– Can you please introduce yourself in a few words.
My name is Jim Osborn, I am the Green Coffee Buyer and Head Roaster for City of Saints, based in Brooklyn, NY.
– What’s your story in the coffee industry?
I have been with City of Saints for about a year and a half, and prior to that I owned and operated a very modest coffee company based in northern Vermont.
– What’s your specialty and what makes you different?
I aim to be very wary of industry trends and prejudices, and to keep in mind that coffee exists in a social and historical context far broader than the cultural implications of third wave cafes today. More simply, I try to keep very open minded when it comes to sourcing coffees and in brainstorming the most gratifying ways to implement them into our coffee program.
– What was your first coffee experience?
Like most, I became earnestly interested in coffee while killing time and hopelessly flirting with a cute barista girl, shortly before getting a barista of my own at a nearby cafe, where I worked full-time during my last two years of college.
– How/when have you discovered about specialty coffee?
The first cafe I worked at was very proactive in cultivating my interest in specialty coffee, and the owner of that shop sent me to conferences and other events where I was able to get an impression of the growing coffee scene in other cities around the US.
– What was your best coffee experience?
Before I knew the whirlwind of emotional and financial chaos it would bring about, I believe my happiest time in coffee was any morning I dialed in espresso, alone, before opening the doors to our cafe in Middlebury VT, in its early days when everything seemed possible and exciting.
– Do you prepare coffee at home ? If yes, what method do you use?
Usually I use a Chemex at home.
– How do you like your coffee? Black, sugar and milk, iced, vietnamese style,…?
I drink most coffee black.
– How would you qualify yourself as coffee drinker (occasional, heavy, addict…)?
All things considered I doubt I drink much more coffee than most « coffee drinkers », but my consumption is probably spread out and divided across a greater number of servings than most.
– Have you always been into the coffee industry? If not, what was your previous job?
Effectively I have always been in the coffee industry.
– Do you have another passion or a hobby besides coffee?
I do. I am passionate about food, writing, playing music, and Latin American fiction.
– What other place would you recommend, anywhere in the world (coffee or not)?
Burlington, Vermont.
– What is/are your favorite website(s) to get information about coffee?
I think that James Hoffman has a good head on his shoulders, and I read his material more regularly than others.
– What would you say to people who don’t know much about coffee?
Ignorance is bliss – drink what you like.