FANS!
Three young
pioneers find
fortune
and fun in
the coffee
trade.
TIM COHAN
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
offee has become the beverage of the gives us the edge on freshness. Of course,
1990s. Shops featuring the rich brew we also sell roasted beans, but we usual-
dot urban and suburban landscapes, ly put in new beans daily."
According to Mr. Weber, there are three
proliferating like video stores did in
things
that make the Java Master roaster
the last decade.
Each tries to outdo the last, but unlike any other. "First, the roasting
method is different. The roaster works like
4 there are only so many variations
that can be developed from such a a hot-air popcorn maker; it keeps the beans
moving so they don't get burned, which
simple theme.
So how can a new establishment gives you a more even roast. Second, it's
hope to attract the legions of jaded java extremely easy to use. Someone could pret-
junkies who are constantly looking for ty much walk in off the street and figure
out how to use it.
something better?
"All you have to do is pour in the beans,
That was the question Jeff Weber and
his partners struggled with and have an- select the appropriate air and bean tern-
swered with Java Master, the name of both peratures, and press the start button.
a unique, patented coffee roasting machine Third, you can roast a minimum quanti-
ty of one pound. With other commercial
and the shops that feature it.
Mr. Weber, 27, is the co-inventor of the machines, you usually have to roast at least
Java Master roaster with his uncle, Robert five or six pounds at a time."
Java Master, the shop, offers more than
Kosutic, and Richard Sewell. Mr. Weber's
partners entered the coffee business a cou- two dozen varieties of green beans imported
ple of years ago when they opened Gourmet from Central and South America, Africa,
Coffee Roasters, a bean-distribution com- Jamaica and Indonesia. Prices range from
pany that still services a variety of local re- $5.95 per pound for Brazilian Santos to
S34.95 for Jamaican Blue Mountain, which
tailers.
Mr. Weber was impressed
by their success and suggest-
ed they try to complement
their wholesale business with
some sort of related retail
venture. A short time later,
the three entrepreneurs built
a Java Master prototype and
opened their first Java
Master shop in West Bloom-
field.
"The Java Master gives us
the ability to offer the fresh-
est coffee available," says Mr.
Weber. "You can walk into
one of our shops, choose
whatever green beans you
want, and have as little as a
pound of fresh-roasted coffee
in about five minutes. Coffee
connoisseurs tell me they nev-
er knew coffee could be so
fresh—and so good."
"In a lot of coffee shops,"
Mr. Weber says, "you don't
know how long the roasted
beans have been sitting there.
It could be weeks or even
months. But roasted beans
have a very short shelf life
Offering the green beans Jeff Weber of Ja va Master.
Mr. Weber says may be the finest coffee in
the world.
The shop also features a wide variety of
coffee drinks, juices and teas, along with
soups, sandwiches and homemade baked
goods. This summer, Java Master will offer
al fresco dining under umbrellas.
To Mr. Weber, who lives in Birmingham,
coffee is really a second vocation. After grad-
uating from Michigan State University and
University of Detroit School of Law, he set
up a law practice in Troy.
"I do mostly corporate work," he says. "It
keeps me busy during the week, but it's usu-
ally very serious and monotonous stiff. On
weekends, I shoot out to the coffee shop and
have some fun. It's a more relaxed atmos-
phere, and I get to meet a lot of good peo-
ple."
Mr. Weber says he and his partners have
been very pleased with the success of the
West Bloomfield shop and another they've
opened in East Lansing. They are also of-
fering limited franchising opportunities,
which led to the opening of a Java Master
in Columbus, Ohio.
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