The following feature interview was recorded with Erik Modalh, founder of beantrust., a corporate and events coffee curation company. Erik has been a long-time member of the Venture Café community and during the interview we discuss today’s culture, the history of coffee, and Erik’s unique view of value. Enjoy!
beantrustcoffee.com
The following feature interview was recorded with Erik Modalh, founder of beantrust., a corporate and events coffee curation company. Erik has been a long-time member of the Venture Café community and during the interview we discuss today’s culture, the history of coffee, and Erik’s unique view of value. Enjoy!
beantrustcoffee.com
spk_0: 0:04
Hey, this is Sydney Manning and you're listening to live from the cafe recorded Live Adventure Cafe Cambridge, where innovation is for everything. The following feature interview was recorded with Eric Motile, founder of Being Trust a Corporate and Events Coffee Curation company. Eric has been a longtime member of the Venture Cafe community, and during the interview we discuss today's culture, the History of Coffee and Eric's unique view of value. Enjoy. We're sitting here today with Eric Model, founder of Being Trust Coffee. Eric has been a longtime community member in Venture Cafe Eric. Welcome. How is your day going?
spk_1: 0:48
It's going great.
spk_0: 0:50
Tell me what your morning has been like your routines or something that are fun to follow because you're so active on Instagram. I sort of know what you're doing every day. But why don't you walk me through what you did today?
spk_1: 0:59
Sure. Well, firstly, I woke up with a cup of coffee which I have in hand,
spk_0: 1:04
which I think is fitting.
spk_1: 1:07
Oh, taste so great. It was a maid, a pore over bar. This particular cup was made just a few minutes ago downstairs on the third floor, but it did start my day with a pour over coffee. Similar to this.
spk_0: 1:19
What blend were you drinking this morning?
spk_1: 1:21
Very similar. Exactly the same.
spk_0: 1:23
Exactly. The one.
spk_1: 1:24
Yeah, it is a Colombian coffee. Beautifully fresh roasted light roast coffee,
spk_0: 1:29
something that sort of annoyed me when I started drinking. Coffee was everything seemed to be so dark roast. It almost was burnt. It wasn't two relatively recently. I started drinking lighter roast coffees and could start distinguishing different tastes in them. And it's like this whole world of coffee has opened up before me.
spk_1: 1:47
Yeah, that's what I really enjoy. For instance, when I started off this morning with that cup of coffee, I could smell all the smells. I could just relax. I had a nice little quiet time after brewing the coffee and tasting it. And I think that light roast coffee really resonates with its origin and doesn't add a roast profile to it. So it's nice just to taste that coffee. In some ways, as it comes from that location,
spk_0: 2:18
you can taste a little bit more, I think a lot more of what's growing around the coffee plant, and it reminds you that it does come from a plant. It's not something that's just manufactured. That's what I like most about it
spk_1: 2:30
exactly. I don't know. Many people know this, but coffee is quite complex. Actually, there are about 1000 different identifiable compounds soluble Zen volatiles well, in coffee versus, like wine. 304 100. So
spk_0: 2:45
I had no idea. That's fascinating. So after your morning cup of coffee, what does your day look like?
spk_1: 2:52
So I had a commute from Beverly into what I call my parish, which is Cambridge Somerville in Boston. So am I. Hour and 1/2 commute. This morning I ended up at Green Town Labs, which is one of my favorite places to go, and I go there every Thursday morning, and one unique event over there that has happened for the last year or so is Thursday. And it is a event where I bring fresh bread coffee, and there's really no agenda other than people getting to know who people are. As the community has grown from 30 or so up to 600 or so, it's been really important to keep connectedness with people
spk_0: 3:41
that sounds right up your alley. Did you design this event or it just serving dishonestly happened.
spk_1: 3:48
Well, it was born out of a need. As Green Town Labs grew from 28 Dane Street to 444 Somerville Avenue, there was a disconnect with the place that they began. So it was fairly obvious that we needed to listen to those people over 28 Dane Street and do something that was home, like so it was pretty natural. And I've found over time that doing consistent events breeds trust and creates a place where people can count on going and knowing that this will be a comfortable place to meet others and to celebrate friendship.
spk_0: 4:34
So after Green Town Labs, you came over here to the C I. C.
spk_1: 4:38
Actually, it went to M I t. Okay. Uh, the engine. Yesterday I did a little taste test between light roasts and dark gross with French presses. And I also had some sweetbreads and a baguette for my daughter's company, Bonnie Breads. And today I found the results because they wanted upgrade their light roasts and dark roast. So they chose a Colombian, and they also child chose a cosmos blend. So I picked up the French presses and my tray and I had a kappas tree from Guatemala, so I had a little what anaesthetic. So I picked everything up and I left a sour dough there for today, just for them to break bread for lunch and enjoy kind of the ambience of of being trust is I left.
spk_0: 5:29
So in case you can't tell, Eric is in the coffee world, Eric founded being trust four years ago. In fact, I was in that conversation as he decided to make the leap to start his own venture four years ago at the Venture Cafe. Born right out of our community. Tell me about being trust. Tell me how it started from your recollection.
spk_1: 5:51
Well, in 2015 of October, I had decided to leave a company that I had been at for about 30 years and familiar with bringing products to market. With that prior company and understanding distribution, I felt like I could go out on my own and do something revolutionary, and that was building community through coffee. And so that was four years ago and November of 2015 that I started being dressed.
spk_0: 6:23
Does it feel like four years ago
spk_1: 6:25
and went to so fast.
spk_0: 6:27
So what are the first steps? Tell me what exactly being trust can offer. What does it do for the community?
spk_1: 6:33
Well, before that, I felt like the community being here at Venture Cafe. The community here is a place of trust. Place that trusted me resonated my mission and vision. Men believed in me. So in some ways, that is what I as being trust can bring to not only a local community. But I believe toe global community is that sense of believing in others trusting and others resonating with others missions and really encouraging one another. And I found as being trust is grown in its mission What they dio what we d'oh! And its vision and its scope of distribution of fresh roasted coffee and events that it has had much opportunity in connecting with the local university. Seen the local coworking skiing scenes. And so I'm not sure if that answers a question. Our fight.
spk_0: 7:45
I think this is so on. Critically important for people out there considering making the jump wanting to start their their first cos. Or maybe another company is you start with the mission. You start with what you're trying to achieve. And I like when you answer that question, you didn't say that. We provide the highest quality coffees, and coffee service is for co working spaces and events. You went into what you were trying to build, and that's community, that that that word community seems to be all around what you're trying to do with being trust. Why do you think that's so important to what you're trying to accomplish?
spk_1: 8:25
And I think that probably answers. That first question is because that leap is a tough leap. But if you are so emboldened, are convicted that there is a major problem facing culture and that you have the wherewithal to go out and to address that problem, then be encouraged and go. And that's what happened to me. I was sensing this prophet saturated driven world around me and the need for genuine connection, and I felt my not only my passions but my expertise lined up with doing something about that.
spk_0: 9:12
So let's talk about coffee because really, that factory at the beginning of our conversation is really fascinating. What are the biggest trends in coffee that you see? Where do you think the coffee drinking world is going over the next 5 to 10 years.
spk_1: 9:29
So thinking about forward thinking, it's often good to ask myself the question. What has happened so tracking over the last number of years we could do a quick history lesson on coffee and coffee really came about in the eight hundreds and Ethiopian culture and then quickly went to coffee houses in the 12 hundreds. 13 hundreds, 14 hundreds, 1516 hundreds and lots of business was born out of those coffee houses and lots of ventures.
spk_0: 10:08
Some people credit the Renaissance on coffees, introduction of popularity in Europe.
spk_1: 10:14
I believe it is. So I think good thinking. Executive Functioning is highly resonant with with, I believe coffee and good community. And that was young. I could totally see that the continuing the history lesson into the 17 hundreds and Barbone varietals coming out Barone for Vital was a coffee that grew up on the eastern side of Africa, and then the island was later named re union. But that Barbone far I ittle went to Brazil and came up through Central America 18 hundreds, 19 hundreds. Uh, there was movement from German culture and coming into central America and processing forties. The wars that happened, the didn't move diminution of quality after that. So then we got into the fifties 19 sixties.
spk_0: 11:22
Everyone's drinking coffee out of, Ah, Tina's Mister
spk_1: 11:25
Coffee seventies eighties. There was like this cry for better coffee, and I started blending coffees in the eighties. Starbuck came in the seventies. Pete's was in 1966 of her start roasted coffee. Yet Starbucks really gained growth in the nineties. In 2008 Blue Bottle came around, which was a medium roast light roast and then venture capital. People started looking at at the opportunities Nestle is eventually bought. Blue Bottle, another holding company, bought Inteligencia Pete's Stumptown. So the opportunities within better coffee and community I saw as an opportunity. So not only having really awesome coffee, but having true community like it was years ago. And so that's where residents my mission of what I do is I try to practice that old world hospitality in our fast paced, data driven world, and coffee is such an easy way to access the table or access coming together and having a good conversation.
spk_0: 12:57
There are a number of different forms. Your coffee takes within the building. You have your nitro cold roast up on at the 14th floor. You have a beautiful pour over bar on the third floor. That's something you wouldn't have seen in an office 10 years ago. Why do you think that is?
spk_1: 13:17
Thanks, Frank, for bringing that up because you're helping the answer. That other question about what's my forward thinking and that is intriguing because a vision when you're looking for you're not there yet, but you're looking forward to what should be coming down. What is the cathedral out there that you want to build? That's beyond yourself. And that's exactly yet. What you're saying is bringing those two together. Cold Brew, which I was the first to Boston bring Cold Brew. How do I bring cold brew in a way that builds community the pore over bar down in the third floor? How could I have a light roast in a dark gross and a dynamite decaf that really bring people together that want to smell, although smells and tastes all those tastes and meet new people, and it's not highly curated, but it's an old world hospitality, so it's bringing awesome coffee and that old roll hospitality together. And I believe that being trust is so well suited right now for a meeting that need for I believe the biggest problem that we're facing is a lack of genuine connection.
spk_0: 14:24
Well, Eric, I am thankful that there is not a community coffee pot here anymore. Brewing robusta coffee, like in the 19 eighties. I'm thinking bull for your friendship and everything that you've done to be a part of the Venture Cafe family. I'm thankful for your time right now sitting down to do this interview. So we like to wrap up these features sections by asking each of our guests to offer something that they can lend a hand to the community, something they can give to the community. And then what's one way that the community can support you and being trust in your mission.
spk_1: 15:02
So I hinted at it earlier where Venture Cafe for me, was a place that trusted me, believed in my mission and resonated with all that I wanted to do. And so I am thankful personally for this space and you personally to Frank for being there, and so, in a very simple way, I would like to reflect that back and to be there for others. Toe, listen to them. Listen to their mission, their vision, what absolutely are going to be doing and to be available for them, help them connect with the large community that I'm connected with, if appropriate, help them engaging onboard here said that they can then help others to do what has happened to me and encourage others. I feel like in our world, if we can have a place that is open to everyone, that is a place of encouragement. Then together it would be a mutual work, and it goes beyond us. So I would love to be more and more part of that type of community. And that's why I love this place. And I want to give all that I have toward here and in some ways receive all that is here.
spk_0: 16:39
I think that's a great answer. Eric, thank you so much for your time. If anybody listening wants to find out more about being trust in Eric's story, you can visit him online at being trust coffee dot com or go ahead and shoot him. An email at Eric at being trust dot com. That's Erik with a k e r i k at being trust dot com
spk_1: 16:59
or it's actually being trust. Coffee dot
spk_0: 17:01
com. Beatrice coffee dot com. Okay, we'll correct that Live from the cafe is produced and disseminated by the venture. Kept a Foundation, a nonprofit organization striving to better connect the innovation community to learn more about our events and resource is, please visit US Online Adventure Camp a Cambridge dot org's or come Visit Us at one Broadway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, every Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m.