
One of the highlights of writing a cooking-focused blog (besides all of the taste-testing & cocktail sampling), is meeting fellow food creators! They run the gamut from fellow bloggers all the way to local farmers and top-notch chefs. What we all have in common is a passion for creating connections between people and food – to move cooking from a daily routine to a joyful experience.
In this first entry into what I am calling the ‘Creators Series’, I want to share the stories and thoughts of the people behind the plate. I hope to shine a light on some of the artisans that provide a unique voice in the area. My first guests are the duo behind the amazing Monsoon Roastery, based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Andrea & Tim Monson (whose brand name, Monsoon, comes from a chronic autocorrect assumption about their surname!) have a passion for both coffee and community. They have brought a vibrant splash of color – and caffeinated joy – to a large & loyal following.
Andrea & Tim Monson, owners and operators of Monsoon Roastery

Jessie-Sierra: Thank you both for participating! Lets get right into this….Tell me, how did coffee become such a passion, and what led you on the path to opening a coffee roastery?
Andrea Monson: It became a passion for Tim through working in the coffee industry. Tim’s background in the retail café atmosphere and his search for better coffee made him the perfect candidate to explore roasting his own coffee at home.
We had been married a little over 6 months, [I] was in the first year of a Master’s program at MHC and Tim was finishing up his Bachelors at Liberty, when we found out we were pregnant. We never anticipated having children, but being faced with this new information made us really think about what we wanted out of life. Were we going to work to fulfill the dreams of someone else, or work towards building a life and a dream worth working towards? A few years later, Tim had a warehouse roasting space in Windsor, then we opened a small roastery space in Springfield in 2018, and outgrew our production operation in 6 months. That led to meeting Joe from Gasoline Alley, and building the new roastery and espresso bar to open January of 2019.
JS: I was quite blown away (pun intended) when I learned about your roasting method – Would you mind sharing a bit about your process, and what it lends to the flavor of the beans?
AM: Tim uses a fluid bed roaster instead of a drum roaster, which uses direct heat, meaning that the beans are heated in direct contact with high-pressured, hot air. They are heated while being rotated in the air (like a popcorn popper) which introduces a more even and gentle application of heat throughout the batch. We use electric coils powered with renewable energy instead of gas and propane, which is a cleaner energy source. When you use propane and natural gas, there are particulars that don’t burn up completely … some of it gets absorbed into the coffee bean, which is porous in nature, in the roasting process. Whether that affects tastes is up for debate, but part of the reason we roast our own coffee is because we rather not drink coffee made that way … it comes down to sourcing high grade coffees, mastering the right technique with the equipment you have available and then just add a tiny bit of magic. {small smile}
JS: In this age of global resourcing, how does Monsoon Roastery source beans, and what do you do to balance the environmental impact within the shop, in regards to the ‘disposable lifestyle’ of most coffeehouses?
AM: We source beans on a rotational basis, so we always have something new and exciting on hand. We work with people who send coffee teams all around the world to form relationships and set up partnerships between farmers, which is turn is made available to us to purchase on a smaller scale. We are not yet to the point of traveling the world to source our own beans, but that is the end goal … During a normal retail week, we create one 13 gallon bag of garbage. We created an initiative to compost and recycle anything and everything that is possible, including all our drinkware and take out containers. Even down to the burlap our coffee sacks come in, we reuse all of it. We also power everything with reusable energy and are big on repurposing and recycling materials … We are in the process of moving to fully recyclable packaging.
JS: Every bag of Monsoon Coffee is hand packed & decorated with a wax seal, and each seal is unique to the coffee. What gave you the idea for this kind of branding, and how do you come up with your coffee names?

[Tim Monson]: Andrea has a decade in marketing and market research, she spent a good chunk of time working in the packaging industry and learned along the way that iconic and tactile symbolism was always well received and memorable. [On naming coffee] … we unwind, relax and have fun coming up with potentials … We aim to be funny or at the very least, entertaining.
JS: What would you say is the general time frame for developing a new coffee blend, from testing to hitting the shelf?
AM: It takes about 4 weeks to sample a coffee, order and receive, roast and profile, blend and sample, blend some more, and sample some more, until it tastes just right. Then we ponder on naming and release, which can add another week or so depending on how much time we have to devote to it.
JS: Maple-Oat Lattes don’t just appear out of thin air – who is the beverage inventor?
AM: We certainly didn’t invent it, but we will take credit for perfecting it {laughing}
JS: What drew you to open shop in the ‘Gasoline Alley’ area of Springfield, Massachusetts?
AM: Gasoline Alley is a place full of whimsical wonder, and it’s the kind of place that feels like home. There is a sense of satisfaction and contentment that you can’t quite get anywhere else. Many people tell us it feels like a respite, even though it’s industrial, and definitely not picture perfect. Sometimes places just speak to you, and this place spoke to us. We saw the possibility of what could be, instead of what it was.
JS: One of the things I most admire about the two of you, both personally and as small business owners, is your drive to build up your community. Whether it’s other independent cafes, bakeries, or even competing coffee houses, you are always working to forge real connections, and uplift the food industry in the area. What draws you to create these relationships?
AM: Social Capital. The idea that if we are all working in the same space, why can’t we all work together. We stand to gain more if we understand that there is enough of the pie for all of us. There is also a deep sense of camaraderie when you are a small business owner. There are trials and tribulations that only we know, and being able to support and cheer on fellow entrepreneurs is just something we enjoy doing. There is a deep sense of community, when you can recognize someone else, doing their thing, in their groove, and know what that feels like. It’s definitely something worth celebrating and sharing with others.
JS: How is Monsoon pivoting its business goals during the COVID19 pandemic era, with its social distancing restrictions? How can people buy your coffee right now?
AM: We have closed our retail operation for the time being, and have switched to home delivery and shipping. It has created an additional position in our company and we are focusing our efforts on steps to safely move forward with a contactless espresso bar. [Customers] can go to www.monsoonroastery.com – we ship all over the country.

JS: Last question! Sketch out for your most perfect “Coffee Morning”. (For context, mine is holding a steaming-hot mug of French-press ‘Organic Panic”, while sitting out in the sunshine on my front step. Preferably, my children are giving me a moment to drink the coffee while it’s hot!)
TM: Sipping a “short Americano” while watching people stroll by outside our window, birds and nature.
AM: Sipping on an “oat latte” (sometimes adding maple, most mornings I do), while contemplating the day outside, and guarding my birdfeeders against those pesky squirrels!
Find out more on Monsoon Roastery and the coffee behind the team, by following Andrea & Tim on Instagram @MonsoonRoastery, on Facebook at The Monsoon Roastery. When the current distancing protocol ends, you will be able to visit them in person at 270 Albany Street, in Springfield, MA. Order coffee online for shipment anywhere in the country at: www.monsoonroastery.com (my favorite is Organic Panic!)
*Interview conducted via email. Minor grammatical corrections. All quotes are original.
Finally, be sure to follow me on Instagram (click here) to participate in an exciting giveaway! I will be offering three bags of Monsoon Roastery’s famous coffee, for one lucky follower! You can only enter if you are following me!

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