Pinup Espresso Co-Founder Steph Wein with the brand new Probat machine. All photos courtesy of Pinup Espresso Roasters.
With a reputation and model referencing that World Warfare II-era plane pin-up stylings, Pinup Espresso Roasters has taken flight in Virginia Seashore, Virginia.
Pinup Espresso Co-Founder and Head Roaster Steph Wein now helms the management panel of a shiny new Probat P12 III machine inside the corporate’s manufacturing roastery, which opened final August following a imaginative and prescient that’s been constructing for greater than a decade.
Wein’s co-pilot within the enterprise is her husband Bryce Wein, who handles Pinup’s funds and different behind-the-coffee actions. An skilled software program engineer, Bryce Wein additionally custom-built stock monitoring software program for the enterprise.
Contained in the Pinup Espresso roastery.
The Weins developed the enterprise thought whereas serving collectively as active-duty Naval Aircrewmen. Throughout that point, they constructed out a nano roastery with a 1-kilo Mill Metropolis Roasters machine and started shopping for inexperienced coffees in between active-duty duties, whereas establishing an everyday presence on the East Seashore Farmers Market.
“We rapidly outgrew our cottage roasting operation, and by chance discovered an area that allowed us to broaden our operations to wholesale and on-line,” Steph Wein not too long ago advised DCN. “Opening the doorways of our roastery with expanded capability has given us much more ahead momentum, and provides us a spot to host native occasions and tastings.”
The roughly 1,300-square-foot Pinup headquarters consists of workplace house, a espresso brewing lab, a climate-controlled inexperienced espresso storage room and a rear manufacturing space for roasting, packaging and success. A part of that work includes amassing used espresso baggage of any sort or model from native espresso drinkers to ship to TerraCycle, an organization that pays for delivery of recycled supplies, then upcycles these supplies into merchandise like playground tools.
“We’re dedicated to by no means cease studying, experimenting, and changing into extra environmentally pleasant,” Steph Wein stated, noting that the corporate additionally diverts its chaff to native farms to be used as nutrient-rich compost. “Sooner or later, we plan to transition to recyclable or compostable baggage that also have barrier for our recent espresso.”
Inside these baggage, Pinup gives a spread of blends and single-origin coffees following profiles which can be meticulously executed by Steph Wein, who nonetheless makes use of the 1-kilo machine for pattern roasting.
“We’re large followers of knowledge,” stated Steph Wein, noting that she has additionally embraced a few of her uncle’s strategy of roasting by sight and odor. “Roasting so many numerous hours on our 1-kilo was a blessing in methods, and gave [us] nice expertise by displaying what even the smallest change of fuel or air will do to the roast — and the cup. Roasting is an ever-evolving craft for us, and we love each minute of it.”
Alongside a number of single-origin choices and limited-release coffees, Pinup gives a number of core blends for varied preparations, together with a roast designed for chilly brewing, and a few medium-dark choices. The corporate additionally maintains coffees sourced from at the very least one women-led producer group always, whereas future ambitions embrace extra direct commerce, significantly with women-supportive organizations.
Pinup’s blends bear aviation-related names, whereas the corporate strives to supply a spread of taste profiles to accommodate espresso drinkers of all stripes.
“We acknowledge that buying a product is a gesture of excellent religion and belief,” Steph Wein stated. “Being current, understanding that the soar into specialty espresso can generally be stuffed with nuance and surprise, and being supportive alongside a buyer’s development in that side are tenets that we expect makes us completely different.”
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