The LA Weekly article went on to report that Tonx has started a brewed coffee subscription service, US$35 a month for 2 12 oz bags of coffee. An espresso program is in the works. But, what really made this article a must-read were Tonx’s words of wisdom, especially to one who is starting out as a roaster.

“A coffee should have inherent sweetness,” he says, “The roasting process should accentuate that. Clarity and articulation of the intrinsic flavor of the coffee is the role of the roaster. It’s a sacred duty to not screw up the thing that went through some tremendously convoluted supply chain.”

Tonx further sums this up in the article:

“I just want people to taste the coffee, and to experience it as good,” he says. “And if it is good, I don’t want them to look at me as the roaster as being the one that made it good. I want them to understand that it was the producer who grew the coffee, the people who processed this coffee, and all the care that was taken before it got into my hands that made that coffee great. And all I did was just not fuck it up. “

[excerpted from LA Weekly]

P.S. You can sign up for Tonx’s coffee subscription service on tonx.org

I’ve just spent an hour uploading this video on Youtube, only to realise Youtube needs another 6 hours’ crunchtime processing the video before it can be properly viewed. So, I’ve included a smaller 16:9 video (suitable for viewing on an iPhone) on this post instead while we await the higher res one on Youtube to finish its due course.

I’ve got much better experience with Vimeo, so here it is.

This video was taken with a Fuji F50fd digital cam, so please pardon the poor quality.

HQ version on Youtube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zi-k-K4xaI

P.S.  Comparing the 2 online video servers, Vimeo and Youtube:

I spent an hour uploading the video on each of the 2 servers, but Vimeo didn’t require the 6 hours’ processing time. However, Vimeo is not as iPhone-friendly as Youtube which launches the Youtube app as soon as you tap on the play icon on your mobile Safari.