S6:EP5
Guest: Spencer Lambas, Founder/Head Roaster of Wilder Coffee Roasters
From: Coeur D’alene, ID
Instagram: @wildercoffeeroasters
Website: https://www.wildercoffeeroasters.com/
“I do what’s right for me and my family, and what’s right for my customers, and if there’s ever like a disconnect with that, then I just walk away from that situation.”
Do you remember your first coffee drink? What was the first drink you fell in love with—Americano, black coffee, or dirty chai latte? For this week’s guest Spencer, it was the iced white chocolate mocha with a blast of raspberry syrup.* It was his gateway drink.
It doesn’t matter what gets you started. It’s where you go with it.
Spencer’s has been a changing path. Early in his career, he was on a trajectory that seemed to be leading toward ministry, but his plans changed when he found his values were not being met. An entrepreneurial opportunity as a coffee roasting wholesaler presented itself, and he took it.
Since then, he’s eschewed the traditional expectation that to succeed in business, one has to follow a plan and seek out continual growth.
“ I sound like a broken record, but you know not having a strategy is kind of my strategy.”
It seems to be working, and Spencer is, in a word, thankful.
*As Coffee Smarter expert, Chris O’Brien of Coffee Cycle has reminded us time after time, coffee blended with sugar and dairy and served over ice is basically an ice cream drink.
FROM THE SHOW
Siphon coffee is a form of brewing that utilizes heat under a glass brewer featuring two glass chambers connected by a tube. The upper chamber contains the coffee grounds, and the lower chamber contains water which is heated to a boil.
Spencer making coffee with a siphon brewer. Photo via Wilder Coffee Roasters on Facebook. Heating the water creates vapor pressure (steam), forcing liquid up into the upper chamber, where it mixes with the grind. The brewer is then removed from the heat source, and as it cools, the brewed coffee is pulled back down through the tube, leaving the grounds in the brewer above.
I love the Fern Plant Shop. Somehow, all of my photos have disappeared, but I found a few on the @ferncda Instagram account that begins to give you an idea of what you’re walking into when you get a cup of coffee at Wilder Coffee Roasters.
The entry at Fern (Coeur D’Alene). From this view, the coffee bar is just below and to the right of this frame. Photo credit: @ferncda via Instagram. 
The Wilder Slow Coffee Bar at Fern CDA. Photo credit @ferncda via Instagram.
THINGS I SAW AT COFFEE FEST LA
Effen brand Espresso Martini’s in a bottle (coming soon to a liquor store near you).
Robot Barista.
Latte Art Competition IRL.
Chocolate made from coffee beans.
Robot waiters on wheels.
Mostra Coffee’s Ryan Sullivan giving advice on how to win Roaster of the Year.
A boutique down the street called, “Brotox.” They offer botox…but…for bros.
NOT FROM THE SHOW
Check out the most recent edition of the Bean Journal featuring Ascend Roasters at Old Cal Coffee in San Marcos, CA.
CLICK ON THESE R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNER LINKS
Drink their coffees and whiskeys. Visit their cafes. Support local coffee shops. You won’t be disappointed.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters
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S6:E5 - Spencer Lambas, Wilder Coffee Roasters