Interviews January 2023 | I KNOW JERRY FROM TORONTO

Who was in the January 2023 box?

No artist this month :-( but the prime example of how art and coffee are the perfect combinations in Bratislava (SK), Instantly sold by the branding and even more by their coffee in Farsta (SE) and having one of our best cupping sessions ever so far in Emmerich am Mein (DE).

Borgerhout - Belgium

WE NEED YOU!

Always looking for new artists to work with.It is difficult to find artists to collaborate with.

So if you are an artist or know one.

Please get in touch with Jerry!So that we can continue this adventure together.Ask [at] iknowjerrryfromtoronto [dot] com

“But let's face it,some of the bags in the box are a work of art in their own right?!”

Bratislava - Slovakia

TRIPLE FIVE

This coffee roaster is the prime example of how art and coffee is the perfect combination!Meanwhile, more than two years ago, we had the honor to include some of Meneer Heirman's works in our subscription.Some time later a collaboration between this roaster and him followed.This now makes Jerry really happy :-)From the Little Big City Bratislava for the second time Triple Five Coffee Roasters.

Hello Martin,Nice to work with you again.Can you briefly introduce Triple Five for those who don't know you yet?

We are a small specialty coffee roastery based in Bratislava. We are trying to get most of our green coffee directly from small producers and farmers all over the world. The quality of the roasting is extremely important to us, our goal is to really bring the best flavors out of every single coffee.

You can't imagine how happy you made Jerry to see a collaboration between you and Meneer Heirman.How did this collaboration go?

The collaboration was truly great.Meneer Heirman is very talented and he really managed to bring something new, exciting and funny to our brand.We are very grateful for that!

Too bad the coffee bags were not ready yet.But this immediately gives us another reason to work together again soon, doesn't it?

Yes indeed, we are very much looking forward to continuing this collaboration.We will soon get some very special coffee from Columbia and we would very much like to use some special design for it.

The box contains your Ethiopia - Shakiso.Can you tell us a bit about this coffee and do you have some tips on how to brew it?

That coffee was sourced by our friend from Ethiopia.It is ecologically grown, at a high altitude, which gives the coffee very nice, sweet flavors.Our roast gives the coffee fresh acidity, with lovely flavors of gooseberries and kiwi.I would say the best for this coffee are big batches - such as 185 Kalita, Moccamaster or batch brew - that way the coffee gets a nice, strong body.

Last time, you mentioned that you were building a new roastery.Is it now finished and how is it running?

Yes! We opened our new roastery last Summer - finally!It was a very challenging year but finally, we are all set and we are very excited about this new adventure – the space itself is worth discovering,it is an open-space roastery, with a small café.

"Come and visit us in our new roasteryand we will happily give you a tour! :-)"

Farsta - Sweden

LYKKE

Instantly sold by the branding and even more so after the first sip from the cupping spoon.Sweden is unknown to Jerry.Known only from Scandinavian detective TV series but definitely on his list to explore.Rugged landscape, delicious food and even more heavenly coffee.

What’s the story about Lykke?

Lykke started with an idea to change the coffee industry by doing things a bit differently.How do you run a coffee company without anyone or anything being harmed in the process?That was the question we asked ourselves when we started Lykke and it has since become our mission to do exactly that!We do that by challenging the normal way of doing things, by actually growing, buying and roasting coffee ourselves, with the humble aim to influence the coffee industry for the better.So that we can all enjoy a truly good cup of coffee in 50 years time.

Where does the name Lykke come from?Does it have any meaning?

"Lykke" is an old Nordic word to describe a feeling of joy and doing good.An ambition we all have.To feel good by doing good things.Lykke is also a Swedish word for a piece of cultivated land, not too far from where you live.It is also the name for ‘infinity’ sign that never ends.Overall, a very good description of what we created. Our focus is to grow coffee together with the coffee farmers with a super focus on sustainability and doing good things.Then we roast the coffee to perfection and try to have as much fun as possible

Lovely branding!It seems you have also found the right match between coffee and art?

Yes, we put our heart and soul into both the inside and outside of our products,and do not always follow the rules of how things should be – perfection in the imperfections.Coffee is usually related to a more classic, romantic and sometimes even stiff copy and packaging, but we wanted to bring some color and humor to our brand.And we must be doing something right as we won the prestigious Swedish Design award “The Golden Egg” for our packaging. (Yes, we’re very proud).

Can you tell me a bit about the artists you work with?Maybe even put us in touch with them?

Besides working with an amazing design agency called Open Studios, and their illustrator Kelly,we also have our in-house graphic designer / Illustrator Sara.

Farsta is close to Stockholm, how is the specialty coffee scene here?

Farsta is a small suburb about 10 minutes from Stockholm City, so right now we’re the only specialty coffee brand in this area.However, the scene is definitely growing in Stockholm which is really amazing and fun!

"Cultivating happiness"

Emmerich am Rhein - Germany

VAN GÜLPEN

To be honest, we didn't have high expectations.But when we started cupping, those coffees blew us away!This was one of our best cupping sessions.And the branding also surprised us when the coffee boxes were nicely aligned side by side.But what did you expect from a roastery that has been around since 1832...

I am assuming you are not there from the beginning, or were you?Can you briefly tell the course of your family business?

I came into the company about 11 or 12 years ago and i’m the sixth generation in our family to run the roastery.We started in 1832 as an importer of green coffee until the son of one of our founders had the idea to sell the coffee already roasted.In 1868 we bought the first two roasting machines produced by the company that is now known as Probat and started roasting bigger amounts of coffee.The second world war hit our city and the roastery pretty hard and my grandfather had to start from scratch.In the 1960s he decided to focus entirely on specialty coffee and this is what we do today.

What is your first memory with coffee?

I often went to the roastery with my father, when he had to do some stuff there on the weekend.I would then ride my skateboard or do other things and the smell of coffee was always very present.I started to drink coffee (with lots of milk) when I was 10.

One of the coffees we were tasting from you was from producer Diego Samuel Bermúdes Tapia.It's funny because recently I tasted a coffee from another roaster and immediately recognized this coffee.What did you think of this special processed coffee?

It is definitely one of the best and most complex coffees we ever had.When the coffee cools down you’ll find different flavours with every sip.The flavours are never overpowered and the coffee keeps perfectly balanced all the time.The combination of complexity and the very high drinkability is very special.I also like that Diego uses Castillo, which is leaf rust-resistant and usually known for lower cup qualities.It shows what an exceptionally good processing is capable of.

We usually work with coffee roasters from Eastern Europe.Are you guys familiar with these?And are there some favorites there that you can recommend to us?

Unfortunately not very much.I tried a couple of coffees from Eastern European roasters at the WOC in Amsterdam and Berlin but that is already way too long ago.I remember though that the quality was mostly very high.I definitely need to start a Jerry subscription :)

If a career in coffee was not an option,what job would you be doing?

Before I came to the roastery I worked as an audio engineer in a recording studio.I loved the job and I loved the team so that is what I would do.

"Many thanks for featuring our coffee and keep up the great work!"

we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists!