Meet William & Graham
William is the older brother and the one who first got curious about where coffee comes from. After watching his parents make coffee every morning, he started asking questions — and hasn't stopped since. He's especially fascinated by how the same bean can taste completely different depending on how you roast it.
The smell of freshly roasted beans — "it fills up the whole house." He loves the process of roasting: watching the color change, listening for the cracks, and timing everything just right. He also thinks it's cool that coffee beans are actually seeds from a fruit.
"That I'm not allowed to drink it yet — it smells so good!" He also doesn't love the chaff cleanup after roasting, but he's getting better at it.
How to read a roast curve, the difference between coffee varieties, basic bookkeeping for the business, and how to talk to real customers. He's also learning patience — good coffee can't be rushed.
To roast coffee that neighbors actually want to buy again. Long-term, he wants to visit a coffee farm in Central America to see where the beans come from.
Graham is the younger brother with the bigger personality. He jumped into the coffee project because his brother was doing it — and then discovered he actually loves the hands-on parts. He's in charge of dark roasts and has a surprisingly good nose for when a roast is done.
The beans themselves — he thinks green coffee beans are "really cool looking." He loves scooping the beans, watching them change color in the roaster, and the moment they crack for the first time. He also loves being a "business owner."
"I tried a sip once and it was SO gross." He also doesn't like waiting for the beans to rest after roasting — "Why can't people just drink it right away?"
How to measure things precisely (grams are a big deal in coffee), following step-by-step processes, and the geography of where coffee grows. He just learned that Ethiopia is where coffee originally came from.
To make "the darkest, strongest coffee ever" for espresso lovers. And to save up enough money from the business to buy some new toys.
