Q&A with Demitasse Founder Boback (Bobby) Roshan!
GCG: How did Demitasse get started?
Bobby: We got started in the Summer of 2011. It really feels like a lifetime ago and a world away. I used to be a lawyer but was really disillusioned and frankly bored of lawyering after 3 years. I was drinking mountains of specialty coffee at that time and really started falling into the rabbit hole that is specialty coffee. After a few months of fermenting in my mind, I decided to just go for it.
GCG: Who owns Demitasse?
Bobby: I do! My dad helped me get it off the ground and supported us through the early days. But I think it's more accurate to say the company owns me.
GCG: What is Demitasse’s mission and vision?
Bobby: As a coffee shop, our vision is to bring creativity and fun into the coffee drinking experience while being an engaged member of the community we serve. As a roastery, we believe our job is to not screw up the work that so many people before us put in to get the coffee to where it is and to understand that we are just the last link in a long chain.
GCG: What is Demitasse known for?
Bobby: Our cafes are definitely known for the crazy drinks we make from scratch; our seasonally rotating shop drinks; the quirky and fun ways we brew coffee; our commitment to eliminating waste. Our roastery is best known for being one of the first in Los Angeles to roast specialty coffee and being able to develop close relationships with the farms we work with in El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Africa next!
GCG: Tell us about Demitasse's coffee roaster, Andy Stockton.
Bobby: Andy has been with us for a long time now. His cousin was a regular of ours and mentioned that Andy had just moved to the States from the UK, where he was the head roaster at HasBean. He offered to introduce us. I think this was...2012? He's been with us since.
GCG: What is your secret sauce to roasting such delicious coffee?
Bobby: The fact of the matter is that there is no magic or secret sauce to roasting coffee. With a half-decent palate, the internet, some patience and willingness to tinker, anyone can learn to roast coffee in a way that brings out the best in each bean - the stated goal for just about every specialty coffee roaster out there, including us.
GCG: What machine do you use to roast coffee?
Bobby: A Probat P12
GCG: What is your approach to sourcing the best beans?
Bobby: Sourcing coffee is everything and the backbone of this entire, globe-spanning industry. We understand that sourcing coffee is more than just finding the tastiest coffees in a particular country and buying it. It’s where we can have the most impact on the producers of coffee who are in the midst of a massive sustainability crisis as the c-market price for their coffee is well below the cost of production.
GCG: Do you have any sourcing guidelines that you adhere to?
Bobby: Yes! We find that the more we’ve stuck to these guidelines, the better our coffees have gotten each year. We value transparency and want you to know that we really do give a $%^& about from whom and where the coffee comes. Here are a few sourcing guidelines that we try to adhere to wherever possible:
- Go visit the producer and the farm. This way, we know what we’re getting and from whom we’re getting it. We can walk the farm, see their agricultural practices and make sure that their values are aligned with ours.
- Buy from forward-thinking farmers who are taking care of the land, the people, and the coffee. Buy from producers who are tinkering with varietals and processes, who value transparency as much as we do.
- Form long-term relationships that allow the producers a modicum of security in knowing that next year, if the quality of the coffee stays the same, we’ll be buying their coffee again. This way, they can invest in the farm without the same worries year to year.
GCG: Anything else you can share with us to make customers fall in love with your brand?
Bobby: Honestly, we take what we do very seriously, but we don't take ourselves very seriously. Our brand reflects that. Sometimes the joy and fun is taken out of specialty coffee, but we think coffee is tasty and should be fun and approachable. We vary our roasts so that there is something for everyone and we don't subscribe to a particular dogma when it comes to coffee. We're approachable and always available to chat, collaborate and to answer questions.
