Leo Maggio pours himself a cup of the Ethiopian “Motivation”, a customer favorite, at the Arlington Farmers Market in the Dorothy Hamm Middle School
Leo Maggio at the Arlington Farmers Market on Saturday October 9th at the Dream Chasers Coffee Company booth he shares with the Family of Nuts.
It all started over eight years ago with the smell of coffee beans roasted in a friend’s pan. Leo Maggio says, “It filled the room with scent and immediately made me wake up and go.” Gradually Leo began to experiment with his own pan over the stove.
“It wasn’t so good in the beginning. Like one side is green or yellow. ”But he decided he wanted to take roasting more seriously than just buy it. “That’s when I started tinkering with the pan.”
Leo and his wife and business partner Brittani say they tried different types of beans to find the right ones. And Brittani adds distorted: “In the beginning, a lot could have been better. But I was always behind him. ”She explains that they would test the beans with small groups of friends -“ not just us, because we know what we would say. ”
They thought they loved Ethiopian (the customer favorite at the Arlington Farmers Market) and they loved Brazilian. So they thought, “Why don’t we put them together. It turned out to be a big hit. “And in the summer the cold brew coffee was also popular in the Arlington market. Leo explains that the cold process takes a long time, sometimes up to 17-20 hours. They grind the coffee It lies in the water for a while to get the bitter notes out. “It’s about the undertones – the chocolate, the caramel, like every bean tastes.”
Brittany adds, “to get the best flavor out of the beans.”
Now Leo shares a seat with the Family of Nuts at the Arlington Farmers Market at Dorothy Hamm Middle School on Saturdays. Other days, Leo and Brittani try new business things to team up with a mobile cigar cart, pop-up beer joint, or a table at craft fairs.
Leo Maggio makes a personalized cup of Ethiopian coffee at ESP Tea and Coffee on King Street
Today they plan to set up their newly purchased coffee bean roaster in a common room at ESP Tea and Coffee on King Street in Alexandria. Brittani says they hope to start roasting coffee for ESP in the next few days and have their big opening event for the Dream Chasers Coffee Company in a couple of weeks.
Brittani says they will be at ESP several days a week to roast their beans and serve their signature drinks. So far, she has planned crème brûlée and a dark chocolate and peppermint latte, and of course the popular lavender latte. And the Affogato, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a dash of espresso with its very own note, a pinch of caramel chips. “It’s really delicious.”
Chocolate-coated coffee beans are another specialty, some of which are dipped in caramel chips and make perfect Christmas gifts. Brittani is always thinking of new ideas. “Maybe a butterscotch latte could also be good.”
Leo says when this all started he spent a lot of time at ESP between his workouts as a trainer, and Brittani worked there for a while when she was also a trainer. At the time, she lived along his delivery route for work and he often walked past her house.
“And our birthdays are only a day apart,” she adds. But their paths never crossed. As it turned out, they met online and were drawn to their love of coffee. He says there were so many chances they could have met in person, but instead it was online. The way it should be.
It’s a long way from the day Leo and Brittani had their first date at ESP to now when they have a company that roasts, markets, and sells a variety of coffee bean products and teas.
“She’s the tea and chocolate person,” says Leo.
“And he chews on coffee beans,” she emphasizes.
IN THE BEGINNING, they didn’t know anything about the technical aspects of beans, only that they loved coffee. Brittany worked at ESP and Leo did extensive research. “I decided I liked the whole idea, but I had to learn more about it.” They were so excited about the idea of coffee that at some point they thought why not start their own business.
Leo points out their new Artisan 3-e coffee bean grinder, which cost them about $ 5,000. “We bought it instead of a honeymoon because we got married during COVID.” He explains that it doesn’t make a lot of volume, but you can look right inside so you can see the coffee floating around. “He roasts with hot air instead of gas, so that there are no combustion by-products and you get a lot more flavor out of the coffee beans.” And it’s not that hard on the stomach – less hard.
They buy fair trade coffee mainly from Ethiopia, Brazil and Mexico, says Brittani.
“And I have a five-bean espresso,” adds Leo.
About 90 percent of their business is online right now, but they expect that to change as they partner with other companies and make new connections and move life out of COVID.
Brittani and Leo are expecting a daughter in early January. Brittani says the daughter is a kicker and when Brittani grinds coffee beans, her daughter is particularly active, as if she were smelling them from the womb.
“I’m so proud of how far we’ve come.”
https://dreamchaserscoffee.com/