Interviews January 2022 | I KNOW JERRY FROM TORONTO

Who was in the January 2022 box?

Luckily we did not get lost in Brno (CZ)⁠.
So that with a small stop in the mountains Dunajska Luzna (SK) we can return to our familiar places Antwerp (BE) to welcome the artwork of JERRY⁠

Antwerp - Belgium

Rush Rush

It has by now been more than a year since they opened. But it feels like they've been there for years.
Not only do they continue to surprise us with their coffees but now and then they come up with very original stuff.
What will be the next thing they will dazzle us with?

RushRush surprised us several times last year.
A takeover in Paris, lottery tickets, the scarves,.
Who comes up with all these things?

We like to brainstorm together about possible future projects, as well as events or merch we can surprise our customers with.
This often happens when we sit somewhere in a restaurant or bar where we like to hang out on our days off.

It looks like you guys had a great year.
What news do you have in mind for us this year?

First next exciting thing is moving the roastery to a new location where we have the space to improve the quality even more and work more efficiently.
And there are a lot of rare new coffees landing at our roastery soon.

Who of you is doing the roasting?

For the moment Simon does most of the roasting because he's been doing it for five years already.
But it won't take long before Nanigui will take his place.😅

The coffee in the box, what's so special about this coffee from Yemen?

Aside from the civil war that is going on in this country which makes it quite remarkable that they get coffee out of this country.
It's also amazing that they can grow coffee on this rough soil.

“We could go on about the two of us, we wouldn't be where we are now if it wasn't for Daniel, our right hand who is as passionate about what we do with Rush Rush as we are.”

Dunajska Luzna - Slovakia

Diamond’s roastery

When Jerry started reading the story of this roaster he was intrigued by how they started roasting coffee.
To stay somewhat in the theme of last month.
They come from a country with many mountains :-)
In 2014 they started roasting coffee with a popcorn machine.
Based in Dunajska Luzna, Slovakia Diamond’s Roastery.

Could you tell us the story of how you started roasting with a popcorn machine?

We have started roasting specialty coffee in our flat on the 6th floor in Bratislava.
Our first machine that did the magic thing with coffee was the popcorn popper which we got as a Christmas gift.
We also received some low-cost green coffee from Kenya.
At that time we were roasting coffee just for us and our friends.

Your coffee boxes have fun coffee slogans every time.
Who comes up with these time after time??

Those in the Slovak language we created from typical Slovak proverbs.
We just changed the meaning of the proverb to a coffee-related topic :)

Can we drink your coffee somewhere in a bar?
Or do you only have a roastery?

We do not have a café or bar because we are focusing on roasting.
But you can come and enjoy a cup of good coffee in our roastery where we serve our customers espresso-based drinks and batch brew for free.

Your roastery is located in a small village in the region of Bratislava.
What else can we find here to do?

Yes we are located 10km from Bratislava and our village is quite nice especially during summer because we have a lot of lakes with crystal clear water where you can swim, dive and enjoy the summer.

"We are very happy you can enjoy our Kenya Gatomboya PB in this subscription box and it is an honor for us to be presented by I Know Jerry from Toronto :)
Most importantly, please enjoy your coffee as you like it!"

Brno - Czech Republic

Fiftybeans

In this town, we have stayed before and it will certainly not be the last time.
There is so much good to be found here.
This really is the place to be!
Recommended to us by Father’s, another roaster from here.
From Brno - Czech Republic, with their colorful bags FiftyBeans.

What do you like about roasting specialty coffee?

I always loved the latest technology stuff and gastronomy and it’s so nice about roasting specialty coffee, that it combines these two elements.

We hear there is a complete underground tunnel network under your city.
What were/are these used for?

I would not say that it's a complete network :D but we have a few here that were used in medieval times as food storage and of course as a shelter during war.
Nowadays it's a tourist attraction.

Nice print on the T-shirt you sent along with the coffee.
Also, your bags are so colorful.
Who designs these?

I came up with the template of fruits and other cartoons and my graphic designer Honza Gabaj made it work.

Brno is also known as a good wine region.
Do you also drink wine or just coffee :-)?

I don't drink alcohol at all.
Just coffee.
But we have very talented winemakers who produce amazing natural wine.

"Thank you for choosing my roastery.
Hope you enjoy the coffee, because Aida worked very hard to produce it :) Cheers"

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