Our Roaster Spotlight this week:
Michael Johnson and Laura Salinger Johnson, co-owners of
Michael Johnson and Laura Salinger Johnson, co-owners of
JBC Coffee Roasters from Madison, Wisconsin
As both native Midwesterners (Michael from WI and Laura from MN), the couple bring a sense of Midwestern hospitality to their business, JBC Coffee Roasters. Laura and Mike believe in great customer service and grassroots education to share their passion for great coffee.
GCG: Where did the idea to start a coffee company come from? Why did you decide to extend the midwest hospitality to JBC?
JBC: Michael first got into coffee in 1994 when he decided to build a coffee cart to sell coffee and espresso beverages at the Dane County Farmer’s Market and on Library Mall at the UW-Madison campus. In order to sell products at the Dane County Farmer’s Market, it was required that Michael also roast his own coffee beans. So, he bought his first roaster and off he went.
GCG: Did you grow up drinking delicious coffee?
JBC: Nope. Laura first started drinking coffee in high school at late night study sessions at Perkins. Michael likewise was not exposed to great coffee growing up. Great coffee didn’t come into our lives until JBC. And even then, it was around 5 years of running the business and eventually hiring Willem Boot as our first consultant before we really began to grasp the concept of high quality coffee.
GCG: How have you changed people's perception of coffee in the Midwest?
JBC: We really want people to think about coffee more like they think about wine. With more aromatic and flavor compounds than wine, coffee should be treated as the specialty beverage it is with consumers considering how and where it’s grown, the varietal of coffee, the aroma and tasting notes etc.
GCG: How do you educate customers about your coffee?
JBC: We offer extensive coffee and espresso classes and monthly public cuppings but also just really take the time with each customer that calls, emails, or stops by to share our knowledge of and passion for specialty coffee. We also have a really, really great team of people who are super passionate and knowledgeable about specialty coffee. We like to think of ourselves as coffee concierges. If you can describe to us what you like in a cup of coffee, we will find the right coffee for you and bring you over to specialty coffee side of things.
GCG: Mike's step father started Novo coffee in Denver, Colorado with brothers Jake and Joseph. Any sibling rivalry? We hear Joseph runs 90+ :)
JBC: Both Jake and Joseph worked with Michael prior to starting Novo in Denver and then eventually, Joseph did move on to found Ninety Plus. There may have been a little sibling rivalry at the outset but it has truly developed into a really great coffee alliance. Jake and Michael frequently travel together to origin to search out great coffees. You may say that coffee is in the blood for these siblings and they are all really fortunate to have found success working in an industry they are all really passionate about.
GCG: What's your guilty pleasure with a cup of coffee (food or other)?
JBC: This is not really (with) our coffee but after big cupping days, our team loves to head out to the buffet at our favorite nearby Indian restaurant or out for Mexican (and maybe a jumbo margarita on Fridays) at our go-to Mexican restaurant.
GCG: JBC coffee has instituted the model, “Sustainability through Quality.” Tell us a little bit about what that means?
JBC: Under current fair trade certification standards there is no incentive or reward to produce quality. In fact, it can be quite the opposite as farmers are paid the fair trade price regardless of quality. Under a sustainability through quality model, quality is rewarded first and foremost. One of our mottos at JBC is to let the coffee lead the way. We don’t ask prices, we ask for quality. And we pay for it-vastly above and beyond the prices mandated for fair trade.
GCG: How are you working with farmers to improve quality?
JBC: We work firsthand with growers to emphasize best practices-from when to pick the coffee (at maximum ripeness to increase sweetness) to how to process the coffee for maximum flavor retention. In turn, farmers/producers are increasing demand for their product, creating a model for sustainable farming, and investing in their product. Want an amazing cup of coffee? We think it’s simple: reward the farmer for producing a quality product, treat the product right, and increase the knowledge about and demand for simply stellar coffee.
GCG: JBC has more 90 plus rated coffees than any other roaster worldwide. How do you continue to maintain the success and quality of the coffee you produce? Would you consider yourselves a little obsessive compulsive? ;)
JBC: Ha! Yes, maybe a little obsessive compulsive about tasting coffee. We have a lot of accomplished cuppers on our team and we truly take the time to pick out the best coffees we can each crop cycle.
JBC: Michael first got into coffee in 1994 when he decided to build a coffee cart to sell coffee and espresso beverages at the Dane County Farmer’s Market and on Library Mall at the UW-Madison campus. In order to sell products at the Dane County Farmer’s Market, it was required that Michael also roast his own coffee beans. So, he bought his first roaster and off he went.
GCG: Did you grow up drinking delicious coffee?
JBC: Nope. Laura first started drinking coffee in high school at late night study sessions at Perkins. Michael likewise was not exposed to great coffee growing up. Great coffee didn’t come into our lives until JBC. And even then, it was around 5 years of running the business and eventually hiring Willem Boot as our first consultant before we really began to grasp the concept of high quality coffee.
GCG: How have you changed people's perception of coffee in the Midwest?
JBC: We really want people to think about coffee more like they think about wine. With more aromatic and flavor compounds than wine, coffee should be treated as the specialty beverage it is with consumers considering how and where it’s grown, the varietal of coffee, the aroma and tasting notes etc.
GCG: How do you educate customers about your coffee?
JBC: We offer extensive coffee and espresso classes and monthly public cuppings but also just really take the time with each customer that calls, emails, or stops by to share our knowledge of and passion for specialty coffee. We also have a really, really great team of people who are super passionate and knowledgeable about specialty coffee. We like to think of ourselves as coffee concierges. If you can describe to us what you like in a cup of coffee, we will find the right coffee for you and bring you over to specialty coffee side of things.
GCG: Mike's step father started Novo coffee in Denver, Colorado with brothers Jake and Joseph. Any sibling rivalry? We hear Joseph runs 90+ :)
JBC: Both Jake and Joseph worked with Michael prior to starting Novo in Denver and then eventually, Joseph did move on to found Ninety Plus. There may have been a little sibling rivalry at the outset but it has truly developed into a really great coffee alliance. Jake and Michael frequently travel together to origin to search out great coffees. You may say that coffee is in the blood for these siblings and they are all really fortunate to have found success working in an industry they are all really passionate about.
GCG: What's your guilty pleasure with a cup of coffee (food or other)?
JBC: This is not really (with) our coffee but after big cupping days, our team loves to head out to the buffet at our favorite nearby Indian restaurant or out for Mexican (and maybe a jumbo margarita on Fridays) at our go-to Mexican restaurant.
GCG: JBC coffee has instituted the model, “Sustainability through Quality.” Tell us a little bit about what that means?
JBC: Under current fair trade certification standards there is no incentive or reward to produce quality. In fact, it can be quite the opposite as farmers are paid the fair trade price regardless of quality. Under a sustainability through quality model, quality is rewarded first and foremost. One of our mottos at JBC is to let the coffee lead the way. We don’t ask prices, we ask for quality. And we pay for it-vastly above and beyond the prices mandated for fair trade.
GCG: How are you working with farmers to improve quality?
JBC: We work firsthand with growers to emphasize best practices-from when to pick the coffee (at maximum ripeness to increase sweetness) to how to process the coffee for maximum flavor retention. In turn, farmers/producers are increasing demand for their product, creating a model for sustainable farming, and investing in their product. Want an amazing cup of coffee? We think it’s simple: reward the farmer for producing a quality product, treat the product right, and increase the knowledge about and demand for simply stellar coffee.
GCG: JBC has more 90 plus rated coffees than any other roaster worldwide. How do you continue to maintain the success and quality of the coffee you produce? Would you consider yourselves a little obsessive compulsive? ;)
JBC: Ha! Yes, maybe a little obsessive compulsive about tasting coffee. We have a lot of accomplished cuppers on our team and we truly take the time to pick out the best coffees we can each crop cycle.
