A few months ago we were roasting coffee beans in a wok with a wooden spoon. The wok was then exchanged for a stove-top popcorn popper with a hand crank. And now the popcorn popper has now been upstaged by a modified bbq.
Matt and I left Central America with the intent to roast gourmet, Panamanian coffee and sell it in San Francisco. But when we returned I got scared.
So I fished around for jobs. Interviewed for a few. And was even given an offer. But I just couldn't do it.
Turns out the idea of trading my creative energy for health insurance and a salary is way scarier than attempting to sling coffee in a city that probably has more coffee roasters than rainbow flags.
So that's what's been goin-down in China-Town (or at least a near China Town at 7th and Market). We buy unroasted beans from the farmers we met in Panama (through a middleman in Oakland). Roast the beans at Mike's place in Albany (North Berkeley). And sell cups of it for $1.50 at the Etiquette Lounge during the day (Brandon and Neej's nite club).
Once we settle on a name we'll jump on our bikes and start delivering whole-beans to homes and businesses. We're also working on a roaster that is powered by a stationary bicycle. I'm beginning to notice a theme.
Here's some photos of the Etiquette Coffee House (Photos compliments of Frank Yeean Chan):
