Interview with Chad Ermel, Owner of Flatland Coffee Roasters
What is Flatland’s origin story?
I’ve been in coffee since 2006. I was a pretty quiet kid growing up, but then I got my first coffee job and realized that customer service was fun because I got to talk to so many different people. I felt like I had finally found a little niche that I enjoyed, so I thought, "maybe one day I'll open up a coffee shop of my own.” I moved to the big city and pursued other careers and then moved down to the states for a couple years. While there, I would go to a coffee shop called Cultivar and I would talk to a guy named Jonathan every Monday through Friday. Eventually, I was convinced to pursue coffee; I just had to figure out how to do it. I then went through a bit of a low point in life. I wasn’t happy with my job, and this became a pivotal moment in my life where I decided something needed to change. After moving back to Winnipeg, a bunch of other coffee shops started to open up, and I thought, “Man! They’re doing what I want to do. This is not fair.” But then I realized, I just need to do what I want! So, I bought a roaster, started roasting and never looked back.
How did you learn to roast?
Through trial and error. My first roaster was an Ambex YM2, and it was a total fire hazard but I still loved it. It was really just a matter of roasting a batch, tasting it, then roasting another hoping it sucks less until eventually you pick up on things. It’s not the hardest thing to do, but it’s also not easy. You just have to keep on trying, tasting and cupping, and I think that cupping coffees from other roasters really helped me to develop confidence in my palate.
What do you love most about your job?
My job has changed over the last twelve years from being a daily barista, to having to work a 12-hour day and roast for another six hours at night—I hated that part of my job at the time, but when I look back, I love it. Today, I get to roast coffees that I like to roast, and the best part of my job is the wholesale component to it. Trying to grow the company and find like-minded businesses who are trying to develop a coffee program for their business has been a lot of fun for me! Even though I'm not working bar shifts like I used to, I still get that same customer interaction on the wholesale side.
What’s the story behind the name?
When I decided to roast, I was desperate to start. So, when I went to register the business’ name, I didn’t have a specific name in mind yet. I did have a ton of ideas, Cavalier coffee being one of them, but I just didn't know what was going to stick. As they were getting closer to calling my number, I remember thinking to myself that I needed to figure the name out quickly, and I just landed on Flatland as an homage to the Prairies.
What are you most proud of in your journey with Flatland?
I think it's the staff that we have. If I look back over the last twelve years, we've always had such a great team—we've never had any issues. The team, even when things rotate, has always been super friendly to one another. They're welcoming, great to our customers, and our customers love them. We're very, very lucky to have a good team.
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