The NoTa Coffee Story
I had been to Europe (especially Italy) several times, and I always enjoyed the coffee. So, I was surprised that every time I tasted coffee in America I hated it. One day, as micro-roasting was really heating up in my home town of San Diego, I decided to try an experiment.
I started at Starbucks, and proceeded to all the coffee shops in a 20 mile radius and asked for a single shot of espresso.
It probably is no surprise that I took the smallest sip of the Starbucks offering and spit it out. But, sure enough, I eventually found coffee that tasted like I remembered from Italy. The problem wasn't that American coffee was bad. The problem was too many people were taught to believe that coffee simply was a harsh bitter drink, and most places here brew it incorrectly.
The Journey
Thankfully, like the Microbrew revolution, coffee started it's own revolution with small batch roasters proving that coffee isn't just a burnt, bitter tasting beverage. After finding good coffee locally, I started buying the beans from the local places that were roasting their own coffee. I learned how to brew it so it tasted the same at home as it did in the shops. I started to create my own blends using other peoples beans. Then, someone said, "why don't you roast your own?"
So, I did a small amount of research and got my self a home coffee roaster (FreshRoast SR700) and started micro-roasting my own. After 10 years of various "home" roasters, I got a major upgrade to an Arc800 and here we are.
The name NoTa comes from my 2 children Noah, and Talia. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the coffee.
