HOW MAPS CAME TO BE…

After some brief training in Sandpoint Idaho at the Diedrich Roasters Headquarters, I began to realize that my knowledge and skills were rather novice, but my interest in roasting was growing. Succeeding about a year of solid roasting for our family companies K&K and Grace Organics, something changed in my perception of the roasting process. I began to recognize my own contribution to every roast, my own control over the outcome. With each batch, something new unveiled itself to me, until finally each small movement made with the machine culminated in a dance of the senses - sight, smell, touch, and taste - the artisan craft of roasting coffee.

When I was young, I remember walking into the little roast house room that was in the back of my family’s garage. When I opened the big wooden door, it smelled sweet, strangely like burnt toast. My dad would always be back there working, crunching numbers on an old computer between roasting loads of coffee for businesses and friends around town. I didn’t think much about it as a kid. To me, it was just a thing my dad did in the morning before leaving for his other job. Years later in high school, he asked if I could lend a hand with roasting in the morning before class. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it wasn’t until I was older that I truly began to recognize roasting coffee for what it is - a craft and a unique form of expression.

"My pursuit of superior quality coffee, and the inevitable creation of Maps."

With this foundation, it was only a matter of time before I became overwhelmingly intrigued by green coffees. The most memorable experience I've had with green coffee was with a new crop of an amazing Ethiopian coffee, sealed in a Grainpro bag. Upon opening it the most intense, beautiful, sweet, berry aroma released into the air. I was hooked. But I also knew that this coffee would require me to roast with a focus and integrity I hadn’t yet put into practice. This was the true beginning of my passion for roasting, my pursuit of superior quality coffee, and the inevitable creation of Maps.Since launching Maps several years ago, my relationship with roasting and with coffee continues to grow, infusing other aspects of my life with a similar attention to detail and respect. The force for all my passions became apparent as they fell into rhythm with one another. Idaho has allowed me the creative freedom to explore these aspects of myself, and Maps has acted as a catalyst, urging me on to hone my craft.