Latest / Coffee People Podcast / S5:E9 - Samir Benouar, Milka Coffee Roasters

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S5:E9 - Samir Benouar, Milka Coffee Roasters · Coffee People Podcast

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I'm Andrea. One of the hosts of the voice of
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San Diego podcast, Every week I get together with the other
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editors at voice and explain the news that matters in San Diego
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elections, politics law, enforcement, big investigations,
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and some fun stuff. The great palm tree debate,
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ranked Choice, voting bike lane Mania.
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It's great journalism and a lot of fun, every Friday, wherever
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you, listen to podcasts. Again, that's voice of San
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Diego. I commend you for your
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persistence and I at least was just sitting here relaxing with
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a cup of your coffee. Thank you.
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So like it was for me at all, I got tried to hook it up through
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my camera, I'll get the mixing board.
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That's awesome. I got my my microphone that just
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has no, you know, so there you go.
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No, but we're here. Here.
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And it's working. Yep.
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And we're recording. Hey, good morning everyone.
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Welcome to season 5 episode 9 of the roast West Coast coffee
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podcast. I'm Ryan Walton.
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This is the show where I bring you the stories of coffee
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professionals entrepreneurship and coffee education.
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You're about to hear my interview with Samir Benoit R.
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He is the founder and owner of milcah coffee roasters in
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downtown Sacramento, or if you prefer Sacramento California,
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Samir had some real pain in the neck technical difficulties
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getting the mic to connect for the show while he struggled with
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the Audio. I sat in my closet podcasting
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Studio sipping coffee, it was actually quite a nice meditation
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for me. And the coffee was a Rwanda that
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Samir had roasted and kindly sent down south.
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I had brought the bag with me into the closet in the smell of
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the chocolate and Cherry and sweet fruit.
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Just filled this space. It was awesome.
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I think it was the least stressed.
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I've ever been about getting the audio setup for this show.
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And I have to think it was because of that coffee.
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We talked a lot at the beginning of this episode about samir's
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Cafe, space in the Mansion Flats neighborhood of Sacramento.
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If you want to see photos while you're listening, follow, and
2:22
check out at milka underscore coffee on Instagram or check out
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the newest post on roast westcoast.com.
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You could also get online and start looking at houses for sale
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near mocha coffee because Samir is a verbal Ambassador for the
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city. And if you're like me, you'll
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want to move thereafter, the Show I chatted with Samir a few
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weeks ago. And sadly, I've already run out
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of the coffee. She shared with me.
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Luckily, I live close enough to walk to steady-state, coffee.
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Roasting in Carlsbad Village. I picked up a bag of their space
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traveler blend of Guatemala in Ethiopia coffees yesterday.
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It is one of my favorite everyday cups of coffee, and I
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often keep a bag here at the house today.
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I'm definitely picking up the caramel and Apple notes, but
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I've got to stretch a little bit for the Barry.
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I've been working on being more proactive about profiling.
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Coffee's lately, but I'm still a work in progress.
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Whatever you are out there Brewing or buying this morning,
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I hope you've got a full coffee mug because it is time for this
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conversation with Samir Benoit founder and head Coffee, Roaster
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at milka, Coffee Roasters. Good Deeds.
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Are, you know, the OG headphones prior to the new ports in the
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phone. So I had to dig through, like,
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six, six, drawers to find these. I'm not using my computer audio
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today, okay? I refuse to use a Macbook airs
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audio because that's just going to be with everything going on.
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Hey, I have done this show and so many different ways I've had
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times where we just Couldn't get it to work for whatever reason.
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And I have people call me through like a zoom or call in
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and then I'm recording it on my phone through the computer,
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like, you know, whatever it is to get the, it's all about
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content. Yeah, yeah. 2022.
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I mean, as long as, as long as people are like, you know,
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you're talking, you're having a nice conversation and it doesn't
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really matter how I mean, I know you, I've been listening to your
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podcast and I know you've done some stuff outside, so that's
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out. I had just fine so I'm not too
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worried. People are very forgiving.
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If they're enjoying, you know the conversation and I had no
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audio experience really when I started this and I only have a
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small amount now so we're still getting better every week.
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I'm still getting better every week and will keep improving,
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and I should say before we get too far into this.
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Welcome to the roast West Coast coffee podcast.
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Thank you. I appreciate you putting in so
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much effort to be here. And I'm going to just tell One,
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I'm drinking a coffee of yours, Rwanda coffee.
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And I don't want to butcher this name, but maybe you can say in
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the second, when I opened the bag this morning, the aroma that
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hit me was so overwhelming. It was just quite lovely in a
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big Cherry, chocolatey way. And I've this, I don't normally
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make a second cup of coffee and today I did because I was just
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enjoying it so much. Oh, thank you.
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Yeah. I mean that's a good shot.
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Good shower area from mukou importing.
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Young and they're actually really cool story there.
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It's basically a family in Rwanda and one of the sons as I
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understand it moved to Baltimore to pursue the medical field.
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I think he's in administration and they were importing, their
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come coffee through like different importing companies
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and they weren't getting good prices.
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Like they weren't matching cost of production.
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Obviously. That's like the problem that we
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have and, you know, coffee the Is.
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And so the kid he Chris, he's just like screw it.
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I'm gonna go ahead and give my importing license and I'm going
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to import this copy. So he started to muko and has
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been importing since. And so this is the second year,
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we've got this, we have the washed and we have the washed on
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batch Brew right now and the natural which is what you have
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and that's on flash Brew which is actually what I'm drinking
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right now. This is my go to.
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Yeah. When it It's getting warmer.
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It's going to be 80 degrees here today.
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And, you know, we're not going to hope.
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Well, I don't know. It's been crazy.
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It's been very bipolar and Northern California.
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We had snow like a week and a half ago.
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So, yeah, we were planning, we were planning a trip to Yosemite
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about two weeks ago. And as I'm watching the weather,
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everything look good, I really good.
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And then all of a sudden they're like well we might get 24 inches
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of snow. Like the day we're driving there
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and temperatures are going to drop down to 10 degrees at night
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and we're like, I do. If we want to camp on the
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ground, no, you do not want to strip wood and also just driving
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into Yosemite and like, the roads.
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And it's just it's dangerous when it starts getting ice and
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stuff. It's just not, it's not worth it
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but it was cool because we went and got a little bit of powder
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up at we go to Palisades formerly Squaw and yeah we got a
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little powdered a powder day in and the end of what was that
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April who gets one? When's the last book?
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I mean powder in April is that's insane for California.
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Where like you know they extended the season, we've had
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our Yosemite trip cancelled. Now, four years in a row, I've
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never been and four years in a row.
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We've planned this trip and twice because of wildfire
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rerouted us and this year because of snow and cold and
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they actually did close the roads to the camp we're going
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to. So we went and got in there
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anyway. And then once because of the
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pandemic, And so I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to make
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it and then even even then maybe it's a better story if I don't.
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Yeah, are you gonna go? We're gonna go backpacking
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camping, at least if not backpacking.
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Okay, my wife and I are going to be camping.
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All summer will be doing a big 12, state camping trip and
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becoming actually back through Sacramento and we're leaving it.
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Open-ended for Yosemite because we just don't want to plan it
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and then have it canceled. So we're going to kind of we
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left those last that last week open and if we make it we make
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it and we don't so be it. Well you'll make it just as long
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as there's no fires. I'm glad it's good that it's
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raining and you know, there's clouds overhead right now it's
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like not kind of nice to push back that fire because I mean
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it's it's in Sacramento, we get like a thick dense, you know,
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whenever there's a fire anywhere around us.
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So it kind of like dampens the mood here.
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Summers are amazing. I mean, like, what's one of my
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favorite times? We have a beautiful River.
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We have, you know, we have two rivers, actually, we have one
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where you can vote on and then one where you can raft on.
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So it's like, we're Rivertown, you know when there's smoke you
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just can't go outside. So last summer, it kind of took
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over our whole summer. We had three massive fires
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within, you know, 40 miles or 50 miles of here.
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So it's kind of yeah, I mean, but not to dampen this this
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conversation No, it's a good, it's a good reminder that, we're
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all dealing with climate change in different ways and, you know,
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my family is in Wisconsin. And when there is a fire in
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California, anywhere, I usually get a phone call.
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Like, are you okay? And I'll be like, well, it's
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like 14 hours away, but yeah, like, we're good.
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But at the same time, like it's a reminder that in the state
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that I live, people are dealing with it in that moment and we
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just, we've been in Southern California.
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We've had a say, a lucky few years south of They where we
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haven't had any major Fires for two or three couple, small ones.
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But, yeah, but it's, you know, you kind of always feel like you
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are on the edge of this. Okay, well, that's not going to
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last forever. Yeah.
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I live right near the beach is about A half-mile.
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Walk To The Shore and the closest that we've had was a
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fire at Camp Pendleton, which is just North of here.
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And but certainly like sitting on my porch and we had Ash
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coming down and it was definitely eye-opening.
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You know, it's you get used to the idea of fires.
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Now, when I, when I hear about them on my car, right?
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Where is it on the map? But it's still still can be a
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thing. You know, we're prepared.
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We got, you know, stuff and fire bags and we got stuff if we
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have, if we have to go, we have a plan in place.
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Yeah, yeah. We're lucky.
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And in downtown Sacramento that we have the rivers for.
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Well, I mean, I should say we're lucky, I mean, who knows?
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What's going to happen, you know, but we have the rivers
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that kind of provide a good enough fire.
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Break and they're like wide Rivers like not they're not
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small. You know.
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It's like yeah. You know 30 feet across or maybe
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probably more. Honestly I don't understand
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distance very well like I don't know, I don't think I could
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throw a baseball across the river is let's just go let's use
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that as it as a smarty. Yeah that's a good distance.
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I'm always told by my better half that I don't I'm not aware
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of my three dimensionality and I keep running into things and so
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yeah, I understand that concept. Cept.
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We're already ten minutes into this chat.
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I haven't asked you. If you could just your name.
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Let's go for the people. The business.
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You know what? Your job title is and maybe how
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did you end up in Sacramento? I ramble.
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So, if you ever need to just be like, dude, back on topic,
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please, please do. My name is Samir been war--, I
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own milk the coffee roasters here in Sacramento, California.
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We're just a small Roastery and one coffee shop right now, kind
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of Of branching out into wholesale and doing, you know,
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just doing normal Cafe stuff. And I am currently, I roast the
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coffee and I do everything else. I run the business.
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I have an amazing staff or team or whatever you want to call
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them. Mary is our general manager.
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So, she manages it. So luckily, I don't deal with
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too much of the day-to-day coffee.
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Shop stuff. Just kind of the overall like
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Here, what what's a big decision that needs to be made and I have
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to make it kind of kind of stuff.
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And I think that's what a lot of people in my, in 11 coffee shop
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positions, where you're trying to grow or trying to grow that
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they get into, I'm actually from Sacramento, this is where I was
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born and raised the name. Milka comes from my
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great-grandmother milk, a radnich who emigrated from the
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former Yugoslavia, which would she would have been from
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Croatia. Had there been a Croatia at the
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Time. Yeah she immigrated here or
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migrated at more like I think that's more the correct term to
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Sacramento in the 1920s. So yeah, my family's been here
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for 100 years about now and yeah, I guess that would make me
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fourth generation and then my dad my dad's from North Africa
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is from Algeria and he's first generation.
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So I've kind of like, you know, that split personality in that
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sense. But yeah, I'm Sacrament in and
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lived Year after high school, when a bunch of different places
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lived in Live down in Long Beach, right.
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By you have a lot of friends in San Diego, lived in New York,
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lived in the Bay area for a little bit.
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My parents currently live in the Berkeley Hills and, and then I
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moved back to Sacramento. Because Sacramento, Sacramento,
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man, I love. It's my hometown.
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It's like, where I feel comfortable.
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It's a, I just, I'm used to it. It's got so many trees and I
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mean, I love trees. I love just being.
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I love walking through a city where you You feel like, you're
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in the wilderness, like, you could turn down a street, and
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you're like, whoa, why are there so many trees and, like, houses
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and like not a businesses and then you like walk out and
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you're like, oh, there's like 20 businesses right here and I can
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go get like a beer. I can go get coffee or I can go
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get you know, really good food and so it's a cool City in that.
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It's like one of the most walkable places it's like 30
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minutes across one side to the other.
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Maybe 40 I walk pretty fast so I'll say like 45 from one end to
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the other and And yeah, it's totally flat bikeable.
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One of the best. We got a river.
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You can, you know, we got like, 50 miles of river biking and
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yeah, it's pretty, pretty fun. And I think that's why I came
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back. That's why I ended up back here
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is just, this is where I kind of am, like, I want to, you know,
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build this community and talk about it and have other people
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talking about it. Like I'm talking about it and so
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yeah, that's what that's why I'm back here.
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I mean, I'm taking the city of Sacramento Chamber of Commerce
15:04
in this end, This video or this audio at some point in the
15:07
future, it's gonna go viral and talk about Sacramento.
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I actually have a close friend here from Sacramento, who is
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just as much of an ambassador for Sacramento, as you are.
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And he's always saying, you got to go up there, you got to check
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it out. I think you'd really like it and
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he's a brewer here at for June shine.
15:23
If you've heard of June shine, kombucha of course.
15:25
Awesome. Greg Peters.
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Shout out to Greg. He doesn't listen to the show
15:30
but he does love Sacramento. I want to get into a bunch of
15:33
stuff, but since we're talking about Sacramento, I want to talk
15:35
a little bit about the building. Your shop is in.
15:37
I saw some photos of it and it's, it looks beautiful, like,
15:40
historic building. I'm wondering it's in the
15:44
Mansion Flats community of Sacramento.
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Why did you find this place? Like what spoke to you about it,
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and what was the process to get it from when you walked into it,
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to where it is now? Because it looks like you must
15:55
have done some work to it. Oh yeah.
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Yeah, I mean, if you just saw me, take a deep breath.
16:00
It's like, that's, it's one of those things where it's like,
16:03
it's a oil, you know, like, it's a feeling it's like, you know, a
16:07
man that was like, a lot of work, but it's so rewarding.
16:10
And you know what? I do it again.
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You'd have to ask me a couple times because it's tough.
16:16
Yeah, it's an, it's an old Victorian, which is, which is
16:19
very, very Sacramento Sacramento's like gone through
16:23
the American, you know, architectural design phases.
16:27
Like, from Italian, it to Queen. Anne Victorian to Craftsman to
16:33
Bungalow to like you know all the cool calc you know American
16:38
Styles I guess except for like Brownstones and then maybe
16:41
whatever colonial homes before that.
16:44
But this is actually like yeah an Italian it Queen and building
16:48
built in 1861 so we just hit 160 years last year of it being
16:56
stabbed. It's since the year it was built
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built in 1861. You know, I fell in love with
17:03
this building because I've grown up here in Sacramento around
17:07
victorians walking around downtown as a kid and they feel
17:11
very familiar and you know very comfortable for me our art
17:15
museum is in a Victorian. The crocker or its kind of now
17:21
got a modern wing and an older wing and so it I just grew up in
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these things and when I saw this building for sale and I was
17:29
looking to move back from New York too.
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To to Sacramento and I was kind of like what's going to bring me
17:34
back, I need to find something. I'm not going to come back here
17:37
and get like a strip mall shop. You know, because I want
17:42
something unique and very Sacramento and I want people to
17:44
come into these places and feel like they're at their house
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because a lot of people live in these buildings down the street
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and in our neighborhood. So that was kind of my main
17:56
thing was like I want to be very Sacramento.
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I want to feel comfortable and I want people to feel comfortable
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and so I saw this Talk to a real estate agent and was like, we
18:05
got to do this, whatever it takes.
18:07
So we actually ended up purchasing the building.
18:10
My father and mother are like Angels, they're the greatest
18:13
people ever and they have supported me to the end of the
18:16
Earth and back and I probably don't give them enough love.
18:20
So Mom Dad when you listen to this sir you know this is this
18:24
is that moment where you know you get all that praise and yeah
18:28
they helped me my dad and I we call him Pots.
18:32
So pops and I, we spent the better part of three years, you
18:37
know, renovating painting fixing all the cracks getting it up to
18:41
standards just going through all the permitting historic
18:47
preservation. This is like a historically,
18:48
registered building in Sacramento.
18:52
So, that registry kind of makes it a little bit more difficult.
18:54
You have to adhere to certain standards, even with landscaping
18:59
and we had to get Landscaping approved.
19:01
We had Put in a lift because it's, you know, forty eight
19:04
forty some odd inches off of the ground.
19:06
So we put in a wheelchair lift so we can make sure that we can
19:11
serve, you know, every community no matter what.
19:15
Yeah, it was it was a really long and kind of difficult and
19:20
testing project and I was like if this doesn't work out I'm
19:24
gonna be really sad. This is gonna be one of those
19:26
things where you like tell your kids like you know you tell the
19:30
story. But But luckily we did a great
19:33
job, my partner is an interior architect and she did a
19:38
phenomenal job of Designing and we're still designing it.
19:41
We still have stuff that we're working on.
19:44
We are constantly re renovating and adding things and moving
19:48
things, because I believe like a coffee shop is a, it's a living
19:52
breathing organism. It's not just something that you
19:55
put in there and you go. Okay, we're done like, you know,
19:58
we've changed out pretty much everything in this place, like
20:00
three or four times. Times even the bar or the
20:03
espresso machine Puffs press, you know, like Grinders new
20:07
Grinders. We like the grind by weight
20:08
stuff. Everything to make people's
20:10
lives easier and make the coffee tastes better.
20:12
We're constantly evolving. And so I think that's kind of
20:15
like why I chose this building because I knew that that's what
20:18
this building needed. And that's what like I how I am
20:22
is constantly like evolving for better for worse.
20:26
And I think, yeah, I felt really at home in this space when I
20:31
toward it. And yeah, people do feel at home
20:34
like you kill your people and they go, it's like a sitting in
20:37
my grandma's house again, you know, and it's like that it
20:39
feels like that and that's kind of milcah.
20:42
It's like the face, it's kind of a cartoon of my
20:44
great-grandmother and yeah, kind of feels like she'd be sitting
20:48
in the window and just kind of like, looking out at the world,
20:52
you know? And that's that's what kind of
20:53
how I picture the space. I do love that thought of the
20:57
shop being and the building itself ever evolving
21:01
Ever-changing. There is a stagnation that
21:04
happens in a lot of businesses. A lot of hospitality businesses,
21:07
when something works right away, your people get afraid to change
21:11
it and the reality is as your customers will change and grow
21:14
in the same way that your business.
21:16
Well, and the design really is beautiful.
21:19
I don't want to get too far away from kind of going back in time
21:23
before you got into coffee as a business, did you have any
21:27
experience with coffee? What was your first kind of
21:29
memory where you're like, you know, this is Think I'm Into,
21:32
You know what? Brought you, what started you
21:34
down this path. So I think this is going to be
21:38
one of those ones where I'm gonna, I'm gonna feel kind of
21:41
sell Outi in a way because I actually came to coffee as like
21:46
with a business mindset. You know, I really, I started
21:49
brewing beer and really wanted to start a brewery and realize,
21:54
like I don't have access to like a million dollars to buy a huge
21:59
Brewer and like, you know, those Those businesses are built to
22:03
scale and that's not my personality at all.
22:05
I'm not like a built to scale kind of guy.
22:08
Like I said it's like a breathing organism like that's
22:11
what I want. I want to be able to, you know,
22:14
mold and meld and Brewing is not as much that.
22:17
And so I was like, what else can I do that?
22:20
Has a, you know, lower entry point I realized.
22:24
Okay, I'm working at this bar and Brooklyn that has bar
22:28
restaurant that also has a cafe in it.
22:31
And coffee shop in the morning and I had to work in the coffee
22:34
shop part a little bit but I mostly did, you know, beer
22:36
tending in the evenings. And yeah, it was like, okay,
22:41
well coffee. So I looked into it.
22:43
I was like, okay, it's pretty cheap to buy a roaster.
22:45
It's pretty, you know, all this stuff.
22:47
And so then I started going to coffee shops and started to
22:50
like, research and do my. And then I kind of started
22:53
falling in love with it and being so kind of came to it from
22:56
a business perspective where I was like I was finding something
23:00
to do after grad school. I have a master's in Fine Arts
23:03
and poetry from the new school in Manhattan.
23:06
And and I knew, I didn't want to go into publishing and I knew I
23:10
wasn't going to make any money, writing books, of poetry trying
23:14
to sell them. I'm not one of those people who
23:17
can like, you know, I'm not I'm a good teacher in a way but I'm
23:21
not, like, you know, I'm not structured enough to like teach
23:24
full-time. So you're speaking to a guy with
23:27
an English creative writing degree, who sold a book on
23:30
through time. Venmo the other day and was
23:32
stoked about it so I feel you're at then.
23:36
Yeah, yeah, no, that's yeah, I finished grad school and I was
23:39
like I Gotta Do Something Brewing.
23:41
Didn't work out coffee seemed like the next kind of version of
23:46
that. And yeah, I was I mean I was in
23:49
and out of coffee shops. In grad school, I was writing my
23:52
thesis but I didn't really drink a lot of coffee.
23:55
I mostly drink beer, I would like, you know, start writing at
23:59
eleven have my first beer not I would be riding at home and then
24:03
I would go and, you know, and then I kind of was like, okay,
24:06
I'll try coffee and I'd never really drink coffee before that.
24:10
And, you know, got lucky that I was one of those rare people who
24:15
like started drinking coffee started.
24:18
Drinking specialty coffees, I didn't really ever drink bad
24:21
coffee, like I never drank like, you know, Starbucks or fold and
24:25
not that Starbucks. Is that causes the coffee?
24:26
But I never drink Folgers, or like anything like that kind of
24:30
just came in and was like, whoa, Well, Brooklyn has all these
24:32
dope coffee shops. I'm gonna, you know, just drink,
24:35
good coffee. And so, I decided to go and get
24:39
a job in coffee because I was like, I need to do that before I
24:41
get a, start a business and coffee, and I can't just kind of
24:45
be one of those. I mean, I guess you can, if, if
24:47
you want to start a coffee business, you never been in a
24:49
coffee business and you do enough research and you like,
24:53
you know, you can do it, but really, there's no substitute
24:56
for going and, you know, getting a job in the coffee industry and
25:00
working on bond. Are and, you know, like actually
25:03
dialing in every day so that, you know, oh, if I roast this
25:06
coffee, it's going to actually get used, you know, because a
25:09
lot of people don't think that they go, I'm going to roast
25:11
coffee, and it's going to taste good and it's like, well, but
25:13
then there's got to be usages for that.
25:15
We got to be able to dial it, in easily, you have to be able to
25:18
dial it in on this recipe machine easily, Bachelor easily.
25:22
You know, I got a job at Brooklyn Roasting Company and
25:27
kind of just learn how to be a barista and bought a little
25:30
coffee. Roaster while I was working
25:32
there and started, roasting fell in love and that's kind of my
25:36
origin story. It's a little different than,
25:39
but I will say that they're cold brew.
25:42
It's a natural or it was at the time of natural Saddam.
25:46
Oh, was just like, out of this world and the greatest shot,
25:51
still of espresso, is a Honduran coffee.
25:54
I can't remember where it was from that.
25:56
I got to dial in and actually work with, and it was just
25:59
straight like blood. Inge and grapefruit and like,
26:03
just this like melange of like tropical fruit and it was just,
26:09
it was an insane cup of coffee and I we got to work with it for
26:12
maybe like a couple weeks while I was in season and it was just
26:16
like. And so those that those kind of
26:18
two coffees are if you're looking for like my my Gateway
26:21
coffees. Those are those are the two that
26:23
kind of were like, oh, okay, so this is what coffee is this is
26:26
this is where we're at. This is what's going to like,
26:29
I'm going to wake up every morning.
26:30
Drink a A cup of coffee and be super stoked, you know?
26:34
And so that kind of that, that got me in.
26:37
Yeah, that that Gateway. Beverage is so important.
26:40
My first cup of coffee was from a place called Dark Matter in
26:43
Chicago. Also a great specialty roaster,
26:47
but then I regressed and I went right to diner coffee for
26:50
several years after that. So I'm back.
26:53
I'm back on the specialty coffee or so, I several years.
26:56
Good. How long is milka been open?
27:01
So we open February 13th, 2019, which is actually my brother's
27:07
35th birthday. So we opened on his birthday,
27:09
kind of, as like a, we I mean, I love the family thing, so you
27:13
know, that's kind of, why wouldn't that with that?
27:15
So, three years. So three years so you had almost
27:19
a year in before pandemic it. How did you guys navigate
27:25
through that period? Being a new business?
27:27
I kind of feel like that first year is like, okay, we got a
27:30
plan. We're going to see if it
27:31
actually works. And then like that second years,
27:34
like let's go into overdrive and do all these things we want to
27:36
do. But then you get hit by this
27:38
pandemic. How did you guys adapt and what
27:41
is this experience been like for you.
27:44
Oh, how did we adapt? Well, we hung on for dear life
27:51
at first and kind of just were like, well, this is, this is our
27:55
life. Now we got really lucky that.
27:58
In that first year, we did a lot of work.
28:00
With Community. We had a lot of events.
28:02
We had a lot of art shows and we have like a pretty like solid
28:08
group of people who like a solid following.
28:11
I would say I kind of don't like to use that because it feels
28:14
like we're in a cult or something.
28:16
But specialty coffee is a cult, for sure.
28:19
There's no question, absolutely, 100% 100%.
28:23
And I mean, any, any great industry is very cold, as you
28:27
know, because because you have to be to be like, really On
28:31
something we got hit by the pandemic, a lot of people left
28:38
because they either was their time to go honestly, or it was
28:44
like they're worried about the pandemic which is totally
28:47
understandable. So it ended up that we had two
28:50
employees and me that basically ran the shop for maybe like
28:55
three or four months. And then we had a third employee
28:58
who kind of came in and Worked weekends and help us out and did
29:02
stuff and it. Yeah, we just kind of pivoted
29:05
and that's that was, you know, that was it I don't we're very
29:11
lucky because we did that groundwork in the first year and
29:15
we're in smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood.
29:18
And so we're not in like a central business district.
29:22
So are walking score is not amazing, but when the pandemic
29:25
hit, everyone was at home. And I mean, I know you've heard
29:28
this a million times over and over again.
29:30
Like All the people like, you know, the coffee industry,
29:33
shifted to neighborhoods and to people's homes buying bags of
29:36
coffee, which in coffee bags of coffee is you know, pretty much
29:40
our highest margin product that helped a ton.
29:43
We got a lot of people buying a lot of coffee, we were, you
29:47
know, a central hub for people's like daily walk.
29:50
You know, everyone had their one walk of the day where they got
29:53
out, stretch the legs took their dog out, you know, got to feel a
29:56
little normal for a bit before having to go off themselves back
29:59
in their house. And so, We were on everyone's
30:01
daily, rock Walk route. We got to kind of be part of the
30:06
their happiness during that time and I think that really it made
30:10
us feel really good and it just kind of like made me realize
30:15
that what I had dreamed for this place and such in the weirdest.
30:19
Like dystopian way was like happening.
30:21
You know, we were there, like we felt like we were their home
30:25
away from home, you know, they came in and they're like, oh
30:27
this is my daily like ritual. Now I go to milka Go get my
30:31
maple latte and I get to chat with Samir for a little bit and
30:35
then I go home and then like that's made my day like that's
30:39
their highlight of their day. And like you know, that's every
30:41
coffee shop wants their or any business in general.
30:45
Once specially in the food service industry wants people's
30:49
favorite part of their day to be inside of there.
30:52
You know, you know space. So I think kind of in a weird
30:56
way. It kind of solidified us as a
30:59
business in Sacramento, I know and in this neighborhood of
31:02
mansion flat specifically, and so we pivoted in that way, where
31:06
we were, just like, okay. We've got a stop, like, thinking
31:09
about growth and start thinking about, what are we doing for the
31:13
people around us? The more I'm listening to you
31:17
talk I keep we keep coming back to this like theme of evolution
31:20
and how things change and grow and you know, the community and
31:25
your experience I'm wondering where you are at.
31:27
Now, when it comes to roasting your three years old as a
31:30
business, you kind of went into coffee.
31:32
Knowing you were going down this path.
31:35
What is kind of your philosophy with roasting and how has that
31:39
changed over time? Yeah, so I've got a kind of an
31:45
interesting philosophy, I think, because I, I've, I find the
31:49
intersection between your regular everyday coffee and
31:54
coffee drinker. Not like people are regular, but
31:57
you know what I mean? Like, the people who come into
32:00
your shop who don't necessarily care about specialty, coffee in
32:04
the way that you, and I might care about specialty coffee, you
32:08
know? And I find I've always tried to
32:10
find the intersection. Ocean between that person.
32:13
And then the super nerd about coffee.
32:17
Like, I'm a super nerd about coffee.
32:18
Like I'm, I've got like my partner.
32:20
She she like, was like, please don't buy any more Brewing
32:23
devices because you had me gamut like, I have maybe like 35
32:29
different Brewing devices and espresso machine to grinders at
32:33
my house. It's like, it's so bad and, you
32:35
know, a cup at my house all the time because, you know, I like
32:39
being comfortable when I cup, I don't like being in a Oral
32:41
environment because it allows me to kind of like be a little bit
32:45
more forgiving I guess with coffee, which I think we need to
32:48
all be more forgiving with coffee, guys.
32:51
Lets, you know, coffee is good enough at this point to, where
32:54
most of the coffee, you drink is specialty.
32:57
Anyways, you know, so I think I've tried to find that pallet
33:02
intersection where you got the people who want the chocolaty,
33:05
like maybe nutty orange. You know, maybe like a little
33:11
Cherry raspberry and then find the, the people who want the
33:16
super light funky, you know, like the vent alera that I sent
33:20
you, the black honey, where it's just like pineapple and like
33:24
cherry and like just like fudge and just create like crazy like
33:29
tootsie roll, like I'll get Tootsie Roll on my thing on my
33:33
little cupping sheet for that all the time because it just
33:36
tastes like Tootsie Rolls to me and so like I find the
33:39
intersection and you can roast for both of As people it's I
33:42
roast for both of those people. I roast, you know, our espresso
33:45
to a point where it's not necessarily your traditional
33:48
espresso. I'm doing air quotes right now.
33:50
It's over over traditional, it's a light lighter than what you
33:56
would say, but it still has that development in the mayor.
33:59
Did you know that caramelization, that allows it
34:03
to translate to basically anything.
34:06
And then also has the development post crack to also
34:09
allow you to have good options that aren't too sour or aren't
34:14
you know? Highly acidic.
34:16
So like that is my kind of like that's where I think we should
34:20
be in roasting his kind of there and then I wrote the light stuff
34:23
because that's what I like and I think, you know, so I'm very
34:26
like bipolar with my roasting, I like make sure that I can roast
34:30
to, you know, people and still kind of bring them into that
34:34
specialty Zone. And then I have like the
34:37
straight like crazy, you know, super out.
34:41
Are coffees because I believe in both.
34:45
Yeah, there's always that customer.
34:46
That brings his own refractometer into the shop, is
34:49
he exists? And then there's gonna be like,
34:51
take that puts a little puts a little, cool.
34:53
It on it, like runs it down the street to their house.
34:57
Yep, you know for me if I didn't have the show and have some
35:01
experience in coffee, I did spend a year working as a
35:04
barista, I'd probably just be the guy and I still am.
35:07
Mostly the guy that walks in and just orders whatever the
35:09
bachelor is kind of because I like To see what different
35:12
places are doing with it, but I don't get too worked up about
35:18
the science of things, it's just not my area.
35:21
I'm more about the experience in the flavor and for me, the
35:23
experience and the shop is just as important as the coffee.
35:28
Although it's nice when they're both when they both work
35:30
together. You mentioned earlier that your
35:32
partner has interior design architect, or do you have one in
35:36
the process of the building? If you could describe maybe what
35:40
the vibe is, like, Inside milk. I've been saying how much I
35:43
enjoy it but for people listening, could you say like
35:46
kind of describe what it's like, if you walk through the door.
35:48
Yeah this really distinctive kind of Green Door.
35:51
Yeah. That I'll post a photo of her
35:53
share your photo of and but what's it like when people come
35:56
in, you know, what's the experience like for them?
35:59
Yeah. So and shout out to my uncle
36:01
Ahmed in my dad, for my pops for cutting out, that door was a
36:07
solid door and they actually cut the window into it.
36:11
And had it. We bought like a, you know, a,
36:15
it's an arch door for all of you listening.
36:17
It's an art store and they cut out the wood in it and put in a
36:21
window. It's it's insane that they were
36:24
able to do that. So amazing.
36:25
But yeah, you walk through this Arch door with a big window in
36:29
it, you're hit with the espresso machine.
36:31
I wanted the espresso machine to be like front and center so you
36:34
know like okay this is what we're about and then you got the
36:38
green kind of subway tile with Some you know, would Corner
36:43
guard. We have the maple half rounds as
36:46
the bar and like a white stone Silestone countertops.
36:51
And you come in and you're already like face-to-face with
36:55
the Barista, you walk around the bar, take your order, you know,
36:59
everything's we have exposed brick, would obviously dry wall
37:05
tile. So we have a good mixture of
37:08
textures and colors vary. Earth Centric green like really
37:14
nice. Beautiful, kind of hunter green
37:16
tile that makes you, you know, feel a little more at home like
37:22
I said and then you walk into the seating area and it's all
37:24
wood wood benches and Schoolhouse chairs.
37:28
Also like we found these crazy Emerald hunter green Schoolhouse
37:32
chairs from a literal School in Berkeley California.
37:35
I found them for like five bucks.
37:37
A chair on Craigslist drove over there and picked up plenty of
37:40
them from From charter school that was sadly going out of
37:44
business. And yeah, so that it's kind of
37:47
got this like more like it's almost like a modern and kind of
37:52
like, you know like kind of simple Vibe but it has so many
37:57
little details and textures and like so many different materials
38:01
like you know, tiled Stone would you know that you and all like
38:06
wood, floors, terrazzo, floors and another part of it
38:10
throughout the tile I should say not Not actually real killer
38:12
also, because that's what be crazy.
38:15
But, yeah, it's got like, all of these mixture of textures and
38:19
like, feelings and Nostalgia. When you come in there, that it
38:22
kind of, yeah, it kind of takes people a back and makes people
38:25
go like, whoa, what am I? Where am I?
38:28
You know, your knowing now that you're from there that you spent
38:31
time in Brooklyn, in New York, the the visual of the place
38:34
makes more sense to me because the evolution of every building
38:38
in Brooklyn in New York is, you know, 200 years At some point,
38:42
it's been every different type of thing and there's a good
38:46
chance. You know, my favorite meme on
38:48
the Internet is or on social media.
38:51
The internet. I'm like 400 years old is like,
38:55
hey, we need to repair our new Brooklyn apartment.
38:57
You just see a guy painting over, you know, taking thick,
38:59
white paint, and going over every outlet and every, you
39:02
know, thing and yeah, when my wife and I were in Crown Heights
39:08
in Brooklyn, that was, that was our experience, certainly.
39:11
Yeah, and one time, the very first day we moved in, I'm just
39:14
remember this right now. The ceiling above the shower
39:18
caved in with water because someone had left the shower
39:20
running upstairs, all. And so our landlord had to come
39:23
it running over. It was our very first night in
39:25
New York and welcome. Yep.
39:29
And they basically like put some wood up there and then I just
39:32
watched him paint over the whole and I was like, I don't know how
39:35
that's how long that's gonna last like but all right, you
39:39
know, like here's my money. Probably laugh with his long as
39:44
you were there. Oh yeah.
39:45
Certainly as long as we were there but I don't know where
39:47
they get that paint. But you're that the visual of
39:50
your place, makes more sense. Knowing that you had some of
39:52
that Brooklyn experience to that subway tile, really stood out to
39:55
me. Yeah.
39:57
Where are you guys going? You know, we're in a weird place
40:01
in the world where we kind of feel like people are going on
40:04
more. I've been an extremist about
40:06
covid and even I'm going out pretty regularly at this point
40:09
to get coffee and stores and whatever.
40:11
I'm seeing people, where is milk, a coffee going into the
40:15
future, 2022, and Beyond. Yeah.
40:18
So I think starting with the kind of moving out, not moving
40:23
out, but like, going out and doing things Sacramento is
40:27
pretty spread out City, so I think people feel a little more
40:30
comfortable here than they might in a little more packed in
40:33
space, like the bay area. So I think we've been kind of
40:37
Lucky with that with this new, like transitioning into You
40:41
know, air quotes again, normal. But we actually do have a second
40:46
shop in the, in the works right now and it's actually an all
40:49
outdoor space. The coffee shop will be the
40:53
actual serving area, the bar, where the people will be
40:56
working. That's inside a building and
40:58
then the whole rest of it is outside.
41:01
So we kind of are like, well, if this is going to happen again,
41:05
and we're going to keep dealing with that.
41:06
And we're in Sacramento, and people aren't celebrating the
41:09
outdoors as much as they should here.
41:11
We should just make an outdoor space.
41:13
That's like, really beautiful and reminds people of how nice
41:16
it is to like sit outside and I think that's one thing we've
41:19
gained from the pandemic is that realization that we don't have
41:22
to do everything inside, we can still have a great time and be
41:26
outside. We can build these crazy
41:29
parklets and have you know, we can we can do that.
41:32
We can we can enjoy the sun, you know, and not be scared and need
41:37
RAC all the time. So I think we've We're doing
41:42
that. We're doing the second shop.
41:43
We moved into a little bit larger and larger, roasting
41:46
space, recently hooked up got alluring, so everything's going
41:50
to be super tasty. That's why I think those those
41:53
coffees are really shining and, like, have none of that
41:56
roastiness. And I believe that's the beauty
41:59
of a luring, because I can taste test between my San Franciscan,
42:02
and then my lowering and I'm like, this is the same coffee.
42:05
Roasted basically the same way. There's like, it's pretty easy
42:08
to match up the things in the luring just doesn't have Have
42:11
that little kind of, you know, you know, burnt shell taste I
42:15
guess you know, like the outer wall of the bean.
42:18
It's a little bit darker than the inner side and the inside of
42:23
the bean so it doesn't have that and you can kind of taste that
42:26
on the cupping table really well.
42:27
So we're that's where we're moving.
42:29
I mean we're just going to do I think couple shops and do
42:33
wholesale and I don't know. Like I said, I don't I don't
42:36
plan too far ahead and that's obviously another thing that the
42:40
pandemic. Has taught me is that you can't,
42:43
you know, it's like we're really good reminder that life is very
42:46
good at changing for you you know like you don't always have
42:50
control of where you're going so I don't anymore.
42:53
Really think like oh I'm going to make a five or ten year
42:55
business plan. I have my goals and whether I
42:59
get there or not is going to be dictated kind of by how the
43:03
world changes around me. So I think yeah I'm really
43:06
excited for what we're doing over at that new shop and I
43:10
think people are Really, really going to love it in Sacramento.
43:13
It's going to be a little bit of a departure from like what
43:16
people are doing in the coffee industry, specifically in
43:19
Sacramento at least and I think that's what we're kind of trying
43:22
to do is always bring new ideas and, you know, kind of change
43:26
the game a little bit and make people kind of think like, oh,
43:29
what can we do? You know, and hopefully, that
43:33
gets people to do that like, other people?
43:36
Like, I don't need to be doing all this stuff.
43:39
I want other people to kind of get inspired by what I'm doing,
43:41
that's my main goal in life, is to inspire other people to do
43:47
something that will then Inspire someone else.
43:51
Sure, any idea, when that second location will be open up for
43:54
people. My goal is September, and okay,
43:57
I say that and then I laugh. Yes, I've said that before.
44:03
I said may, I said maybe a few months ago so you know we're
44:08
taking it slow. We don't we don't rush anything.
44:10
It took us three years. Ears to open Milk and I think we
44:13
got a great product out of what we spent three years doing and
44:16
all the changes we made over the those three years and
44:19
everything. I learned over those three
44:21
years, you know, and that informed that decision and I was
44:25
really happy with what we have now and I don't think rushing it
44:29
is going to make the product any better.
44:32
I'm imagining. And just assuming that at some
44:34
point when that is open, you'll be hosting poetry nights and,
44:38
you know, giving those poems that you wrote back in grad
44:40
school Yeah. I mean I still right.
44:43
I mean I write a lot. I have a lot of poems in my
44:46
notes on my phone that I you know, I'm still it's just that's
44:50
like it's a compulsion. I can't I can't help it, you
44:52
know. So I do want to do that.
44:55
I mean right now, I don't have time but you know, we before the
44:59
pandemic, we are hosting. You know, we had like a wild
45:04
like 300 person show in this tiny little space and it was
45:08
amazing. It was the most incredible
45:10
thing. I've ever seen an art everywhere
45:12
that we had, like, maybe 20 artists and like five, three or
45:16
four bands, and it was just packed to the gills.
45:19
It was a great event. And I mean, like, that's what
45:22
that's what we want to do. And I mean that's why we did an
45:25
outdoor space with this new one is just, you know, we realize
45:29
like outdoor. Yeah.
45:31
Having 300 people in an outdoor space is like super cool and
45:37
hopefully I get up, get up and read some poems.
45:40
But I also want to Have that space for other people to
45:43
express themselves and to bring their art to the world.
45:47
That's awesome. Yeah, bringing people together
45:49
is what coffee is about. It's why I love coffee.
45:52
Oh totally. Is there anything that I didn't
45:54
ask you that I should have or anything that we didn't cover
45:56
that? We want people to know about
45:57
milk about you. Oh, I feel like when I feel like
46:02
I had something for this, I'm like I'm spacing I thought about
46:08
this morning. I was like, I'm gonna tell One
46:11
about this thing and now, I'm completely spacing on it, but I
46:16
don't know. I just, I want everyone to be
46:19
happy. I, you know, I want everyone to,
46:21
to like, enjoy whatever experience.
46:23
I think, you know, the people are so competitive in these
46:27
spaces and it's not really about competition, it's about
46:31
collaboration and, you know, that's what I hope, we are able
46:35
to do. And that's what I want people to
46:37
know about. Milk is like, let me know,
46:39
let's, let's do something. Let's Out let's talk.
46:42
Let's figure things out. You know I'm not always
46:45
available because I'm working on like so many things and now I
46:48
live like out in the mountains in the woods because I was like
46:51
I need to I need to move out there.
46:53
I need to get out of, get out of, get out of town and and like
46:57
be able to think because I got so much going on, inside a
47:00
Sacramento. I'm I don't get the time to
47:02
think anymore, so it's like I just want people to to, you
47:07
know, hit me up. Say, hi.
47:09
And let's let's do something together.
47:11
Let's collaborate and let's make something and let's specifically
47:14
in Sacramento, let's make Sacramento one of those cities
47:16
that, you know, people come to and tell their friends about
47:20
and, you know, we have got a lot of people out there that are
47:23
huge advocates for our city. And we want to keep want to keep
47:27
keep that going. So anyone who wants to to to
47:32
grow this place, you know, let me know.
47:34
Also, the bigger Sacramento gets the better, the Kings will get.
47:39
So I want everyone to know. But if we grow big enough, the
47:43
Kings will get better. That's, that's, that is I'm
47:46
sticking to it. That's the story.
47:49
Come on, man. You might, and you might be
47:52
waiting a while. I know we need a playoff berth.
47:55
Come on the playoff. I want to go to a playoff game.
47:59
It felt like the kings were like, on the precipice about
48:02
three seasons ago and it just never materialized, you know,
48:06
they had some good young talent and then it was like what
48:08
happened here? Yeah, we keep firing coach.
48:11
Has we need to just find a coach stick with them for seven years
48:14
and there you go and then we'll build.
48:18
Yeah. Exactly.
48:19
Gotta build, if you go out to another coffee shop, you're
48:23
driving in from the woods and you just need a cup of coffee or
48:26
need something. What are you order for yourself?
48:29
Usually I'll get like a pour-over, whatever the Barista
48:35
recommends, like, I go, what's your favorite pour over on the
48:37
menu? If they don't have pour over
48:40
batch brew and a shot of espresso.
48:43
So kind of like a pretty hefty one in one kind of deal, you
48:47
know, like the the cop, the coffee, the coffee kids, one,
48:51
and one get the espresso and the black coffee or the pore over
48:55
and you just sit there and then you leave, they're very
48:57
caffeinated. So yeah.
49:00
Very much so Samir. I just really appreciate your
49:03
time. I'm feeling very inspired by our
49:05
conversation. Thank you and excited to make a
49:09
stop in Sacramento at some point.
49:11
The future, thanks for being on the show.
49:14
Totally. Thank you, Ryan.
49:15
This is awesome before I recap today, I want to say thanks to
49:25
Samir for all the effort. He put into make sure this
49:27
episode happened. I really enjoyed this
49:30
conversation and he reminded me of my youngest brother.
49:33
In addition to the look and style his positivity, his
49:36
willingness to see the good in humanity and the desire to be a
49:39
torch that leads the way are traits that they both share.
49:43
Okay, to recap the show, if you happen to be in downtown
49:47
Sacramento and craving a cup of coffee, look for the arched
49:50
Green Door, it will be at the front of a historic Queen Anne,
49:54
Victorian home, that's Amir with help from his family and friends
49:58
turned into the ever-evolving space.
50:00
That is milk a coffee. I really appreciate his theory
50:04
that the space and the business are living entities.
50:08
There is always moving and proving tweaking to be done as
50:11
the business adapts in a changing Marketplace.
50:13
Into the changing demands of the community in that way, being an
50:17
entrepreneur is kind of like flowing along.
50:19
And one of those NorCal rivers that cleave through the heart of
50:22
Sacramento. And for the record, the width of
50:26
the Sacramento, River Crossing nearest milka coffee is about
50:29
1,000 feet or two tenths of a mile quite a bit further than
50:34
most of us could toss a baseball.
50:36
And continuing on the theme of evolution, Samir as a second
50:40
cafe location in the works. It is primarily an outdoor space
50:44
inspired in part by the potential of another covid,
50:46
which we've discussed on this show as something.
50:49
That anyone opening a new business is likely taking into
50:52
account. Now, that second location will
50:54
also be away for Samir and milk, a coffee to celebrate the
50:58
outdoors and share that celebration with their
51:00
customers, friends and Neighbors.
51:03
With that space and is efforts with milka.
51:05
Samir wants to inspire other sacramentans to do cool things
51:10
that enhance the community, and Inspire the next generation of
51:13
entrepreneurs and community members to stick around and
51:17
continue creating cool things. We didn't get a chance to chat
51:20
about it during this episode, but milk a coffee roasters is
51:23
unique in that they have a no tipping policy.
51:26
And they have from the beginning, meaning that they
51:28
include tips taxes and fees into the price of your cup of coffee.
51:33
And then they pay Baristas a set salary.
51:36
Baristas then know how much they are going to earn each paycheck
51:39
without waiting for tips to be calculated.
51:41
This helps them better plan their lives and avoid the fear
51:44
of working a slow shift. Finally, as a basketball fan, I
51:49
wish Samir and the City of Sacramento look, but I don't
51:52
know that the Kings will ever get better.
51:55
Check out milka coffee.com to see what coffees are currently
51:59
on offer and order a bag or see more photos of the space.
52:03
You can find that link in this podcast show notes, this isn't
52:07
coffee related, but this show is being released on May 31st.
52:11
Tomorrow is the first day of pride month.
52:13
Pride month is an extension of Pride day, which is coming up on
52:16
June, 28th, Pride Day originated, as a remembrance of
52:20
the Stonewall riots. Those riots were response to a
52:23
police raid of the Stonewall in a gay club.
52:26
In Greenwich Village in New York City on June 28 1969.
52:31
For six days, protesters demanded the right to be able to
52:33
live openly about their sexual orientation without fear of
52:37
arrest. It was a watershed moment in
52:39
American history, we've come a long way since then, but there's
52:43
still a long way to go towards equality in America, the history
52:47
surrounding the riots is really interesting, and it is a great
52:50
starting point for learning more about pride month.
52:53
Check out the newsletter at roast westcoast.com for a
52:56
collection of links to learn more about pride month and how
52:59
the pride movement has grown. Over 50 plus years.
53:02
And of course you can subscribe to this show, you can subscribe
53:06
for free and I'll send this podcast your email every single
53:09
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single week. The first paid subscriber that
53:32
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53:37
from me at roast West Coast. Thanks to everyone for
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supporting the show and a special thanks to to listeners,
53:44
Mandy and Jasmine who I got to meet at a central coffee this
53:47
week. You made my day, when you said
53:49
you listen to this podcast and then would go visit the shops of
53:52
our interview guests, that was awesome.
53:55
Speaking of sponsors, our roast industry, partners are top-notch
53:59
coffee and spirits. Professionals, who not only make
54:02
amazing coffees in whiskey, but they provide Hospitality
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experiences like no other go, get a great coffee by visiting
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Cafe litter, most your coffee company, steady-state coffee,
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roasting coffee cycle, roasting Camp coffee company, and zoom
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bar, coffee and tea and very soon you'll be able to visit the
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new ignite coffee company in Oceanside, California and you
54:24
can find a send Roasters Coffee, a told Cal Coffee in San Marcos,
54:28
California? At the end of the day, mix the
54:31
first White Whiskey, and with some Maria coffee, and while you
54:34
enjoy that, I'll shout out, Cape Horn coffee, importers for
54:37
supplying quality. Green coffee products.
54:40
If you want to say hello over a cup of coffee, I'll be hosting a
54:44
booth at the coffee cycle Makers Market.
54:46
Next. Sunday morning, June 5th from 9
54:48
a.m. to 1 p.m. look for the guy at the end with the overgrown
54:52
beard flannel shirt with, at least one, but, probably two
54:56
cups of coffee, I'll be there selling my new book future.
54:59
Eli and future Jane and passing out free roast West, Coast
55:03
stickers, This show will be back later this week with another
55:07
coffee smarter episode featuring Ryan, Sullivan of moisture
55:11
Coffee Company, we are going to talk about Bourbon Barrel aging
55:15
coffees and some upcoming innovation in the industry.
55:19
This episode of the roast West Coast coffee podcast is was and
55:24
has been written produced and recorded by me Ryan Walt.
55:28
I hope this show is found you happy healthy and with, at least
55:31
enough sanity and coffee to make it through the day.
55:35
For those of you headed out for a cup of coffee somewhere in the
55:38
world this week, please always tip your Baristas and be sure to
55:42
drink good coffee. Yeah.
56:07
And I thought that's good. That's a non-us to tell people
56:11
that, you know, that's like our that should be a.
56:13
Every Roasters should be in coffee shop, should be reminding
56:17
their you know. is that like hey this is this is what this is,
56:23
you know, not don't like forced it in their face, like don't be
56:25
like this is like a geisha that was grown at 2200 meters above
56:30
sea level and Panama, and they put it in anaerobic fermentation
56:34
for 120 hours and there's only six pounds of this on Earth and
56:39
you should look, you know, we shouldn't be doing that but we
56:41
should be like, hey man, just letting you know that this was
56:44
grown by like actual people who, you know, we pay fair, living
56:48
wage to Buy their coffee, from this Cooperative, that pays
56:52
them, you know, you don't have to go that far into it.
56:54
You just go like, hey, this is by this person and just mention
56:57
their name or mention the Cooperative, you know, just
57:00
little things to kind of remind people that there's another
57:03
person on the end of it and that paying like a dollar more for
57:07
what we should be touting as a luxury item is really not that.
57:11
Not that bad. Yeah, I'll leave it with.
57:13
I'll leave you with saying that that person on the other end.
57:17
And this is something I try to remind myself.
57:19
Myself is if I'm buying kind of that cheaper thing or I'm
57:23
getting the better deal or the luxury is coming.
57:26
To me, there's probably somebody on the other side of that that
57:29
is getting shorted. So we're how can I find like
57:33
that middle? That middle place, where we're,
57:35
neither of us are getting shorted?
57:36
Maybe I don't get the, the best deal ever.
57:39
I don't get the most Max benefit that I could, but I'm also not
57:44
hurting anyone and to me, that is part of that benefit, right?
57:46
Yeah, and that's why I'm looking into Profit sharing with
57:50
producers because that that shares the buck at the end of
57:53
the chain, instead of just giving them something in the
57:57
middle that takes 120 days to get to them.
58:03
I like beer, hey, everyone. If you like the roast West Coast
58:06
coffee podcast, you might also appreciate the, I like beer the
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podcast. Listening to these guys is like
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being a fly on the wall of the pub with a few of your favorite
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beer appreciators, have plenty of stories to share on
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everything from the mating habits of penguins to there
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behind the scenes Brewery experiences check out the, I
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like beer the podcast where ever, you are listening to this
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show about coffee or head. To, I like beer, the
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Podcast.com. Podcast.com.