Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Akers.
Hi Jeff, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We started in 2017 after finding out that most coffees were roasted using petroleum or electric hot air. We decided to engineer and build a one of a kind wood-fired coffee roaster. Once this roaster was built our focus turned to research which revealed to us, via many published studies around the world, that using hardwoods to roast coffee produces less titrated acids. The most convincing study comes from Dr William Ristenpart from the coffee center at UC Davis, it verifies that using a fuel source with a moisture content closer to that of a green coffee bean produces less PH alteration and develops less acid delivered to your palate. This process involved our whole family and has continued to this day, Shelley my wife is the true engine of our operation including but not limited to, customer service, producing and getting the people what they want. Jacob, our oldest son is our lead roaster and our youngest son, Dominic is in charge of markets and distribution. I keep equipment running and develop new markets. We currently sell at 27 stores in Oregon and Washington, service 250 coffee subscriptions nationwide as well as 8 different Farmers Markets in our local area and beyond. Our most far reaching customers are in Tanzania, Australia, Ireland and even Antarctica. Our plan is to build new roasters and develop healthy local coffee communities in several other locations to be announced.
We have more on our story on our Instagram page plus on our web site.
Cheers!
Jeff Akers
Bohemian Roastery
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Change is never easy and the for us it was truly an uphill battle. Changing people minds or even convincing them of an idea that was once the norm is very hard to do, old habits die hard. With much hard work and perseverance we have slowly changed peoples mind as to what more can be expected from such an everyday ritual. This is not a get rich quick endeavor and will never be a subpar mass produced coffee product an IPO to offer but it is our love and our passion.
Do what you love as often as you can and you will find joy and remember, it doesn’t have to be rocket surgery!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
All of the above. I grew up on a farm in Central Oregon, moved to Seattle and started a contracting business. This led me to the creative decorative arts, faux, plaster and high end finishes. I have worked in construction, mortgage finance and even unexploded bomb mitigation on Kaho’olawe Hi. My family has many amazing adventures and stories of their own but together we have a lot of experiences that help us in this business.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If you cant drink your coffee without cream and sugar…you are drinking the wrong coffee!
Pricing:
- 23-25 lb
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bohemianroastery.com
- Instagram: @bohemianroastery
- Facebook: @bohemianroastery
