Link for their coffees at the bottom of the page!
1.Tell us more about 94 Celcius(Genesis, general overview, your community, ect)
It all started after a stay in France to undertake my biochemist studies.I was far from imagining that in my verysmall Parisian apartment, where the bathroom and the kitchen were common, I was going to discovercoffee. Living not too far from BellevilleBrûlerie when it starts, probably did help!Islowly discovered its diversity, but especially the pleasure of tasting innumerable varieties upon waking up, during longnights of study or just after nights of partying. I fell in love with the richness of the aromas and the diversity of coffee connected to each terroir. It was at this moment that my greatjourney began with the search for the best coffee.
The return to Canada allowed me to develop my roasting skills (NOT!).Equipped with a 1970s popcorn popper, a wooden stick and several varieties of greencoffee beans, I was in search of the best possible cup of coffee. After a lot offun, a few episodes of discouragement, lots of coffee beans all over his apartment but especially a lot ofpersistence, I finally came up with an interesting result.
2. Why did you decide to get into coffee?
The beginning of the 94 CelciusMicro-Roaster’s adventurehas no specific date. It's an idea that has sprung up over the course of various travelsaround the globe. One Wednesday night, in February 2017, the trigger happened.Sitting on a terrace of a splendid cafe in Medellin, Colombia, Isaidto myself: what if I could contribute to the comfort and emancipation of people who live more than 6,000 kilometers away from my home?
Despite many yearsworking in science and studying the mechanisms of the human body, Isaw no concrete change around me. The idea of building94 Celcius is therefore to encourage small coffee producers and make a concrete change in their everyday lives.
It’s a wild move starting a company. The first few months when I launched the company, I realizedI knew nothing about the specialty coffee industry.I knew the generic region of coffee and realized the coffee I was drinking was not really the standard of the industry. It was a big reality check, but I think I learn fast and adapt with the different critics I had. Growing a company, it’s an exciting life and a lonely life as well! Finding the perfect balance, it’s the hardest. At least, I’m well surrounded and now we are starting to have our first employees and we are lucky to have such an amazing work environment.
3. What is your roast philosophy? (Aiming to highlight balance ?Sweetness? Acidity?, whatare you looking to achieve in the roast?
As a roaster and a company owner Ifeel it’s the hardest part of the roasting philosophy. When starting the journey of 94 celcius I was roasting a way that I felt was great for me. Pretty much all the coffee was representing my taste and not the one from 94 celcius. I pick pretty much the coffeeIlove.The growing process was a bit slow, I realised that I left out a lot of people from my company.Ichanged my philosophy on roasting a lot. Now the approach is more focused on the producer.Wetryto grow as a company with our different partners, so we can buysomecoffee that I enjoydrinkingbut also coffee that will be awesome, a bit darker or in a blend. At the moment, I feel that our menuiswellbalanced.Wehave sugar bomb coffee, somecoffee that are wellbalance between the acidity - the sweetness and the body, some super high aciditycoffee(Kenyan),some weird process and darker roast. Everyone enjoying specialty coffee can find a unique coffee for them.
Also, Itryto not over-complicate my coffee journey.Iwant to buycoffee from peopleIenjoy, that Ifeel we have a good connection or at least the same goal. We don’t always have super crazy coffee on our menu, but I’m okay with it.Iknow that the coffeeIchoose comes from a great farm and I’m more than glad to make the coffee of the producers shine through our roast.
4. What is your go to brewing method, and why?
It changed a lot over time, in the last year I didn't play much with espresso. Sorry, all the espresso lovers.
Ifeel the momentIstartdoing a V60 everything calms down for a few minutes before being hit up by the chaos of running a company. It’s also a greatway to sharecoffee with peopleIenjoy or love. It’s a good human connection to share the same drink
5. Anything else you think we should share,
I’m so excited about the future of the company.Ifeel that Iaccomplisheda lot ofmilestones and I’m now more than ready to consolidate our work with our different partners, and I’m in measure to startimplementing a real difference in the industry.Ialwaysfeel that we didn’t have enoughvolume or enoughmoney to have a real impact at the origin. With a lot of constant work with the same partner and producers, we now feel it pays off. People trust us now, and I can work with different partners to try new experiments on their coffee or trying to find ways to help them with their different needs.Ifeel it is way more complicated to buycoffee ethically than the money we give to the producer. There isa lot in the mix and understanding the needs of everyone is a challenge, but it’s the only way to source ethical coffee.I’m glad where the company is now, and I think we found the right importers to keep the company growing in the right direction.Also, we are buying now 70% only from women producers and we are really glad to still push it further.
Buy 94 Celcius' Yellow Honey, Yellow Bourbon! Taffy, Blackberry and Wildflower tasting notes! Great as espresso!
https://94celcius.com
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