Alexandria Micro-Roasters Talk Beans, Brews and Batches

BY SUSANNAH MOORE

Coffee is one of the world’s oldest and most popular beverages. Alexandria’s love affair with this caffeinated drink is obvious by the dozens of cafés and coffee shops located all over the city, with more opening every year.

Michael and Kayle Hinckle

Afew Alexandrians are taking their passion for coffee to the next level and roasting their own beans and selling them in small batches. We caught up with three of these microroasters to find out how they got started and what they want people to know about the art behind a good cup of joe.

It Started with a Whirley Pop

Virginia natives Kayla and Michael Hinkle both enjoyed coffee before they met, but developed a stronger interest in the drink while students at James Madison University and discovered specialty coffee. Curiosity is what got Michael interested in roasting his own beans.

“I was curious about how coffee went from this fruit on this plant in areas of the world that I have never been to, how it made the journey from that point all the way to your cup,” he explained. He picked up a whirley pop stovetop popcorn maker at a thrift shop and used it to try his hand at roasting and admittedly burned his first few batches.

The Hinkles fell in love with roasting and learned as much about coffee as they could. They visited small coffee shops and roasters while living overseas and traveling.

The Hinkles connected with other coffee roasters via social media and developed in-person relationships with roasters and coffee farmers. They graduated to a more professional coffee roasting machine that they purchased from a coffee roaster in Richmond and continued to roast for themselves and for friends and family.

It was this love for coffee that inspired the couple to consider sharing their roasts with a larger audience. “We got excited about the idea of introducing more people to what we love about it, and that’s kind of what drew us into roasting as a business,” said Kayla.

They launched Whink’s Coffee in July 2020. The name is a combination of both of their last names and fits with the business’ retro-inspired branding. The couple still roast the beans in their home in an even larger industrial roaster, and operate the business in addition to working their 9-5 jobs.

The education piece is one of the most exciting part of the business for the Hinkles. “Our goal is to show people what we’ve learned about coffee brewing, about coffee roasting, about the coffee supply chain, about specialty coffee, third wave coffee. That has been a really exciting piece for us, is to say, ok we started as coffee enthusiasts and we want to recruit as many coffee enthusiasts as we can,” explained Michael. They offer brew guides on their website which offer tips and tricks for getting the best out of your coffee beans.

Whink’s offers a rotating menu of small batch coffee roasts. The Hinkles select their batches through a process known in the coffee industry as “cupping” where they roast and brew samples of coffee beans from a bunch of different importers or collectives and blind taste them. Based on their favorites, they decide which coffee to buy in bulk and figure out the best way to roast it before selling it.

The Hinkles tend to prefer lighter, brighter roasts with more floral and fruity notes but they do offer darker, warmer coffees with caramel and chocolate notes. Their personal favorite coffee that they sell is the Honduran. They have a direct trade relationship with the farmer, Tony Castro, and the coffee is naturally processed which means the fruit is separated from the coffee seed by the sun instead of being blasted with water. This allows the fruit more time to soak into the seed which gives this coffee it’s fruity notes.

Michael’s top advice for anyone interested in roasting their own coffee is to start by roasting cheaper beans and make sure to always roast in a well ventilated room to avoid breathing in the smoke which can cause lung damage.

“If people are looking to buy green beans and don’t know where to go, they can reach out to us, we can sell them some of ours if they want some, happy to do that. It’s just a fun process,” said Michael. “Like us and like most people, you are drinking coffee every day. So if you’re going to drink coffee every day, I think it’s a great idea to learn more about it, to know where you’re getting your coffee from and to think harder about what it is that you’re consuming on a daily bases,” Kayla added.

Whink’s coffee is available on their website (whinkscoffeeroasters.com) or through Made in ALX (madeinalx.com). They also offer a subscription service for coffee drinkers who want to eliminate the dreaded I’m-out-of-coffee mornings. The Hinkles are also excited to be collaborating with Manassas-based KO Distillers on a Bourbon-barrel aged Guatemalan coffee.

Dark and Delicious

For Dani Deemer and Anthony Utz, “we believe nothing is spookier than a day without coffee.” The married couple started their small batch coffee roasting business, Gothee Coffee, earlier this year. Utz handles the roasting for the business. Deemer, who is an artist, handles the retail and marketing.

The branding has a gothic aesthetic with roasts with names like Bat Vibes, Black Habit, Moon Beans and Coffeine. “I love all things Goth and spooky but there’s not a lot of opportunity to express that in the 9-to-5 world. So this is a place where I could do the Goth thing, dress up like a Goth on the weekends. We have a market display that is creepy but it’s family friendly. It’s just a lot of fun to put that together and express that part,” explained Deemer.

Utz first started roasting his own coffee five years ago. He was drawn by the ability to make coffee exactly the way he wanted it. Like the Hinkles, he started out using a popcorn maker but eventually purchased a small, commercial grade roaster. The couple gave their roasts out as favors at their wedding.

“I don’t play favorites when it comes to location I’m buying coffee from, or from light coffee to dark coffee, I like it all, I roast everything. So I take whatever is seasonal,” explained Utz. Because of this, the roasts they offer rotate regularly.

Utz’s roasting and Deemer’s creative eye combine to make a product that is uniquely giftable. “His goal is to bring, quality coffee to people, and my goal is to bring a beautiful product to people,” said Deemer when asked what their vision is for the businesses.

Gothee Coffee is personal and a labor of love for the couple. They support women-owned cooperatives and small, sustainable coffee farming. All of their packaging is compostable and a portion of proceeds supports animal rescue. “We try to put all of our causes into the business,” Deemer shared.

Gothee Coffee can be found at pop-up markets which are posted on the businesses Instagram account (@gotheecofee) and retail site (gothee.square.site). The couple hopes to get a regular vendor spot at a local market in the new year and share their “dark bean magic” with a wider audience.

Donny Brazeal and Mike Madrid

Ships and Sips

Mike Madrid and Donny Brazeal met while serving on a U.S. Navy destroyer. Brazeal grew up in the Pacific Northwest which has an established coffee culture. Madrid was exposed to specialty coffee at Ceremony Coffee Roasters while attending the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and while visiting coffee shops with his wife during their travels. However, neither of them had a true appreciation for the drink before their time on the ship.

“It was at 4 in the morning, I was coming off of mid watch and I was tired and had to be up for the rest of the day. I was on the bridge and somebody had this wonderful smelling coffee, and I tried it and it was wonderful and I, from that moment, decided that I needed to learn more about coffee,” Brazeal explained. He started a coffee buying club with 20-30 sailors including Madrid. Each member bought a bag of coffee from a list of top coffee roasters to share with other members.

After their tour on the ship ended, Brazeal and Madrid reconnected when they were both stationed in the DC area and living in Alexandria. They met for coffee to discuss how to start their own coffee business and spent the next six months researching and making connections before launching Project Buna in 2019. Buna is the English translation for the Amharic word for coffee. Brazeal and Madrid chose it as a nod to the drink’s ancient roots in Ethiopia, while looking ahead to the future of coffee around the world.

Project Buna offers a seasonal menu of coffees which customers can order on their website. Developing as an e-commerce business as opposed to operating a physical location came in handy when the pandemic hit. “We were already optimized around this idea of how can we help people drink really high quality coffee at home. We were doing one-toone education with customers and some multimedia content to teach people how to grind coffee and brew coffee at home,” explained Madrid.

They also offer a unique, team-building experience for customers called “crowd crafted coffee” which allows any group of people to choose and create their own special coffee that represents them, from country of origin to packaging. The idea was inspired by their coffee club on the ship and the desire to bring people along on their coffee journey in a similar way. “Being from the military, we are used to units that like to do things together, that like to have custom things that represent their team. Which is a natural instinct for humans no matter where they are,” said Madrid.

Brazeal and Madrid are also working on a limited release barrel-rested coffee called the Treachery of Coffee. Brazeal expounded on what makes this release distinct from other barrel-rested coffees. “Often times it’s a kitchy type marketplace where they kind of bash you over the head with this boozy flavored coffee. We wanted to approach it a little differently…with a little bit of nuance and a little bit of artfulness.” A lot of thought goes into paring different coffees with different flavors. Right now they are experimenting mixing a Vietnamese coffee with a maple syrup barrel.

The navy relocated Brazeal to Norfolk in April, but this hasn’t held back the business as it continues to expand. Project Buna partners with local roasters in the DMV area and Norfolk to craft their coffees. In addition to finding Project Buna coffee on their website (projectbuna.com) or Made in ALX (madeinalx.com), you can taste their coffee at Elizabeth’s Counter (804 N Henry St.) or mixed into a new rum-based cocktail called “King, Thieves, and Pirates” at Captain Gregory’s speakeasy, which is located at the same address. They are looking into potentially opening a coffee lab in Alexandria where people can experience the crowd crafted coffee experience in-person and learn more about this timeless and universal beverage.