Hi! Welcome to the first post on the new blog section of our website. We hope to share some information about us as speciality coffee roasters; the coffees we buy, the process we go through during roasting and what makes our coffee taste so good! We’ll also talk about coffee machines/ grinders and all the other coffee paraphernalia that surrounds our industry. We’ll be talking about so much more, so stay tuned for future posts!
Who We Are
The Ristretto team is a close knit group of people. We are a small team who work closely together, with the coffee at the forefront of what we do and how to best serve our customers at the forefront of our thoughts – even at weekend! (we have a WhatsApp group that never stops.) Obviously, our main objective is ‘coffee’, but there is so much more to what we do.
Gregg & Mark founded Ristretto in 2005 but really they started roasting coffee in their garages years earlier. At the beginning, they were roasting, packing, making sales calls, knocking on doors and ordering stock – all while still holding down full time jobs! Over the years, the company has evolved, which has allowed them to take a step back from the production side of things. But both are very much involved in the day to day running of the company – especially in the past year!
If you’ve ever contacted us by phone or email, you’ve probably talked to Debbie. Debbie is the other ‘boss’ who usually tells us what we’re doing every day. From organizing the customer delivery schedule, taking orders, to ordering stock and dealing with paperwork/finances/and eating some of the strangest lunches we’ve ever seen (she’s creative in the kitchen!)
Graham, is known as the most patient man in the world. A lover of food and exercise (in equal measure), he loves coffee and sharing his passion for it with others! From delivering stock to barista training (Graham has completed the Professional SCA barista training course) and even some technical work with coffee machines! (under careful guidance from Ivan). Many of our wholesale partners will know Graham well already, and you can all testify to his skills!
Ivan is chief engineer extraordinaire. A wizard with all kinds of coffee machine, grinder, roasting machines (and many more!) So often, Ivan comes to the rescue when a problem arises or a machine breaks down. Having also completed the professional SCA barista training course, Ivan also offers some very fine barista training. He really is a jack of all trades – and a master of most of them!
In the roastery, the production team of Adam and Jonny ensure the quality of the main product (the coffee!) doesn’t reach a customer unless it’s perfect. Adam is the longest-serving team member. Having spent most of his years roasting/ packing and completing customer orders, his role has now evolved into delivering and customer training. He has a love of the Eagles (the band, not the bird); tattoos and food and if you’ve ever spent any time with him you’ll probably talk about all three!
Jonny has been roasting coffee for Ristretto since 2014 – his role has evolved over the years into green coffee buying and grading (having completed the Q grade arabica qualification) he is responsible for roasting and cupping new coffees, production roasting and generally ensuring the coffee that leaves the roastery is of the highest quality. When not at the roaster, you’ll probably find him running in the mountains!
So now you know a little bit about the team behind the name, Ristretto. In the next blog post, we’ll talk more about the coffees we buy and roast but if there’s anything you’re particularly interested in why don’t you let us know! Send us a message on Instagram or via the contact page on our website and we’ll add it to the list.
Stay safe, and remember to support your local coffee shops and restaurants! They need it now more than ever.
JS
