When people only know me as a Sales Consultant here at Dunning Subaru they wonder because who would know that way before Emeril was on TV saying “Bam!” I was putting in the same kind of hours I put in at this dealership as I did in Kitchens all over the globe.
Roasting coffee is really cooking and having your own business is being connected to a community of people the way chef-ing is selling tastes, concepts and ideas to a staff and clientele.
In the over 20 years that I worked as a chef/consultant I never roasted coffee but I drank a ton of coffee always in search of that great cup. It was Portland Oregon where I learned about roasting and great coffee, Alfred Peet’s, and Stump Town, but then I moved back to Ann Arbor 5 years ago and was again at a loss for coffee.
When I started selling cars at Dunning Subaru 4 years ago I decided to go for it. I would give a freshly roast pound of coffee as a gift toward every sale! I’m talking a Full Pound of Fresh Roast Organic Fair Trade coffee with each sale! Come on people! Selling cars and roasting coffee are working to please a similar audience so I’m at it everyday selling, roasting and learning about coffee.
I don't even drink coffee for pleasure any more; in fact it's more of a job for me! Everything I roast goes thru the espresso machine as my morning blast and gets note made in my taste vocabulary. Coffee is the spice of life for me! Coffee, art and Subaru!

John on 08.30.07 @ 11:00 AM EST [Permalink]

Light, medium or dark coffee roast and brewed up immediately makes people happy especially when the fog needs to be lifted like it did yesterday. Bill’s gardens were looking spectacular, and some participants walked with umbrellas to the class imagine that.
The rain made it memorable in that dew drops were hanging their enhanced state from every plant or tree. Everything seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief from summer’s heat.
Sharing my knowledge of coffee and roasting with a class of great people on a Sunday morning beats watching a little man on a web video telling me how to sell more cars, be more productive, and hold more gross in every sale but we’ve get to do what we’ve got to do.

John on 08.06.07 @ 11:50 AM EST [Permalink]

The more confusing life is the more it makes sense to me.
What I want to know is how many people are actually going to be present at this Sundays Coffee Class/Tasting? Please come out and show your support because all the money I collect is going to put Roos Roast at the 2008 Ann Arbor Film Festival. So even if you know more about coffee then Juan Valdez bring yourself over to the Roasting Barn/ Studio and share your knowledge and get a good coffee buzz on! Can’t wait to see you there. If you want to pay in advance you can do so with a credit card by choosing Coffee Class on the Order Coffee Page of this site. (scroll your way down ) Hope to see you there and tell all your friends. The class starts at 10:45 sharp.

John on 08.02.07 @ 01:47 PM EST [Permalink]