At Work: Rich Curry, Rich's Micro Roast

Rich Curry's quest for a better cup of coffee started out as a hobby last summer. His part-time pastime has now — "against my better judgment," he says with a smile — turned into a business.

"My wife and I wanted a really good cup of coffee, so I started doing some research. We wanted a stronger cup so we just started adding more scoops. But then it became bitter," he recalls.

"And we liked Starbucks, but that got pretty pricey."

Curry was born in Asbury Park and raised in Toms River. An out-of-work Teamster because of an injury, he and his wife moved to Mount Laurel nine years ago.

As he began his new hobby — he's also a musician — he started with the basics.

"I ordered some beans online and started roasting them in a pan on my barbecue grill in my backyard," he says.

"That took too long. So I sold some musical equipment I had and bought a couple of small roasters."

Curry's first big break came when he secured a "hatchery" spot in the new Whole Foods Market in Cherry Hill's Ellisburg Shopping Center. The supermarket chain provides a space in its stores so local entrepreneurs can sell their wares.

Rich's Micro Roast was an immediate hit.

"Whole Foods gave me my start," he exclaims. "They've been great."

So what's next?

I've been "hatched," so to speak. The folks at Whole Foods told me they liked the product and wanted to put it on their shelves. That's unbelievable.

And in April I'll be setting up shop at The Station in Merchantville, partnering with Eilandarts. It'll be a space that will include art, culture and coffee. I'll have a bigger roaster there and will be able to do up to six pounds at a time. Now I roast a little under a pound at once.

What kind of beans do you use, and where do you get them?

The beans come from all over the world — Ethiopia, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil and El Salvador.

There's a distributor in Jersey City called International Coffee Trader that I go to. My brother-in-law and I go up there to the terminals to get our beans.

How many different varieties do you offer?

Right now I have four different offerings. There's Night Owl Blend, which is full-bodied without the bitter taste. It's our best seller.

Brazilian Decaf has an espresso quality with chocolate and caramel notes. Morning Roast is a blend of Colombian and El Salvador San Francisco beans. And Colombian is a single blend with a great balance.

People can also see what beans I have and I'll make any blend they want. I can also add an extract to infuse flavors into the coffee. I use the all-natural flavorings that I get from Nature's Flavors in California.

How long does it take you to roast the beans?

On average it takes a pound about 20 minutes. I start off slow and eventually reach a temperature of about 435 degrees. An alarm will go off when the roaster hits 391 degrees, and I'll check the beans then to see if I want to pull them. But I usually let it go to 435.

It's a gradual process. Some roasters fire (the beans) up pretty quickly. There are a lot of different schools of thought about this, but I like to bring up the heat gradually.

Do you think Rich's Micro Roast could be your new occupation?

I'm hoping to go full-time with this. I've also been contacted by McFarlan's Market in Merchantville, who want to put the coffee in their store. And they're going to open another store in Collingswood, so they'll need more coffee.

And I roast beans for Ray's Café and Tea House over in Philadelphia. People seem to really like the coffee, and so far it's selling well. So we'll see.

Reach Joe Cooney at (609) 332-5524 or jcooney@courierpostonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @cp_JoeCooney.