John N. Clark – Roastmaster

John started Vienna Coffee Company in his garage!  Roasting green coffee that he bought over the Internet, his first objective was simply to get better coffee than he could find anywhere locally.  The passion took off after he found a used, antique 7 kilo (per batch) roaster on eBay, rebuilt it in the garage and hooked up with an importer of some of the finest specialty grade coffees anywhere.  The hobby turned into a business shortly thereafter when his brother Mike and he bought the Vienna Coffee House in Cooper City Florida.

John is a Chemical Engineer who turned his lifetime of attention to the chemistry of combustion to a keen understanding of what goes on when green coffee is roasted.  John said, “Although coffee roasting is more ‘Art’ than science, my combustion chemistry and air handling experience put me on perhaps a faster learning curve than others.  Still, in the early days, I learned a lot by “trial and a lot of errors”!  Since I wouldn’t distribute anything but the best, my Azalea bushes are mulched with a lot of very fine mistakes.  They are very happy!”

John starts every day with a double shot, 12 oz Latte made with Little River style Espresso and one percent (milk fat) organic milk.

Melissa Leinart – Roaster

Missy joined Vienna Coffee Company in 2002 as a packaging assistant.  After working alongside John for a couple years, she expressed an interest in the roasting side of the business.  She began an informal apprenticeship in 2004 and took over the bulk of the roasting tasks in 2005 on a new 15 kilo roaster.  Melissa is married with two sons and a yard full of dogs, cats, nieces and nephews.  “One of the things I love about working here is telling my kids ‘they serve my coffee’, or ‘that place sells our coffee’ when we are out running around”.

Melissa starts her day with a cup of Front Porch Breakfast Blend, brewed at home in a Mr. Coffee, 12 cup brewer.  Once at work, she’s likely to “taste” several other coffees throughout the day.

Mary Cutshaw  - Inside Sales/Fulfillment Coordinator

Mary was introduced to Vienna Coffee Company as a partner in the Bookstore (Blount Discount Books and Café) where we roasted coffee in the back.  As Vienna Coffees’ needs grew, Mary began in 2005 to help us out on the packaging line.  When VCC outgrew the bookstore, Mary moved with us into our new Roastery.  Mary’s husband and daughter drop by the Roastery frequently just to say “Hi”.  Both of them even help out from time to time!

“Mary’s role has evolved as we have grown” said John Clark.  “To many of our customers, she has become the face and voice of the company.  Customers love dealing with her and she is very good at anticipating their needs”.  Mary said she “..likes the small, friendly way we get to interact with customers and each other at Vienna.  Everyone loves our products and they don’t hesitate to tell us so.  We get compliments every day!  Who wouldn’t like that?”

Mary usually starts her coffee day at the Roastery.  Whoever gets in first gets to pick which specific variety of coffee we all drink and sample to our customers for the day.  She likes to brew one of her favorites; dark roasted Kenya AA Estate or a strong, dark Sumatra Mandheling.  “When I started working here, I liked the lighter coffees.  Now, with all these really special coffees available, I’ve graduated to the more distinctive, bolder coffees as my favorites”.

Chuck Espinosa - Sales Account Development

Chuck’s wife Patty dragged him in to the Roastery one day to introduce him.  Patty works for Foothills Milling Company, one of Vienna Coffees’ regular customers and loves to tell her guests where they can get such great coffee!  Chuck has a career’s worth of experience selling coffee all around the country so it seemed like a natural thing that he should come to work for Vienna Coffee Company.  One thing led to another and before long, Chuck joined us in 2007.  Chuck said “ I thought when I came to work for Vienna Coffee, that I knew a lot about coffee, but found out that I knew a lot about the coffee business, but very little about coffee!  It is very exciting to learn about all the coffees from around the world and so easy to sell when we have so much to offer”

Chuck has a great way of disarming new prospects.  He tells them that they will either buy our coffee or throw him out of their business.  “So far… he hasn’t been thrown out of anywhere (that I’m aware of)!” said John Clark.

Chuck starts his day racing to work so he gets to pick the “Coffee of the Day”.  He is still working out which is his favorite, so usually picks something new every day. He tends to lean toward some of the lighter coffees like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe or Vienna CoffeeHouse Blend.

Richard Hray – Packaging Associate

Melissa Huffstetler – Packaging Associate