Past Releases

MCP#008: Ant Walach

MCP#008: Ant Walach

ROASTER: Ant Walach

YEARS ROASTING: 5 years

COMPANY: Snowdrift Coffee & workspace, Roscoe, IL

Snowdrift Coffee is a new project and micro-roastery launched by Ant and his partner, Rita Kaminsky. These two are powerhouses in the coffee world, and you've probably seen them judging or running a barista or brewers cup competition in the past. With Snowdrift, Ant hopes to empower the coffee community and make roasting accessible for groups traditionally left out of the roasting world: namely, women and members of the LGBTQ community. Ant plans on doing this through offering free weekend classes to interested students, including a free place to stay. 

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MCP#007: Julia Lancer

MCP#007: Julia Lancer

ROASTER: Julia Lancer

YEARS ROASTING: 3 years

COMPANY: THE SPARROWS, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

“We were working a shift together and listening to Neurosis at a pretty reasonable volume, when a customer came up to the counter and was offended by the music and asked us to turn it down. Julia said to them, ‘Well, another customer just asked me if we could turn it up, so I guess I'd better leave it at this volume, huh?’ That pretty much sold me on Julia Lancer. Been friends ever since. We have like four buddy tattoos.” Lily Curtis-Harris, Merchandise Manager at Sweet Marias, Sales and Freight Logistics at Coffee Shrub, on a work memory with Julia.

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MCP#006 Taylor Gresham

MCP#006 Taylor Gresham

ROASTER NAME: Taylor Gresham

YEARS ROASTING: 3 years

COMPANY: Evocation Micro-Coffee Roastery, Amarillo, TX

 a minimalist study of Taylor Gresham. 

  1. taylor:

connects dots

learns about coffee

is gracious

creates aesthetic moments

ethereal

wants to be remembered as kind

works out

keeps a coffee journal

sees potential

focuses

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    MCP#005: Jeremy Brooks

    MCP#005: Jeremy Brooks

    Jeremy Brooks might not be the first person you talk to at a party, but he wouldn’t be the last, either. “I’m not really the most out there person in a group of people. I’ll tell you anything you ask me, though.” And that’s true—talking to Jeremy, who is our featured roaster for the month of July—you feel as if he’ll tell you anything if you ask.
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    MCP#004: Cameron Heath

    MCP#004: Cameron Heath

    “Every summer, I rewatch Lost. It’s a terrible show but I still do it every year.” No reason, no explanation. This is a ritual Cameron Heath, our featured roaster for the month of June, engages in every year. Rewatching shows is probably a pastime many of us can harken back to—we at Matchbook are fans of watching the same episodes of Parks and Recreation over and over—and there’s definitely some parallels to roasting that weren’t lost on us. Repeating roast curves, pulling the trier out...

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    MCP #003: Sandra Elisa Loofbourow

    MCP #003: Sandra Elisa Loofbourow

    We’ve been stuck on the idea of ‘capturing’ the essence of Sandra—or Sandi as she’s known by her mom—because there doesn’t seem to be a way to capture her. Not fully. Not through one medium. When we asked Sandra to describe herself, she pointed to different music videos and songs, like this one she describes as ‘herself as a kid,’ or this one she points to illustrating her love of tango, which she’s been dancing since she was 14.
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    MCP #002: Tony Querio

    MCP #002: Tony Querio

    Circular experiences permeate Tony’s life, from his experiences growing up in a small town in Michigan (“there was only one stoplight”) to his ultimate job as the green coffee buyer and final decision maker for all things coffee. “I think everyone assumes that their childhood experiences are normal. In my family when we get together, most of the time we plan where we’re gonna eat, and they still live in that one stoplight town,” he shares, reflecting on the unique importance his family put on food and tasting new things. “My family would make me an exotic fruit basket for Easter…and now I’m in a sensory-based job. I can obsess over those things that were just what we did normally.”
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    MCP #001: Jamie Smith

    MCP #001: Jamie Smith

    Jamie Smith is a badass. There’s sort of no other way to describe her. You could say things like she’s talented (which she is) or that she’s a blast to hang out with (she is) or that she’s reliable to a fault (she’ll be there if she’s says she’s gonna be there, damn), but all those descriptors don’t feel like enough. To speak about her is to share a crazy story or a meaningful experience. Initially thinking she was quiet and reserved, one of my first
    memories is cupping alongside her and a table of coffees she roasted, and after tasting one of the samples, she threw her spoon on the table and yelled, “NAILED IT!”
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