Manzanita Roasting Company
An Interview with Sam & Weston Nawrocki, Owners & Head Roaster
THIS WEEKS GUESTS: SAM & WESTON NAWROCKI
My guests today are Sam and Weston Nawrocki. They are the husband and wife team behind Manzanita Roastery of Rancho Bernardo California, and they just opened a new location in an incredibly beautiful building in downtown Escondido.
Stream the show here or click the link to your favorite podcast platform below.
Weston, a former chef and wine Somm, is the head roaster, and Sam is the head of everything else! She has a long history in hospitality having grown up in the family behind the Bernardo Winery which was founded in 1889. They have different skills, but they are definitely a team.
Our conversation ranges from what it is like to work with a spouse to how they even ended up in the business to what it is like to open a second location (check out photos on their Instagram) during the pandemic. You have to be a little crazy to work in hospitality, but that is really crazy. Somehow they are making it work, and seemingly having a good time doing it.
Roast!: How do you manage that separation between the business and [being in] a relationship? Or is it just all one big pot?
Sam Nawrocki: It is all one! It's crazy, because we we get along so well. And I honestly think we just really get each other…We have a fun time working together. I mean, I can honestly say that. We have a really good time.
During the show we talk about their “Super-Duper” sustainability efforts, and Sam mentions they “roast on the Loring.” Loring is an American brand of high-quality, efficient coffee roasters that are known, in part, for their ability to prevent CO2 gasses from being emitted during the roasting process by using a single internal burner to both roast the beans and incinerate the smoke. They claim “up to 80% fuel savings and reduction of greenhouse gases in every roast compared to conventional roasters.”
Just a reminder this show was recorded prior to the current California Health Order. Things seemingly change every day, but when we had this chat the roastery was open for restricted indoor dining, takeaway and outdoor seating. Occasionally during our chat Sam or Weston would put their mask back on, and head over to help a customer or employee. Beyond our conversation it was easy to see that their customers and customer service is the priority at Manzanita Roasting.
Don’t forget to listen! Stream here or click the link to your favorite podcast platform below.
COFFEE VOCABULARY
Chaff: Coffee chaff is the green dried skin that exists on the coffee bean when it is first picked from a coffee tree. It is the husk of the coffee bean. The hot temperature of the roasting allows the chaff to peel off easily, without the need of additional extraction.
Day-Lot: A batch of coffee beans picked from the same field on the very same day.
High Grown: Coffee that is grown of altitudes of 2000 to 4000 feet above sea level. High grown coffees are often produced in Honduras and Mexico, and are characterized by a low level of caffeine.
COFFEE FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
We teamed up with Coffee Cycle to buy some fancy coffee for local health care workers that are picking up coffees from the shop including Nurse Liz! In hopes of keeping that going I’m offering 30% off subscriptions to a full year of Roast! West Coast’s premium content plus a copy of my fiction novella “Eli & Jane” which features some pretty great coffee drinking scenes, and for every subscriber I’ll buy more coffees for more healthcare workers through the end of the year. Thanks for your support of this show, your own local healthcare teams and coffee roasters.
Thanks for reading, listening and sharing Roast! West Coast, and be sure to drink good coffee!
Listen to the show on these platforms!
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC • THE COAST NEWS
TUNEIN RADIO • I HEART RADIO • POCKETCASTS • BREAKER • RADIO PUBLIC • OVERCAST • YOUTUBE • STITCHER
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I hope this e-mail finds you drinking good coffee. Follow @OneWildLife on Faceboook, Instagram and Twitter!
