Heart Of A Roaster Powers Passion House
Coffee roasting takes some pretty basic things: a roaster, a person who knows how to operate it to great effect, and quality green coffee beans, i.e. ingredients.
But what we learn as we talk to more and more roasters for this series is that what it really takes is…drumroll…heart. In a story already chronicled (here), Millman struck out on his own with Passion House Coffee Roasters in 2011 after his heart was questioned. Day one, he proved this wasn’t so.
“I have a 13-month-old daughter and got my first order for coffee the day she was born,” recalls Millman. “I left the hospital, roasted and delivered the order, then went back to the hospital.” More about the coffee side of Passion House in a moment, but it’s not just about this company’s commitment to coffee, but to life and their individual pursuits, as well.
Where He Came From
Pre-Passion House, Millman was a DJ and producer of house music & techno. At one point, he started a record label with a friend who’s now running it. His musical skills are used in conjunction with company initiatives these days, including at events with organizations like Common Threads–his last performance. And it all comes together: “Blending records is similar to blending coffee,” says Millman. “You want things to match up, to work together; are they in the same tone, same key?
“I’m not a huge blends guy, but when I do, I want you to be able to taste all the flavors and nuances of each coffee.”
Millman began roasting eight years ago, having been recruited by a roaster in San Diego, Calif., Cafe Calabria, to help run their downtown cafe. “I started learning how to service all the equipment because the owner also ran a service company,” he remembers. “When I started roasting, I literally stood by the roaster’s side for seven hours a day, just watching, listening, asking questions. [The roaster] would be saying, ‘Hear this? See that?’
“We also did a lot of cupping, every single day at 9 a.m., every single coffee so he could translate what was going on and look for little variances that changed the profile of the coffee.
“After six days a week for a month or so, was finally able to jump on the roaster with him there and had to do that for another three months, and then I was off on my own.”
He learned on a UG-22 model Probat and now roasts on a UG-15, which he likes and calls very “user friendly.”
Passion House Rules
Millman moved back to Chicago in 2006 to open a branch of Cafe Calabria. That didn’t work out, so instead he spent the next 4.5 years working for a roaster in Evanston (since closed), which was a “totally different, valuable learning experience.
“It was more free-flowing, free-form, not as reigimented and I learned a lot about the business side of coffee and was eventually doing more sales, consulting and training,” says Millman, which turned out to be essential in Passion House’s immediate and continued success.
It’s all about sourcing the right beans, “the best coffee we can,” says Millman. “Shannon Steele Knuckles is our brew specialist and quality-control person. She has one of the best palates in Chicago, and we’re cupping [constantly]. The goal is to stand out of the way of the coffee while I’m roasting and let the natural complexities of flavor come out and not have the roast influence the coffee.
“I can be sensitive to the roast, so I like to let the roast not influence the flavors and work on bringing out the fruit and sweetness of every coffee, letting it shine.”
But, yes, there are rules. Passion House doesn’t offer any dark roast coffees. “I’ve been in the coffee business for more than 16 years and some people just feel darker is better, but I really just talk to people and try to educate them.
“Most of the time they just want some body out of the coffee and, if you can change their mind, it’s really exciting.”
Color Us…Enticed
In addition to the quality of the beans that were thoroughly vetted by the managers of our Guest Roaster Program, it’s also Passion House’s take on the philosophy of coffee that intrigued us, their willingness to teach AND learn.
“Coffee is an endless search for knowledge, that’s the beauty of it,” says Millman, noting that Passion House is located in a warehouse space at Damen Avenue and Fulton Street here in Chicago, a business development center (ICMC) which houses other artisanal businesses, including artists, a woodshop and a metal worker. “I lease out part of my space to The Infusion Project, an art project with monthly benefit shows, all local artists. All proceeds go to benefit different places. The last one we had was for this cultural center in Hyde Park.”
These guys are good at bringing it all together, the whole bean, as it were. And, so, we’ll let them wrap this up and bask in their glowing praise. It goes both ways.
“I just want to convey how excited we are to be working with Wormhole Coffee,” says Millman. “I love them and think they do such a fantastic job. We’re always looking for interesting things to do, maybe a pop-up cafe in the near future, and, at some point or another, definitely going to have a retail outlet. The question is not if, it’s when.”
Thanks go to: “My wife, Annie, and Bayla, my daughter. They’ve been so supportive. It’s tough for her because I’m gone, leaving in the morning and not home until after my daughter goes to bed but she’s in it 100-percent. My family and friends have always been helpful and supportive.
“I’m surrounded by good people and try to be the best person I can be and attract good people to me and I’ve just been really fortunate. For us, it’s [about] building community and partnerships. We’re constantly checking in on our customers, seeing what we can do together…even in the building, this happens.”
DYK: Millman’s brother cooks at Sable Kitchen & Bar here in Chicago with accomplished and much-lauded chef, Heather Terhune? Good palates run in the family.
