Guest of Honor: Aaron MacDougall

We #GetEducated on the elixir that powers all life. Spoiler alert: It’s coffee.

We #GetEducated on the elixir that powers all life. Spoiler alert: It’s coffee.

If you haven’t been to Broadsheet, the first coffee roaster to arrive in Cambridge, we’re not gonna say you haven’t lived, but … your quality of life may not be all that it could be and should be. And behind this serious coffee operation and cool, airy spot (with stellar food to boot!) there’s a founder/owner with a killer pivot story. Which we convinced him to pour out here.

Honor Code Creative: How did Broadsheet get its name?

Aaron, Broadsheet: The Harvard University printing press (ed note: Aaron wouldn’t even want to offer that he went to Harvard, but he did, FYI.) was located very close to the location of our shop/roastery — and for years the broadsheet format paper it published was *the* way that quality news and information was spread (tabloids then and today trade in gossip!) I hoped that Broadsheet, the shop, would help facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among passionate customers. And of course spread the word about truly high quality coffee, shepherded every step of the way from farm to cup by conscientious and equally passionate people.

HCC: What ‘s something people may be surprsied to learn about coffee?

A: Coffee is the seed of a fruit and high quality coffee retains many fragrance and flavor characteristics of that fruit — some coffees taste strongly of cherries and berries and can smell like flowers.

HCC: What’s a common mistake people make when making coffee at home?

A: Not measuring! Weigh the coffee and the amount of water that is going into it. Ideally you’ll have a 1:16 ratio for most brew methods. I’d also highly recommend grinding fresh coffee (less than a month from the roast date) immediately prior to brewing, using a burr grinder, not a “whirly bird” blade grinder.

HCC: Was your coffee addiction born in school?

A: I didn’t drink coffee until many years later, when my son was born — I think many new parents must go through something similar! When I was in school, I was a tea drinker and thought coffee was disgusting — and back then it probably was. At that time, most coffee consumed in the US was relatively low quality, roasted poorly and way too dark, and typically stale and oxidized. Really high quality, carefully roasted coffee is a relatively new culinary phenomenon, something that has only become more widespread in the US in the past ten years or so.

HCC: You made a big, brave career pivot! We love those.

A: I wish I could say that there was a lot of forethought put into my career change, but it didn’t happen quite that way. I had, to be blunt, a dream-like career in finance and reached a point where other things in life became more important to me than further office success. I retired early (in hindsight too early) and my family and I moved to Hawaii. I suddenly had lots of free time and I was interested in things special to Hawaii. I started getting into Hawaiian coffee, and then coffee and equipment in general. One of the many cool things about Hawaii is that coffee that was originally planted by missionaries still grows wild in many places, and that if you are willing to brave the mosquitoes you can harvest it, process it and roast it yourself. Later, after moving with the family back to the Boston area (where I’m from), I was spending so much time on coffee related activities that it just made sense to take the plunge and open a business. There is a saying that you can’t choose your passion, it finds you, and for me that was very much the case.

HCC: Any tips for those thinking of following a passion like you did?

A: FWIW, stay humble, ask lots of stupid questions, and don’t be afraid to take many steps back to take a step forward. Get as much practical experience and education as possible before you enter your new venture — for me, competition and professional certifications were indispensable steps. Despite all that, I still hit every bump in the road and you might too, so just be thick skinned and keep that end goal in mind.

HCC: How did you learn about coffee before launching?

A: I had been an avid home barista, but upon moving back to the Boston area from Hawaii, I was able to connect with the broader professional coffee community. I took a lot of classes taught by Counter Culture and ended up getting certified by them as a barista and coffee steward. I trained in roasting with Willem Boot outside of San Francisco, then later started competing as a roaster (yes, there are roasting competitions). After winning an amateur competition, I tested and certified as a Q-Grader, which is the coffee equivalent of a Master Sommelier in the world of wine (the curriculum and testing is actually based on the Master Sommelier exam — see the movie Somm if you haven’t already — ed note: it’s on Hulu and Amazon Prime). I also volunteered at a coffee shop to gain a bit of practical experience. Finally, before opening the shop, I entered professional competitions — winning my first pro roasting competition in 2017 and placing 5th in the US Cup Tasters Championship that same year. Competing and being judged objectively forces you to learn — particularly important for someone coming in to a new industry late in the game — and keeps things real. It is also a great way to build a professional network.

HCC: Do you remember your first cup of coffee?

A: I remember my first good cup of coffee — my “a-ha” moment when something clicked and I realized that some coffee tastes dramatically different and great without milk and sugar. It was in a now defunct shop called Beach Bum in Honolulu, and was a hand pour made with naturally processed coffee grown at very innovative farm called Rusty’s in Ka’u, Hawaii. It tasted like blueberries and kind of blew my mind.

HCC: What’s a great choice on your menu for someone with a long day of meetings who needs to really keep going?

A: I’m a big fan of black drip coffee (keeps you going, no calories to speak of, and has lots of potential health benefits!) We make a great quinoa salad in house which has plenty of protein and fiber without the carbs — and which is delicious.

HCC: How about for someone who needs to be creative all day?

A: Cold brew is a strong drink, that’d be my suggestion. We use really great, fresh coffee for our cold brew — very different from many places where the saying is that cold brew is where old coffee goes to die!

Get your Broadsheet coffee, stat. Head to 100 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA. We also found it at Allandale Farm. More spots in the works! And you can shop online now at www.broadsheetcoffee.com.