ROASTER INTERVIEW W/ AARON HILL
Aaron Hill: Co-founder of Honeybee Coffee
Honeybee Coffee & Brewery | Knoxville, TN
Well to start off, what’s your morning coffee routine?
My morning coffee routine always starts the night before. I usually grind my coffee at night, and get our Mocha Master all set up, so I don’t wake the kids in the morning.
How did you approach coffee buying for Honeybee?
When I first got started in coffee, I was young and very naïve about how to purchase coffee. I started working with some smaller to mid-size importers, but I knew very little about the supply chain. Everything changed in 2019, after my first origin trip to Guatemala. Looking back, I had no idea what I was doing, but that experience taught me so much. On that trip I learned a lot about my weaknesses. Firstly, in cupping, and secondly, in communication. Since then, I’ve tried to learn from those weaknesses, and really focus on strengthening them in my coffee buying. With cupping, I’ve learned to talk about what I like, and also to trust my taste. Relationally, I also focus on asking people questions, both about themselves and their coffee experience. I’ve learned the two biggest assets a coffee buyer can have are his tasting skills and ability to have meaningful conversations.
What benefits and challenges have you experienced from buying direct?
One challenge has been knowing what to look for and how to spot your biases. When you’re cupping on a farm after traveling for days, it can be hard to know what those coffees will taste like out of that context - like in a cafe, or in my grandma’s coffee pot, for example. One of the biggest benefits is that it makes my work so much more meaningful. It’s an incredible feeling, knowing that my work exists outside of me. The coffees I work with come to me only through the hard work of countless people, who really care about what they do. Finding meaning in your work can be rare in society today, and I’m grateful to work in a field where many people care.
What do you look for when you’re buying green coffee? What’s your buying philosophy, so to speak?
With Honeybee, my goal was to find the best most approachable coffees I could find. Whenever I would choose a coffee, I would not just go with the absolute best on the table, or the highest grade. I would try and find the coffee that is the easiest to enjoy.
What would you say is your favorite coffee processing technique?
Honestly, whatever creates the best overall cup. I love that through processing, farmers can increase the value of their coffee and counteract the inherent drawbacks of their climate, to work towards creating the cup they want. Currently, I am loving the Aerobic and Carbonic coffees coming out of Indonesia, as well as some fruitier naturals coming from Central America. But you can never really go wrong with a clean washed coffee.