1. What is the inspiration behind Coffee Manufactory?
Coffee Manufactory started as a very small team with over two decades of green coffee supply chain experience. The founding team was eager to create a new paradigm for the specialty coffee roasting industry -- one where exceptional coffees are developed through extraordinary relationships, and where our buying practices are based on partnerships and collaborations, not traditional vendor relationships. We wanted to partner with friends and like-minded people in adjacent industries to build something special, it really came out of a partnership with our friends at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco who were looking to partner and build a coffee program alongside their bakery program, a coffee company that shared their commitment to partnership and quality.
2. Where does the name “Coffee Manufactory” come from?
The name Coffee Manufactory came out of the Tartine Manufactory experience in San Francisco. A manufactory is meant to be a place to create and make good food and good beverages, a place where hands come together to create something special.
3. What would you say Coffee Manufactory’s Brand Mission is? How are you applying it to your day-to-day operations?
Our mission is to “Make better coffee. Make coffee better.” Coffee Manufactory brings better coffee to more people through quality, education, and immersion. Our deliberate focus on sourcing sets the standard for every part of our business. We believe that through regional collaborations, coffee quality will reach its highest potential. To do this, we are working towards a more sustainable future for our producers. Some have called our sourcing platform, Direct Trade 2.0. We worked hard with our research partners at SCS Global, University of Michigan, and MIT Solve, to ensure transparency throughout our supply chains. In partnership, we all are working to establish Key Performance Indicators that will help define supply chain metrics - with paying a sustainable price to producers as our key focus in the global coffee supply chain.
4. What is your favorite product on your website right now?
Our 03 Africa is pretty delicious. It’s 100% ETHIOPIA BOMBE, with notes of apricot, bergamot, and jasmine tea. It’s named after the Bombe Mountains where most of the growers that contribute to this coffee are located. The Sidama region of Ethiopia, where these farms are located, is well-known for its quality. The Bombe washing stations wet mill is incredibly well-run and overseen by Atkilt Dejene, an agronomist, and Eyasu Bekele, a processing specialist. Both women have been instrumental in bringing in knowledge from their work with such award-winning projects as the Gesha Village and Reko Koba.
5. Any tips/tricks on making the best cup of coffee?
To make the perfect cup of coffee, you should start with filtered water (remember, coffee is mostly water, so you want it to be good water!) and fresh beans. Next, grind your beans. The perfect grind will depend on the bean’s extraction method, but a medium grind is a safe bet. The last important step is to weigh out, in grams, the ratio of ground coffee to water (i.e., 8oz of water to 15g of coffee beans). If you take all these steps, you should wind up with a pretty perfect cup of coffee. Don’t forget, you can always adjust your ratio of beans to water to satisfy your taste!
6. Talk to us about your branding, if you could describe the aesthetic in three words what would it be?
Our brand is meant to be simple, artistic and approachable. It isn’t complicated or ornate. We want to make choosing your beans easy, and bring some art and creativity to our aesthetic.
7. What are some of your favorite brands to follow along with?
We’re biased, but we’re huge fans of Tartine Bakery!
8. Is there one product in your line that you think everyone needs?
If you’re curious about the different flavor profiles in our product lineup, try out our Coffee Manufactory Sampler Pack!
9. What’s next for Coffee Manufactory?
We’re focusing on roasting great coffee and growing our brand nationally. Bringing our roasts and beans to more great places around the country, and launching some new products. We’re currently in the process of opening a flagship location at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles and recently launched our first Cold Coffee Can, which is exclusive to Tartine retail stores for now!
