Who I Am

Rebel on Rebel 

I’m a rebel at heart, and that’s exactly why I air roast my coffee.

I started home roasting in the late 80s using a heavily modified hot air popper. In 1991, I got sober, and that’s when I really went down the rabbit hole with coffee. I took all that energy I used to put into drinking and poured it into learning how to roast.

I was working as a marine cargo surveyor in New Orleans, dealing with a lot of damaged coffee shipments. That’s where I cut my teeth, learning how to cup coffee, identify defects, while recondition coffee cargoes. Those years taught me what good coffee should actually taste like.

I discovered Michael Sivetz, the genius who invented air roasting. I started calling him almost every month, sometimes weekly, picking his brain. He wasn’t the friendliest guy at first, but he’d spent time in New Orleans, and that gave us something in common. He eventually sold me a one-of-a-kind roaster that he built but couldn’t put into production. I’ve been roasting on that same machine ever since.

Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, and we moved to Southwest Missouri. I started Kuhlman’s Koffee, then later partnered up and launched Classic Rock Coffee around 2009. That partnership ended in 2011, and that’s when Rebel Coffee Roaster was born. I moved back to Louisiana in 2018, and I’m still going strong.

After all these years, I know what good coffee should taste like. I don’t chase the trendy, underdeveloped, tart stuff you find in most shops today. I roast for the flavors my customers actually enjoy! clean, smooth, and full of real character.