About Bernie and Aurora's Cup Coffee
Hi there, I'm Bernie, and welcome to Aurora's Cup Coffee.
I wanted to take a moment and tell you a bit about myself and how Aurora's Cup Coffee started. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade with almost 30 years of experience. Throughout my life, cooking and coffee have been prominent hobbies. I enjoy being in the kitchen and making food for family and friends.
Coffee has been central to my life - starting way back when I was like 4 – yeah no kidding! When I was little, we I lived in Seattle. A that time in the 1970’s, Seattle was going through a downturn with the famous billboard saying, “Will the last person to leave Seattle turn off the lights?”. Dad was in construction and spent a lot of time in Alaska where work was good and lucrative. So, a lot of time it was just my mom and me.
I was always an early riser, nearly always waking before my mom. My mom would say “I need coffee first before we do anything.” So, I took it upon myself to start making coffee for her in the mornings. It was awful, and mom showed me how to make it in our Faberware percolator, so it was at least tolerable.
As I grew up and become “drinking age” for coffee, I seemed never to be without a cup. During high school I took piano lessons from Igon Puchalski, who had been a rehearsal pianist for MGM Studios way back in the day and had some amazing stories. One of the many things I learned from Igon was how to make good coffee. Unfortunately, I never continued with the piano after high school, but the coffee stuck. Afterward I was never without a coffee grinder, thermos and a drip coffee maker.
Fast forward many years of college, a career, and starting a family to a particular business trip with a colleague Hal. We had a long drive ahead of us on this trip, and after a while of talking business and running out of business to talk about, I asked him “So what else is new?”. He paused and said “Well, I started roasting my own coffee.” I was intrigued and we spent the rest of the drive talking about coffee roasting. Hal summed it up as “Coffee drinking will never be the same once you roast your own.” I was hooked!
When I got home, I asked my wife Morgana for a Fresh Roast for Christmas and immediately began roasting, and roasting, and roasting. I quickly exceeded the Fresh Roast and bought a one-pound Sonofresco. I gave coffee away to friends and family. More than one person said I should start a business.
How does coffee roasting fit in with mechanical engineering? Turns out the coffee roasting process is filled with all kinds of engineery-type variables – time, temperature profiles, bean origin, bean density in addition to things that fill the senses like color, flavor, scents, even sound as the beans roast from green to brown. There is a tremendous amount of rich data in all of it and gathering it and making a process repeatable and enjoyable pushed all my “science buttons”. I have created many spreadsheets and databases dedicated to my craft.
In December 2020, I decided to start Aurora’s Cup Coffee. It’s a small operation. We only roast beans to order and keep no roasted stock on hand (except for the occasional trade show). You get fresh roasted coffee, in your favorite origin blend, roasted and ground to your liking.
You might see Morgana and I around at different coffee shows or food trade shows (like Chocolate and Coffee Fest in 2023). Stop by and say 'hi' and taste a sample.
Coffee does not have to be expensive or require expensive brewing apparatus. You can get that coffee shop flavor, texture, and flavor at home or in your office. Start with Aurora’s Cup Coffee delivered to your door and explore our coffee tips to bring out the best!