B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | Thursday, February 18, 2016
the b-side
“The voodoo priest and all his
powders were as nothing com-
pared to espresso, cappuccino, and
mocha, which are stronger than
all the religions of the world com-
bined, and perhaps stronger than
the human soul itself.”
— Mark Helprin, “Memoir
from Antproof Case” (1995)
Thanks be to coffee, the sweet
life-sustaining stimulant. Wher-
ever the coffee lover falls on the
spectrum — addict, health-freak
or simply in it for the cat cafés
— from cold brews to cortados,
there is no beverage more ubiq-
uitous or more versatile. The
cornerstone of cafés elevates
spirits and tiramisu, enables the
nocturnal writer, electrifies the
early bird and even gives the
fidgeter something to do with
their hands on a first date.
If
there’s
anything
Ann
Arborites love more than a Zing-
erman’s sandwich or football Sat-
urdays, it’s coffee. Yet attempting
to navigate the murky waters of
Tree Town’s coffee culture is no
easy feat. There’s a corporate
chain lurking around most major
street corners, a few hometown
hotspots and plenty of student-
ridden dives; and then there’s
Mighty Good Coffee, with three
locations scattered throughout
the city.
Thanks be to coffee, but first,
thanks be to goats.
850 C.E.: Legend has it that
coffee was discovered in Ethio-
pia by a goat herder named Kaldi.
Following a berry bush snack
break, his herd was bright-eyed
and bushy-tailed as ever and
he wanted in on the bliss. After
sampling some berries, Kaldi,
too, took a turn for the chipper.
He then prescribed his ener-
gizing remedy to a narcoleptic
monk who often dozed off during
services. The monk got creative,
brewing the berries into liquid
form and soon swore by their
pious properties. Word travelled
fast, and the caffeinated creation
quickly became a staple for the
devout and pagan alike … and so
it remains.
2006: Commercial photogra-
pher David Myers is searching
for a break from his day-to-day
life. After brainstorming a new
career path and rekindling with a
friend who had failed in his cof-
fee venture, Myers finally decides
to pursue the business of beans
and brews. He purchases all of
his friend’s equipment and begins
roasting part time, eventually
constructing a small starter café
on Main Street in 2009. They
soon outgrow the compact cof-
feehouse and decide to relocate
to an open space just down the
street. Fast forward a year, and
Mighty Good Coffee is born.
Last week I strolled into the
eclectic café’s Main Street loca-
tion to talk all things really good
and caffeinated with Myers.
As current co-owner, a title he
shares with longtime friend Jim
Levinsohn, Myers spends most
of his days focused on the coffee
itself — where to buy and from
whom. The Mighty Good philos-
ophy is simple: sourcing quality
coffee from people they’ve met
and farms they’ve stood on.
“The cool thing about cof-
fee is that I can talk to the per-
son who’s growing the coffee,”
Myers said. “I can talk to the
person who’s drinking that same
coffee, and everyone in between.
It’s about the chain of people
connected in the coffee industry,
and that’s a worldwide connec-
tion of people.”
During his most recent busi-
ness trip, Myers and a barista
travelled to Columbia and visited
11 farms over a few days. The duo
toured farms by Jeep, foot and
even horseback for an inside look
at coffee production.
“We go walk on farms and see
how they’re producing and what
their coffee tastes like,” Myers
said. “We rely on trust when we
buy our coffee.”
All of Mighty Good’s Colum-
bian coffee is purchased from a
partnership mill — an alliance
between a U.S. company and a
Columbian family — in the city
of Hardin. According to Myers,
the mill buys the best coffee from
surrounding farms in the area.
Along with the ever-popular
Columbian brews, the café sourc-
es a majority of the beans from
Guatemala and Sumatra.
“I spend a lot of time inter-
acting and meeting with people
from the broader coffee commu-
nity around the U.S. and inter-
nationally because that’s what
coffee does, and it’s more unique
than a lot of other industries,”
Myers said.
Two to three times per year,
Myers attends events hosted by
the Specialty Coffee Associa-
tion of America (SCAA) where
he educates newbies and con-
noisseurs alike on the craft. This
April he’s set to teach roasting
classes at the Atlanta, Ga. con-
vention. Myers also routinely
attends Barista Camps — events
hosted four times per year, dur-
ing which baristas from around
the country exchange tricks of
the trade.
“It’s just a collection of people
driven to improve their craft,”
Myers said. “Everyone from
beginners driven to open coffee
shops, or those sent by their com-
panies.”
Along with fostering national
and international relationships
within the coffee community,
the café also maintains a focus on
local involvement. Mighty Good
was approached by both Blank
Slate Creamery and the Ann
Arbor Distillery, which are now
its current collaborators — their
brew gives Blank Slate’s coffee
ice cream its essential flavor and
their cold brew is crucial to the
distillery’s coffee liqueur. Special
collaborations within the city are
Myers’s preferred projects.
“We focus on what we do and
the law of attraction seems to
work in our favor,” Myers said.
“You can get a great cup of cof-
fee in a lot of places in Ann Arbor
and a lot of places around the
country, but it’s about what kind
of community we build and how
we interact with our community
that I think really drives what we
are about.”
THE COFFEE ISSUE
By Caroline Filips
Senior Arts Editor
See COFFEE, Page 2B
MAZIE HYNES/Daily