#roosroast

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Slide on in for a warm cuppa #producestation #roosroast #mightygoodcoffee #slipslidingaway #warmyourbones

[nittanis]

Our biggest plans often start at #roosroast #annarbor #artistlife #arte #art #planning

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Iced coffee on a humid day #vscocam #roosroast #coffee #barista #coffeeshop

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Forget the words! @umnorthquard @umstamps @expouserseries it's on people! Who wants #roosroast #therealjohnroos

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[sliceannarbor]

John Roos

Owner, RoosRoast Coffee Ann Arbor, Michigan www.roosroast.com

John Roos, founder and owner of RoosRoast Coffee, roasts his carefully sourced coffee beans from producers around the world in his lively Rosewood Café location in Ann Arbor.  You can find his coffee — from delicious popular blends such as Lobster Butter Love and Rich French Neighbor to direct trade micro-lots uniquely named after the growers — packaged in his signature screen-printed bags sold in shops around town. John and his wife, Kath, and son, Jozo, make their home in Ann Arbor.

FAVORITES

Destination:  Maui — that’s where I first saw coffee trees and enjoyed coffee at Grandma’s Coffee House.    

Motto: Coffee is a commitment.

Ann Arbor breakfast: Northside Grill — I order the Maiden Lane, with raw onions and tons of hot sauce on the side.

Musician: Art Blakey.  My wife.

THE QUERY

How old were you when you had your first cup of coffee? 

I was eight years old, about to head out for an ice fishing expedition with my dad. It was 5 a.m. and the coffee was Taster’s Choice instant. As a child I was a little obsessed with coffee, actually. At the grocery store I would always run to the grinders in the coffee aisle and breathe in the aroma of coffee. But I couldn’t convince my parents to buy beans and grind them. I actually think they had no idea what to do with coffee if it wasn’t instant. 

What led to your decision to open a specialty coffee roasting business? 

I really had no idea what I was getting into.  I just loved espresso coffee. When I came back to Ann Arbor, I missed the coffee I had tasted in Portland, Oregon. I read an article in The Wall Street Journal about home roasting and just went ahead and ordered a roaster and started roasting in my garage. I’d been working in kitchens all around the world, learning food and hospitality, and had always wondered why coffee never got the same kind of attention that gourmet meals did. I just started working with coffee beans the way I had learned to cook.

Where do you source the majority of your coffee beans?

That’s constantly changing — based on quality and availability — but I get a good deal of coffee by means of ethical sourcing in Central and South America.

Do you have a mantra?

Make it nice for the people because the people they love.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

I’ve been given so much good advice over the years for which I’m very grateful — but one thing sticks: Constantly set goals for yourself that you can attain. Also, this may seem counter-intuitive for a coffee roaster, but I learned this in the kitchen: get everything in place and ready for opening before having a cup of coffee.  Start working right out of the gate, get something done, then have your coffee.

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?  

I’m not a stoner and I work really hard.

Who in your life would you like to thank, and for what?

My wife, for putting up with me.

What book or film changed your life?

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Describe a typical day in the life of John Roos? 

I’m usually awakened abruptly at some too-early hour by my three-year old son — and I stumble downstairs to make oatmeal for him. At this point, I begin either pulling shots of espresso or cupping recent roasts of coffee from the shop. After daycare drop, I head to RoosRoast where it’s multi-tasking to the max: check in with roasting, check in with front of the house — then I head back to my workspace, put on a record, and start working on my stuff which is cupping, listening, skateboarding, fixing, building, answering questions, and more espresso shots.  It’s busy. But it’s fun.

What one big question would you like answered?

When is the stock market going to crash?