:58
coffee cycle, roasting Camp, Coffee Company, Cape Horn,
45:01
coffee, importers Slight whiskey, and zoom bar coffee and
45:05
tea. This episode of the roast West
45:07
Coast coffee. Podcast is was has been written
45:11
produced and recorded by me Ryan Walt.
45:14
I hope this show is found you happy healthy and with at least
45:17
enough sanity and coffee to make it through another day.
45:20
And please always tip your Baristas and be sure to drink
45:25
good coffee. Hey there.
45:51
Thanks for listening, all the way to the end.
45:53
If you liked this episode of the roast West Coast coffee podcast,
45:57
and you want more and more coffee content, please, consider
46:00
buying us a cup of coffee or signing up for a paid
46:02
subscription to the roast, West Coast newsletter.
46:06
That would be phenomenal. And with enough subscribers,
46:09
I'll be able to focus on creating coffee content for you
46:12
all day every day. Subscriptions are a great way to
46:14
show appreciation. For this show, just head to
46:17
roast westcoast.com to subscribe or leave.
46:20
Give us a tip. And this month, I'll donate 100%
46:23
of the new subscriber proceeds to a humanitarian Aid group
46:27
supporting Ukrainian refugees. There are links on roast
46:31
westcoast.com to some of those groups if you're interested in
46:34
doing so yourself. Thanks for listening, everyone.