– Can you please introduce yourself in a few words.
Francois, from Brussels Belgium but lives in NYC. Just launched an online radio station funded by an adjacent kiosk.
– What’s your link with the coffee industry?
We run the kiosk which serves mainly coffee in order to fund the activities of the radio.
– When was The Lot Radio created and what is the story behind?
One morning on my way to work I saw a “for lease” sign on that really curious piece of land next to my place. I had a vison that I should do something out of it, something special, my project. 30 seconds later I knew: an online music radio.
– What’s makes you special on the NY radio/music scene?
We are different from any online radio in the sense that we have a “real” location to welcome people. Passers by, tourists, families, dj’s, workers, anyone is welcome to come and hang out in the triangle facing the city view.
– What was your first coffee experience?
I started drinking coffee when I arrived in NYC 6 years ago to be able to keep up with the city’s rhythm! “O Cafe” is a speciality coffee shop that opened at the same time I arrived here, it was one block from my university. I became their best client, going there every single morning for 2 almond croissants and a cappuccino and again after lunch for a cortado. They made me discover what a cortado is and it’s still my favorite coffee to drink. O Cafe is also still my favorite coffee shop in Manhattan. In Brooklyn my favorite is ours! 😉
– What was your best coffee experience?
My best coffee experience appart from O Cafe is having produced a short documentary for Le Pain Quotidien about their coffee. We literally went from the bean in the tropical forest of Peru to the cup in NYC store via the roasting plant in Belgium. I’ve learned so much about coffee in 10 days! The plant, the cupping in the mountains of Peru, the wet process, the roasting in Belgium, etc… an incredible experience!
– Do you prepare coffee at home ? If yes, what method do you use?
I don’t drink coffee at home, I prefer to go support a coffee shop that I like. But if I do coffee at home it’s french press.
– How do you like your coffee? Black, sugar and milk, iced, vietnamese style,…?
If it’s drip coffee: Black. Otherwise I’ll have an almond cappuccino or a regular cortado.
– How would you qualify yourself as coffee drinker (occasional, heavy, addict…)?
I was drinking 2-3 coffees a day before opening the kiosk. Now I drink one every two three days.
– What place would you recommend, anywhere in the world (coffee, music or any other purpose)?
« Bhagat Tarachand » restaurant in Mumbai. Get lost in the Zaveri Bazaar next to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and ask people where it is! 🙂
Or that “bar” in Bujumbura on the lake (sadly, not really a good time to go anymore).