Interview with Corie Sackville, Head Roaster at Alternate Route Coffee Co.
What is your personal coffee story?
While on an art walk in Leduc I saw that Ian and Kellie, our co-founders, had their coffee trailer set up and were serving drip! I got myself a cup, and remember asking Ian if they had cream and sugar, to which he replied “I do! But, just try it without first.” He told me more about what flavours to expect, and then I had my first sip. I really tasted the notes of roasted almond and milk chocolate that he had mentioned, and from that moment I was sold on specialty coffee!
Fast forward, I was working for the school board as an administrative assistant. However, over time I started to realize that the job didn’t involve much passion; you just clock in and clock out. I saw Alternate Route was hiring, and even though I wasn’t qualified, I applied and got hired! I asked Ian why he hired me, and he told me “We can train anybody on coffee, but I can’t train a good attitude. You had a good attitude!”. So, here we are! Within a year of working with them they brought me to Colombia and it unleashed a whole new passion. When I came back every coffee bean felt so precious to me as I saw exactly how many people have taken care of the coffee!
Can you tell us more about the story of Alternate Route Coffee Co.?
Ian and Kellie are a husband and wife duo. Before starting Alternate Route, they were both working full time jobs, but Ian had such a passion for coffee that he and Kellie decided to buy a little coffee trailer and a 2-kilogram roaster. They would work their full time jobs, roast in the evening, and do farmers markets on the weekend. Finally, after a couple of years, they built up enough clientele to open up their own space and got an 8-kilogram roaster! Just last year, Kellie quit her full-time job and is now at the roastery full-time alongside Ian!
What do you love most about your job as Head Roaster?
I love the artisan and craft of it. Before I got into coffee, my hobby was brewing beer in my basement. When I was thinking of leaving my previous job, I considered being a brewmaster, but it just worked out that I came to Alternate Route and had the opportunity to roast coffee! I love to experiment and play, and being able to allow other people to enjoy the results of it feels so rewarding.
In your own words, what is Alternate Route’s mission?
To me, I think our mission is to roast really good coffee and create a community around us where we can support, help one another and live out our passions while doing it. There’s not a day where I wake up and I’m not happy to be here. Roasting great coffee, meeting awesome people, and creating an enjoyable work environment is what we’re all about.
