Guests: Michael Barthmus, Sivetz Roasting Machines
Role: CEO
Online: https://www.sivetz.com/ • @thesivetz • Sivetz Facebook
Listen/Watch on: Spotify • Youtube
It was chilly when I spoke to Michael two years ago. We were in the midst of our annual winter rain in Southern California. I remember wondering if the raindrops falling on our insulation-free roof would be picked up by the microphone.
On the other side of the screen, Michael was set up in a lovely living space, complete with snow-covered pines outside the window and a lit fireplace in the background. It was one of the first times I started looking at the world around me and wondering if I was ready to shake things up.*
Shaking things up has long been ingrained in the Sivetz DNA. Founder Michael Sivetz introduced the fluid-bed roaster in 1974. His frustration with industrial drum roasters inspired him to start tinkering with a new type of machine. In the early 1960s, he worked on fluid-air magnesium drying beds for an aluminum company. Despite decades in the industry, he was willing to explore innovation instead of sticking with the tried and true. His garage experiment became Sivetz Roasting Machines.
Fast-forward several decades. In the years after the passing of its namesake founder, the Sivetz brand was still strong, but the company needed a shake-up. Enter Michael Barthmus, a Hood River cafe owner and entrepreneur. He took on the challenge of bringing the iconic machines into the modern era while still building them at home in Oregon.
Two years ago, Michael Barthmus was still in the very early stages of relaunching a new Sivetz roaster with an integrated control panel, added automation features, and some conveniences like a bean deflector, cooling tray, and chaff collector that ease a roaster’s workflow.
At the time, there was optimism in the face of challenge. Addressing setbacks in sourcing, working with the confining impacts of the pandemic, and building awareness was part of Michael’s daily workflow. He could see the future successes on a wobbly horizon. The foundation was still being built.
Today, there are new Sivetz machines all over the place. I regularly see posts of Michael next to the smiling owners of SRM15s across the country. The company is further down the path. Michael is feeling more confident, and in a nod to the shake-it-up mentality, he’s continuing to grow. He recently opened a brand new HQ in Hood River, OR, and he’s revived the tradition of roasting nuts in the house machine!
*At R!WC, we’re always inspired by our guests. It is a key reason why we do this podcast. We’re shaking things up too. We’ll be hitting the road in June 2025 on the Free Coffee Tour. Stay tuned for tour schedule stops in the near future. We hope to run into you at a coffee shop—perhaps in Hood River—sometime soon.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The original interview aired in December of 2022.
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