Aug 17, 2020Coffee Loves USPS ☕️❤️📬We’re calling on our entire US-based specialty coffee community to pledge support for the United States Postal Service as a vital service to our country. As the most widely available and affordable way to ship fresh roasted coffee to people’s homes, we rely on USPS for our businesses. Our US-based specialty coffee industry represents over $25 billion of retail value, and a high proportion of our package shipments are sent by USPS Priority Mail.Coffee2 min read
Published in The Bold Italic·Jun 13, 2020Member-onlyYour Local Coffee Shop Isn’t Exempt From Doing the Work for Racial JusticeHow Bay Area cafés have — and haven’t — shown up for Black Lives Matter — It’s like that movie Inception. One moment you’re moving along, doing your thing, and suddenly the ground opens up, flips upside down and sideways three times, and you have a whole new reality laid out in front of you to navigate. …Business6 min read
Mar 24, 2020Hospitality during coronavirusThose of us in the hospitality industry are experiencing a new reality. Providing great hospitality means something very different from what it did before, but also it’s the same. Let’s get into it. We’ve been getting messages and social media tags from cafes and bakeries around the country who have…Cafe14 min read
Mar 20, 2020We turned into a walk-up window cafeWhen the Bay Area ordered an area-wide ‘shelter in place,’ we’ve stayed open as a designated ‘essential business’ serving takeaway only. But we needed to make sure our baristas stayed healthy and our business stayed open so we had to make some changes. Here’s some of what we did. With…Covid 199 min read
Sep 22, 2019Replacing the front and rear drum bearings on a Probat L12 coffee roasting machineSo here at Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters we’ve been roasting on this hotrod little 2003 Probat L12 for about 3 and a half years now, and it’s it’s been quite the workhorse. …Coffee9 min read
Jul 26, 2018My immigration story“I lost you for 30 minutes. I thought I was going to lose my mind.” I was born in Seoul, at the end of 1973. My father, having just completed medical school, thought that the United States of America was a better place to raise a family than Korea. His…Immigration3 min read
Aug 27, 2017My review of “Death Note” 2017 (Netflix)Trish and I binge-watched the anime about 5 years ago, and we loved the experience. I’m actually one of the rare folks who tries not to hang any expectations on new versions, iterations, or adaptations of beloved content (yes, while I won’t say I love them, I find myself an…Film3 min read
Jan 25, 2017On barista competitions, from an employer’s perspective.There are many reasons I’d taken an intentional multi-year break away from the competition-side of barista and brewing competitions (“competition-side” but not the “event side,” as I’ve stayed on as the emcee for a few), but I still root for them. So going last weekend to Knoxville, Tennessee to the…Coffee6 min read
Nov 21, 2016The only “How to make good coffee at my relative’s house” tip you need(reposted from my Tumblr) If you’re reading this, you probably already know how to make good coffee. If not, nobody can help you. God have mercy on your soul. Also, I’m assuming you or someone at least brought some good quality whole bean coffee, cuz otherwise, drink tea. To make…Coffee3 min read
Oct 11, 2016That One Time I Didn’t Hang Out With Sofia VergaraMy Ninja Coffee Bar infomercial adventure, and my honest review of the best home coffee brewer I’ve used. “Hey Nick, it’s Mark Inman here. Uh, what is today… it’s Tuesday evening, and I have an interesting proposition that involves being on a commercial….” When I called him back about…Coffee9 min read
