Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Walsh.
Hi Tom, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been involved with commercial coffee roasting since 2007. I was first introduced to coffee roasting during college in Los Gatos CA at the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company. I would spend time during the week at the coffee shop and was impressed with the roaster and process. Teri Hope was the owner and was quite gracious in answering my numerous questions about the roasting process. I purchased green beans there and started “roasting” them at home…in frying pans and on baking sheets in the oven. At that time there was not much, if any, information on how to roast coffee. Most of the knowledge was amassed through many years of trial and error, and the roasters that knew their stuff weren’t about to let all of there knowledge go by answering my questions. Teri was different and I owe a lot to her and her openness.
I went on to purchase small home roasters and eventually purchased a small commercial roaster that I operated in my garage on weekends and evenings.
I joined the Specialty Coffee Association of America (now the global Specialty Coffee Association) and took a plethora of classes on roasting and operating a coffee shop. These courses included barista skill development and tasting (or “cupping” in the coffee world) among many other areas necessary to fully understand coffee and it’s consumption in the US and throughout the world.
In 2007 I purchased a small coffee roasting business in the town of Cambria on the Central Coast of California. This was my first venture into roasting professionally. Over many years of development, the Cambria Coffee Roasting Company became well known on the Central Coast. The distributor I purchased a good deal of my supplies form became interested in what I was roasting and the quality of the product. He began carrying some of my coffees and providing them to customers throughout the county. Eventually he became the sole distributor on the Central Coast for Cambria Coffee.
Sometime around 2016 I knew that I would eventually want to transition from dunning both a retail coffee shop and a roastery to focusing solely on roasting. I renamed my business SLAKE Coffee to prepare to differentiate it from the retail shop. In 2023 I sold Cambria Coffee Roasting and put my full time attention into SLAKE.
Our business has almost doubled in that time frame. Through our distributor (Counterpoint Distribution in SLO) we focus on providing our coffee mostly to established retail coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, and resorts. We have a retail outlet through the web and have been recognized by Coffee Review for having roasted a number of 90+ rated coffees over the years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I purchased the retail coffee roastery in Cambria in 2007, it was a struggling business. Rebuilding customer confidence and faith that we could provide quality coffee and customer service with consistency was the biggest hurdle I had to cross. Additionally, finding talented young individuals to train and educate was one of the issues that was both the most rewarding and difficult tasks that we dealt with. But the individuals that came to work for CCRC found a place where they were valued and most stayed with me long past the traditional 6-12 months baristas were staying at other coffee shops in the area.
We’ve been impressed with SLAKE Coffee, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We find value in all roast profiles from light to Italian/Viennese when done well. Coffee has natural acidity that must be addressed/modulated with each style of roast. Cupping (critically evaluating coffee after it’s been roasted) is key to crafting the roast profile. We have won both national awards (Golden Bean Bronze for Espresso) and received 90+ ratings from the independent CoffeeReview.com organization
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
This career choice is not common and finding mentors in this area has been a challenge. Most of the individuals that have helped me passed through my life quickly, instructors, fellow students at SCA classes, quick contacts met through expositions, etc. Two do stand out however, Willem Boot of Boot Coffee in San Rafael. He was the first instructor to really help me begin to understand how to evaluate coffee and how to develop well designed roast profiles. The other is Rob Hoos of Hoos Coffee in Ranier Oregon. Rob helped me fine tune my roast profiles and better understand how to manipulate the roast profile to affect the body, acidity, sweetness and mouthfeel of each roast. Each had key inputs at times in my development as a businessman and a craftsman. Most of my development has come from research, trials, education, cupping with my friends and employees and showing up each day with an open attitude.
For those seeking a career in coffee roasting, it should be noted that roasting may not be what it seems at first glance. The actual activity of roasting requires an attention to detail for the roughly 15 minutes it takes to roast a batch of coffee. Not only paying attention but using your knowledge to anticipate what is going to be happening in the roaster 2-3 minutes from now and taking action. This of course can be taught, but it does take a certain mind-set to have that kind of discipline over the course of a roasting day and enjoy it.
If someone is interested in learning, approach a roaster whose coffee you enjoy and ask if there are any opportunities for training. Usually this will involve “learning the ropes” of the business starting with production work (learning to cup coffee, scooping beans into bags for resale, arranging the green beans in the warehouse, printing labels, etc.). Showing a good work ethic and a willingness to learn is usually a good ticket into the next steps of learning to roast. Additionally, the SCA, Willem Boot, Rob Hoos and many others have roasting and cupping classes you can pay for and attend that will build your skills and are well worth the time and effort to attend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.slakecoffee.com
- Instagram: @slakecoffee
- Other: TikTok: @slake.coffee.roasters; Threads: @slakecoffee
