Ristretto Podcast #1: Nancy Explains It All

From my home in London, England, I called Ristretto Roasters owner Din Johnson's wife, Nancy Rommelmann, today in Portland, Oregon to talk about Ristretto: how it started, how Din roasts the coffee, where he sources the beans, and how great it is for him to be channelling his passion for roasting the perfect batch of coffee into a living. (Din was actually roasting the beans, which means no interruptions, not even for podcasts.) We talked for just over thirty minutes; for the coffee buffs interested in listening, all of the hardcore java-related content - including Nancy's outrage over a Starbuck's employee's contention that "Ethiopian coffee is just bitter" - comes at the beginning of the conversation.

Ristretto Podcast #1: Nancy Explains It All -  Download nancyristretto.mp3

Links to the people, blogs, companies, and articles mentioned in this podcast:

Skype, the voice-over-IP software that I used to call Nancy
Tafv, Nancy's daughter and Din's apprentice (pictured above, in black, with Nancy)
BumpStyle - the maternity wear business birthed in Ristretto Roasters
Engagement Alliance article on how bars and restaurants can thrive in the age of online socializing
The New Office Space - article about the use of cafés as office space for start-ups (via Susan Mernit)
The website for Joanne Jacobs's excellent book Our School, which tells how San Jose's Downtown College Prep used a back corner of Starbucks to start their charter school (right down to teacher interviews)
The Luke Ford Fan Blog, like which Nancy teased me this Ristretto Roasters fan blog would be. (The real Luke Ford is here.)

Comments

[Allison]

How fun to hear Nancy's voice! It brings back Wesleyan flashbacks...

Her acting background makes her a wonderfully articulate spokeswoman for her company...

[nancy]

Allison! Thanks for the vote of confidence. As for the voice: I do not like hearing myself, at all, so squawky, but, this should be my biggst problem.
Amazing that you found us so fast!