Coffee People ft. Arda Barlas, Boxx Coffee Roasters LA
Arda Barlas shares his path into specialty coffee with Coffee People, the impact of political action and protest on his Downtown LA roaster cafe, the historical culture of coffee in Turkey, and much more.
Full video posted below, or watch and/or listen to Coffee People on:
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Coffee People is presented by Roastar coffee packaging. We thank them for their support of this podcast, and of coffee people like you.
Guests: Arda Barlas, Business Partner at Boxx Coffee
Based: Los Angeles, CA
Find Online: https://boxxcoffee.la/ • @boxxcoffee.adla
It took many minutes plus changes in equipment and location for Arda Barlas and I to connect. The ensuing conversation was worth the effort. We cover a lot of ground that includes his foray into specialty coffee originating from a business perspective, the impact of political action and protest on his Downtown LA roaster cafe, my ignorance toward the historical culture of coffee in Turkey, and much more.
Please enjoy this primarily audio-only episode of Coffee People, and expect our recap episode to drop this weekend.
Tomorrow, your favorite coffee shop might be closed. Nationwide protesters have been banding together to launch an ICE Out—No Work. No School. No Shopping—in an effort to simultaneously show the economic strength of the people, and also their anger and frustration at the immigration action and violence on display in Minneapolis, MN.
Tomorrow, your favorite coffee shop might be open. They may be a small business that depends on the money that comes in on any given day to survive. Many have posted about the challenges of absorbing a lost day. They may want to be a community space of support. They may not support an economic protest. They may just be so busy they aren't aware of the effort.
Tomorrow, your favorite coffee shop might be open/closed-ish. Some coffee shops, like Misfit Coffee in Minneapolis, MN, will be open to the public, creating a community gathering space and offering coffee and snacks for free in the store or from one of their roaming coffee trucks. Cafes like Misfit are finding a middle ground. Some are subsidizing the protest by dipping into their bank accounts. Some are depending on donations. Others are open, but are dedicating portions of sales to the effort.
Coffee is inherently political.* That mug of drip or iced vanilla latte with a double shot and a cinnamon swirl doesn't exist in a vacuum. If you are a coffee roaster or cafe owner whose sole focus is offering up the best danged cup of coffee you can to an appreciative consumer (or even, not so appreciative), how do you approach each day, in which, like it or not, the political moment is walking through the front door?
Things are not alright in the world. That's fair to say, no? It has likely been true since the very first cup of coffee was brewed by a goat-herding shepherd turned amateur scientist in a Yemeni field.
As a podcast host and author of this newsletter, I meet people whose personal, political, and business views range widely. The common denominators among so many of them—they're exhausted, and they are human. I'm paraphrasing here, but an oft privately expressed thought, as of late, has been, "I just wanted to serve people great coffee. I'm so tired. I didn't realize this—serving coffee—would become a political act."
I empathize with the coffee shop owners and staff. It is difficult to think that the Coffee People podcast would draw attention away from other important worldly headlines. I don't want it to be a distraction, but simultaneously, I do want it to be a distraction for those who need a moment to breathe. Being an engaged citizen is exhausting. Being an engaged citizen and an entrepreneur (or parent or teacher, etc) even more so.**
I push forward each week with the hope that our show provides value to a listener looking for inspiration, ideas, advice, empathy, or even the comfort that comes with hearing from others who've decided to walk down the path they are looking down.
It is a challenge to decide what action or non-action is personal, or performative, or self-preservation. I am struggling (as are so many) with how to approach the day-to-day of my work in the face of all the unpredictability, in the face of the possible, and with the concern that it takes away from a conversation that matters to all people, not just coffee people.
Coffee shops in America have always been political. Their mere existence as an alternative to the tea houses of Great Britain was seen as a rejection of English rule and the beginning of a push for independence. The Boston Tea Party protest against a tax on the colonies was rumored to be conceived at a coffee house known as the Green Dragon.*** City Tavern, a.k.a. Merchants' Coffee House in Philadelphia, PA, was a meeting place for the Founding Fathers. The Declaration of Independence was written nearby and read on their steps.
It is likely the folks behind the counter at your favorite coffee shop are also struggling with a myriad of "What the heck should I be doing as a human and a business?" The answers will be agonized over. Open or closed on Friday, their choice will be analyzed and dissected by their community IRL and online.
The right to protest is unique to a democratic and free people. The ability for the people to express their beliefs in how their communities and governments operate is essential to keeping the collective focus on what is best for humans who have to live under the umbrella of a government, not what is best for the government official in power at the moment, and/or their allies.
Agree or disagree with the message of a protest, the masses are offering up a plea for course correction within a system built by the fallible. A system with laudable goals of equality and basic human rights that offers alternatives to hurting others to get your message across, but also a system that is ever evolving as the scales that measure our collective motivation teeter-totter wildly in the hunt for balance.
It isn't, and shouldn't, be all doom and gloom. Humans are complex creatures who can hold many emotions simultaneously. The Art Sled Rally (below) might be one of my favorite acts of joy turned opportunity to express opinions I've seen. The people of Minnesota—across the political spectrum—are finding beautiful ways to show the line they have drawn in the snow, and making sure the world knows it has been crossed.
*Follow friend of the pod Fionn Pooler's excellent The Pourover Blog for in-depth journalism tackling politics in coffee, among other deep dives into the news of coffee.
Fionn Pooler
**More so or moreso? Both are accepted in common grammar, but more so is considered "correct." More on grammar.com.
***The Green Dragon Tavern was established in 1654. It is still open, although no longer as a coffee house. They do sell Patriot burgers and Revolutionary Margs, tho.
FREE COFFEE? Yeah, No...Yeah! You want some. New paid Supporters of the Coffee People podcast receive a code for a free bag of Yeah, No...Yeah Coffee from our friends at Relative Coffee Company in Minneapolis, MN.
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