Coffee Bean Direct Blog

Alfonse – Master Roaster

Hello my name is Alfonse, but everybody calls me Al. I’ve been a roaster here at Coffee Bean Direct for about four years now. One thing I love about my job is that I never have the same day twice; anything can happen when it comes to roasting coffee. Through the blog I hope to give you a glance into the day and the life of a coffee roaster. Hopefully you will learn something, but ultimately I hope you enjoy it!

When I’m not working or blogging I enjoy golfing, hockey, watching UFC fighting, gaming and hanging with my son Aaron. Well, that just about covers me. Feel free to comment on my posts, I’d really like to know which coffees are working and which ones are not.

Anthony – International Logistics Colonel

Hi, my name is Anthony. I am 27 (as of June 10!) and graduated Seton Hall University in 2004 with a degree in social work. Instead of getting a job helping people I found a temporary job in a coffee warehouse to earn some money for Christmas gifts. Flash forward four years and I am still here. I share the responsibility of managing the warehouse with Al and Mike and I am also the logistics coordinator. It is my job to make sure you get your order as soon as possible. Since Al is the coffee expert I am trying to learn as much about tea as possible. The tea side of Coffee Bean Direct is definitely the underdog so I look forward to getting feedback and suggestions from any of our tea drinkers on how we can make it even better.

When I’m not at work my life consists of one thing and one thing only: my 8 month old puppy. He’s a Jack Russell Terrier named Winston (nicknamed Winner) and he is by far the cutest dog to ever exist. However, he is also the most energetic dog ever and my life is completely consumed by entertaining him. I hope some of you are dog lovers because I am definitely one of those annoying, obsessed dog owners. I will probably spend more time blogging about my “fur baby” then anything else.

Thanks for taking time to read about me. I hope you read my blogs and I really hope to get lots of comments and feedback from you. I am a former Myspace junkie and this blog will be my first foray back into the world of the internet. I guess I should make a Facebook page next…

Gregg – Vice President

When we started Coffee Bean Direct back in 2004, I dropped out of grad school and never looked back. Since then, the coffee and tea biz has become my obsession, as well as ensuring Coffee Bean Direct meets its potential as one of the world’s premiere online coffee companies. I have worn many hats over the years (tasks that were eventually taken over by more skilled people), and now I focus on the growth and business logistics side of things.

Outside of work, I study various aspects of martial arts, as well as enjoy a wide range of cigars- a great companion to a cup of coffee. Oh, and I am recently engaged to get married in September 2010.

Marcie – Customer Service / Designer

Hello, my name is Marcie, (some of you may know me as Margie!). I’m a twenty-something (closer to thirty-something much to my disappointment) foodgawker.com loving lady! I am also mildly obsessed with typography which is good because I design Coffee Bean Directs catalogs.

I graduated from Montclair State University many moons ago with a degree in Graphic Design. After graduation I had many odd jobs such as a Nanny, magazine ad designer for parts that make your lawn mower work, lawn sprinkler estimate giver and my personal favorite, working in a refrigerator chopping up fruit! In 2006 I stumbled upon a job for customer service for a small company in Jackson, NJ; intrigued I applied for a job. Well, thank goodness I got out of the car that day because I landed the best job I have ever had! Seeing my skills with Graphic Design I was given the challenge of designing Coffee Bean Directs first catalog. Now with all of the design work for CBD I am pretty busy, but I still answer phones now and again so you might get to talk to me if you call in to place a order!

Join me as I blog my way through my adventures in Design, recipes and living in the great state of Pennsylvania (NJ… oh how I miss thee!).

Feel free to contact me at marcie@coffeebeandirect.com.

Mike – Production Manager

Hi, my name is Mike.  I’m the production manager here at coffee bean direct, where I’ve been working for exactly 3 years as of the 31st!  What I do is make all flavors and blends in both our coffee and tea departments and then I oversee the packaging of said blends and flavors.  I’m always looking for new flavor ideas or feedback on existing flavors, so please feel free comment.

Now enough about work lets learn more about me.  I’m 26 and I’ve been married for a little over a year now.  My wife is currently going to school and getting ready to apply to medical school. The only down side is that until she knows where she is going, and we are able to move again, I have to drive 215 miles round trip everyday to get to work. The trip normally takes about 4 hours total, so most of my free time is spent recovering from the drive. But, I love my job, so it’s all good!

The last few hours I get in a week are spent helping my mother in-law and wife raise my eight-year-old sister in-law.  Well, that and as much TV as I can watch. My current favs include Lost, House, or anything Vh1 or MTV puts out (reality TV will be the death of me, and yes I actually watch The Hills). I also love the classics like Saved by the Bell (I will be Zack Morris one day) and Boy Meets World (ah Topenga).

I’m a huge fan of most sports, if it has a ball and there is a winner I’ll watch it. I love the Philadelphia Phillies (World Champs!) and I’m even lucky enough to get to go to games on the semi regular basis.

Welcome to my world, I hope you come back!