From a very early age Willem was intrigued and captured by coffee in every sense and all facets. He roasted his first batch of coffee at the age of 14 and after obtaining a masters-degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam he co-owned his family’s specialty coffee business in The Netherlands. When Willem moved to the USA in 1998, he founded Boot Coffee and since then he advised coffee companies, coffee associations, development banks and governments around the world. As a consultant, Willem has been involved in coffee quality programs in countries like Ethiopia, Colombia and Honduras. He also designed extensive marketing programs for coffee industries in Ethiopia and El Salvador. In 2006, a dream was realized. He bought 5 ha. of land on the slopes of the Baru volcano in the Chiriqui province of Panama and planted 6,500 Geisha coffee trees. The farm was named "La Mula". In 2009, a second farm "Finca Sophia" was established at an elevation of 6,000 feet and up. In 2014 the natural processed La Mula won first place at the Best of Panama coffee competition. In 2015, La Mula maceration washed Geisha earned the Coffee of the Year recognition by Coffee Review with the highest ever score of 97 points. In 2016 his coffees won multiple Good Food awards and in 2017 Finca Sophia washed Geisha won first place at the Best of Panama. Willem is also a co-founder of a third farm in Panama: Finca La Cabra and he helped start a 400 hectare estate in western Ehiopia: Gesha Village Estate. Willem has extensive experience as a coffee roasting consultant and trainer. He wrote many articles about coffee roasting techniques in trade magazines. In addition, he educated hundreds of aspiring coffee professionals around the world in the sensory evaluation of coffee. In 2016 Willem started Boot Coffee Campus, a leading training institute located near San Francisco, CA, servicing the coffee industry in the entire Pacific region
In this episode we talk with Willem about:
Links:
Related episodes:
428 : Founder Friday | Maxwell Mooney's Final Chapter at Narrative Coffee and New Beginnings
For Here or To-Go?
427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Generate More Urgency!
425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
Faithfulness and Honesty
424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
423 : Founder Friday! w/ Danny and Michelle Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters | McAllen, TX
Three Questions for Better Cafe Decisions
ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic
422: Coffee Truck Success w/ Vincent LaVolpa of Green Joe Coffee School
The Courage to Correct
421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
Who Are We Creating Our Standards For?
420: Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
Are YOU Using Your Manual?
419: Behaviors That Establish Excellent Management Culture
418: Founder Friday! w/ John and Luigi DiRuocco of Mr. Espresso, Oakland, CA
Focus on Your Manager Culture
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
50 Tastes Of Gray
Walk-In Talk Podcast
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
A Tale of Two Cities
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Recipe with Kenji and Deb
Gastropod