Interview with Lynsey Hayes, Owner of Sorellina Coffee
From the vineyards to the cupping table, Lynsey Hayes chats with us about navigating the worlds of wine and specialty coffee—and how the two continue to inform and inspire each other in her journey exploring both.
Can you tell us more about your journey with wine and specialty coffee?
Before coffee, I studied the farming of wine grapes, and worked on vineyards in both Canada and Germany. Now, I am working my first year in Italy. I started working in wine for the passion of wanting to work outdoors with an agro product; seeing it through from the dirt all the way to what a consumer pours in their glass. I did it for years until my brother started Roasti Coffee in Edmonton, Alberta in 2017. I decided to take a break from wine to help him before eventually returning to wine—but, I ended up leaving wine and joining him. I fell in love with coffee, particularly green coffee, and I threw myself into learning all about it. I became the green buyer for Roasti, and I still buy most of their coffees. Once the pandemic hit, I decided to start Sorellina.
How has it been juggling careers in wine and coffee at once?
It's been difficult. When I was building Sorellina, I put wine on the backburner. I love coffee and everything that it's given me, and will continue to give me—but, I always missed working in wine. This year, I decided to move to Italy to work on vineyards while running Sorellina, mostly remotely; communicating with producers along with working with the team back home on roasting profiles. The balance of careers in coffee and wine was a bit turbulent at first, but now I'm getting to do both at the same time; I get to taste coffees and wines every day, and work with producers in both industries. I feel really lucky to be able to do both, and hopefully balancing the two makes me a better professional in both fields.
What are some of the similarities you’ve noticed between wine and coffee?
The industries are similar in many ways, but they’re also quite different. A lot of the farming practices vary. Plants, in general, don’t all grow in the same places; they don’t all thrive in the same terroirs and areas. However, much of the actual phenology of the plants is similar in the way they function. I think one of the biggest differences appears on the consumer end. Most of the time, when you open a bottle of wine—if it’s stored correctly—it will taste the way the winemaker intended. On the other hand, when we receive green coffee as roasters, we still have to roast it, and then consumers need to brew it at home. The experience a consumer has at home with coffee is vastly different from what you get with wine. Overall, I believe that learning how we evaluate flavour and tactile experiences in both has helped me grow as a professional in both worlds—learning to taste coffee made me a much better taster for wine, and vice versa.
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