Guest: Kevin Meija
Company: Bevel Coffee
Role: Founder & Roaster • Based: Monrovia, CA
Online: bevelcoffee.com • @bevelcoffee on Instagram
What they drink: Drip coffee
“You know, there’s no substitute for just starting. You can think about starting a coffee business, or you can just start one. And you don’t need to have the fanciest tools, you don’t need to have…you don’t need have a branding agency to work with. You don’t need to have all of these things. You just have to want to do it.”
-Kevin Meija
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE PODCAST
Bevel Coffee is based out of Monrovia, CA, where the films Grosse Point Blank and Next Friday were filmed. Speaking of movies…
How many of you had a first craft coffee experience that was something along the lines of “Whoa! Blueberries!”
Before Bevel Coffee Kevin was in the fitness industry working in Los Angeles, and for a time, offering remote fitness training from Munich, Germany.
His 1st roaster was the Showroom Arc 800.
Coffee People are cool.
Help keep us caffeinated by buying us a cup of coffee. Thanks for all your support.
It was a crazy quick turnaround from ideation, buying the roaster in Phoenix, and popping up at his first event. Quick like less than two weeks. Once Kevin gets set on an idea he makes moves to make it real.
We all have imposter syndrome at some point.
There are a lot of challenges to operating a pop-up business. Set-up is unpaid and time consuming. The weather can really impact an outdoor pop-up, even here in California, and it is hard to develop consistency in your work flow.
A serendipitous conversation led to his current spot at Prime Pizza. It’s been a collaboration that benefitted both businesses, but it is time for Bevel Coffee (or a rebranded version of it) to move into a brick & mortar location of their own.
When he says “gs3,” Kevin’s referring to a single grouphead La Marzocco countertop espresso machine like this:
The “V” from the Bevel logo.
Kevin’s relationship with coffee goes beyond running the business with his partner. Over the past two years, he has used coffee to connect further with his Honduran roots. Roots he didn’t fully appreciate as a kid making summer trips to visit family.
On a recent origin trip he was able to experience a Honduras much different from the city version he knew. The beauty of the farms at elevation and the variation in the lifestyle allowed him to appreciate his culture in a new way.
On that visit he was able to visit the farm where the microlots he’s since served at Bevel Coffee were contracted, and it inspired him to go further with help from Cat & Cloud’s Best Friends Club. More on that below.Popups are hard! There is a lot of lifting and set up that isn’t often compensated. If you looked at the hourly, you’d never do it.
The work never ends.
So…beveled edges…
LINKS FROM THE SHOW
Cat & Cloud’s Best Friends Club: An initiative to give cash back to the producers/farmers they partner with for every bag of coffee sold. The current focus is on Honduran producer partners.
I’ll be serving up coffee to mtb’ers and campers at the San Diego Mountain Biking Association Trailfest in October. It’s been a great event that Chris O’Brien (Coffee Cycle) and I have been supporting for the past few years. This year, he abandoned me to open a new coffee shop in Ocean Beach, so the camp coffee will be provided solely by Roast! West Coast! I hope to see you out there. Details & Get Tickets!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
ROAST! INDUSTRY PARTNERS
A huge, on-going thank you to all of this show’s industry partners.
Our friend Caroline over at Cozy Canine Coffees has launched a really fun interview series on Instagram Reels. You can find all the links on the CCC blog (along with some great coffees!). Don’t forget to follow @cozycaninecoffee on Instagram.
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • Steady State Roasting • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Green Coffee • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Sivitz Roasting Machines • Craft 42 Roasters • Me and My Uncle Coffee Roasters • Cozy Canine Coffee
BRANDS WE USE & HAVE PARTNERED WITH*
News! We recently partnered with Baratza Grinders. If you’re in the market for a new grinder and considering a Baratza (we have an Encore at home), please use this link. You’ll be getting a great grinder AND supporting Roast! West Coast.
*These links enable us to generate some affiliate revenue. As always, we don’t partner with brands we don’t use, or recommend.
Coffee People: Kevin Meija, Bevel Coffee