To be the best coffee roaster one can be, one has to care for all aspects of the bean. At least that’s the mantra of Rebecca and Bryan Schramm.
From a 4,700-square-foot building at 284 N. Old Buncombe Road in Travelers Rest, the mother-son duo roasts small batches of specialty coffee throughout the week using an American-made Diedrich gas-fired roaster. And under the moniker Paradox Coffee Co., they’re hoping to break into the local coffee scene with a different strategy than most.
Instead of wholesales to cafes and restaurants, they’re going to focus on large companies who pay them to roast beans for resale. Some companies might pay for packaging and labeling as well.
“Our philosophy is that everything matters, whether that’s the bean quality or brewing,” said Bryan Schramm. “Servers at restaurants tend to put coffee on a hot plate for too long and then serve it, which isn’t ideal for the coffee’s taste. So our goal is to get our coffee directly to the consumer.”
So far, their toll roasting service has attracted interest from several companies. It could potentially mean roasting between 300 and 600 pounds per week. The price varies based on who’s providing the beans and who’s packaging and labeling, according to Bryan Schramm. Large companies might choose to have everything done by Paradox Coffee Co., while small companies save money by doing packaging and labeling themselves.
Just as other specialty coffee roasters focus on the origin of their beans, the duo roasts beans from around the world, including Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Ethiopia. The beans, which are imported through Cafe Imports, are for sale in 12-ounce bags for $14 to $16 and five-pound bags for $60 to $65. Paradox also offers green coffee beans for $8 per a pound for at-home roasting The duo has only sold to local residents and a Michigan-based coffee company called 6.26 Coffee Co.
They also do personal labeling, in which they roast and package the beans and then tag the package with a company’s logo. Then they pitch the finished product to the company in hopes of winning a contract. So far, they have pitched products to Upstate Provisions, a bakery in Travelers Rest, and the Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery, who said they would give them a try if they used their own label instead, according to Rebecca Schramm.
“While we’re not wanting to necessarily sell to restaurants or coffee shops, we’re not going to turn down business in our growing period,” she said.
Building from failure
Paradox’s early successes are the result of years in the local coffee industry, where they learned the failures that can happen when running a business. In 2012, Rebecca Schramm and her partner John Brown relocated from Houston to Greenville.
Shortly after, the duo purchased Greenville-based coffee shop and roasting company West End Coffee. In 2013, they ended their personal relationship but remained business partners. That partnership became strained.
A year later, they were featured on the CNBC television show “The Profit,” with multi-billionaire and television personality Marcus Lemonis trying to resolve the pair’s conflicts. His efforts ultimately failed.
In 2014, Brown purchased Schramm’s shares of the business and she left the company, hoping to start her own shop. However, an 18-month non-compete agreement restricted her, according to Schramm.
In the meantime, Bryan continued learning how to roast coffee. He had started training at West End Coffee in 2013 to become the shop’s backup roaster. In 2014, he attended the Diedrich Roasting Courses in Idaho, where he finished his training.
He returned and worked as the roast master at the Taylors-based coffee shop and roasting company Due South Coffee throughout most of 2015. But then he left and joined his mother, who had formulated the idea for a micro roasting company, meaning they only roast between 5 and 10 pounds of beans at a time and pay close attention to their origins, processing, plant variety and other characteristics.
“Coffee is just booming. There has been a ton of growth throughout Greenville in the last few years with roasters popping up everywhere,” Rebecca Schramm said.
In 1993, West End Coffee started roasting in downtown Greenville. Leopard Forest Coffee Co. began roasting in Travelers Rest in 2004, followed by Due South Coffee in 2014. In July, Methodical Coffee started roasting its own beans at a satellite location not far from its downtown Greenville coffee shop.
Specialty coffee roasting has continuously increased across the nation, showing a promising future for those in the industry.
According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, there are about 26,500 more U.S. specialty coffee retailers today than in 1993. More than half of those retailers are independent. The growth could be the result of modern-day consumption trends.
Today, people are willing to pay more for a higher quality of coffee. The price people pay for a coffee has increased from an average of $2.98 in 2013 to $3.28 in 2015. A pound of specialty roasted coffee cost up to $50, compared to $5 for a pound of Folgers.
Also, a typical roaster saw annual sales grow 8.3 percent between 2013 and 2014, according to the Specialty Coffee Association, which surveyed 8,500 roasting companies in more than 12 countries. Most respondents were micro roasters in the U.S. with a single roasting machine – the exact set-up as Paradox.
In April, the mother-son duo purchased their building and a 1992 Diedrich coffee roaster, which can roast up to 16 pounds of beans at a time. Paradox launched in July.
While Rebecca Schramm focuses on business strategy, Bryan spends his days in a 1,000-square-foot space, carefully roasting the perfect coffee. When an order comes through, he scoops heaps of green beans from a brown sack and places them in the roaster, where the beans turn brown and eventually disperse a strong aroma reminiscent of a coffee shop.
From there, he spends 12 minutes carefully roasting the beans at about 400 degrees. The process – a combination of art and science – can be tedious as he continuously pulls beans from the roaster to check where they are in the process.
Bryan also uses technology to monitor the beans by connecting the roaster to his laptop, where a program records and charts minute-by-minute data showing the heat, time roasted and amount of air injected into the roast – aspects that can affect acidity and other features of the bean.
“It’s really security for the buyer,” said Bryan Schramm. “I can send them the charts and data, and they can see every detail about the roast. So if they get their beans and they want to compare it or make changes to the roasting approach, they can.”
After roasting, Bryan tastes the coffee to record its flavor profile. But he also sends samples to roaster Craig Schaepkens, owner of 6.26 Coffee Co. Together, they compare notes, ensuring that each blend is crafted just right.
“They will roast and roast and roast, making subtle changes every time until the coffee is perfect. They are doing things right, and I’m glad to be included in a small part it,” said Schaepkens. “Bryan is always looking for the next best thing, and going out of his way to build relationships for the common good of the coffee culture.”
Planning for the future
As their client base continues to grow, Rebecca and Bryan Schramm are considering what an expansion might look like. Their building features another 3,700 square feet that is used only for tasting. According to Rebecca Schramm, many have recommended they use the space as a coffee shop. It’s up for consideration.
“It really depends on how our toll roasting pans out. If we have to do a lot of toll roasting, the room will most likely become storage for beans. If not, we’ll see,” she said.
The duo also plans to start selling gift baskets that feature coffee soap, mugs and more. A price or release date hasn’t been determined. Also, they plan to hold coffee roasting courses next year. Residents will be able to buy 5-pound or 10-pound sacks of their favorite coffee and rent the roaster for up to an hour with instruction.
Coffee fans might also see the mother-son duo at farmers markets next year. They plan to apply for the TD Saturday Market, Travelers Rest Farmers Market and various festivals throughout the Upstate, including Upcountry Provision’s Artober Fest in October.
For more information: http://paradox.coffee
