Moving onto Three Marks Coffee. Founded by Marco, Marco and Marc (who else?) Three Marks coffee came together when Marco De Rebotti and Marc Aguyé met while working at the renowned NØMAD Coffee Roaster in Barcelona, and Marco Paccagnella was a client there. Their wish was to create a unique and friendly place, serving really amazing coffee.
Meet one of the Marco's. ;)
You guys have a sort of a funny story when it comes to how you met each other. Can you tell us more about yourselves and how you decided to open up your own place?
- We met in Barcelona, in a specialty coffee-shop. Two of us were already working in this industry, and one was a Visual Designer. We have different personalities but we saw we could complement each other pretty well. We had the ambition to create our own place with our own style. We had the feeling that if we wanted to keep on learning we had to make this move.
Where does the name Three Marks come from? ;) Was this the only name you considered or did you have other ideas?
- It took us such a long time to find out a proper name for this project, first big crisis. :)
We couldn’t find something that the three of us liked. We also couldn’t start thinking about the visual identity without a nme. Finally one morning we decided to go with our actual name, Marc, Marco & Marco aka Three Marks Coffee. We all liked it. Just who we are, Three Marks trying to brew the best cup of coffee. As simple as that.
What does each of you have for a professional background before you started working with coffee and how does this knowledge play a role into Three Marks?
- Marco de Rebotti was a Hair Stylist, Marco Paccagnella was a Visual Designer and Marc Aguyé was quite disappointed with his studies of BA and Advertising.
We are firmly convinced that our mix of personalities and skills is a great combo for a business like that in Barcelona.
Sometimes having different point of views can slower things down but in our case it helps to believe more in the team work, more ideas, more energy.
We challenge often ideas but when is coming to solution we are aligned and this will makes things a bit easier.
What were some of the challenges of opening up your own place?
- Many things were new to us. New challenges everyday, much more responsibilities. It’s really interesting to understand where we can push ourselves, which is the limit. We are committed to deliver the best coffee experience in Barcelona and to wholesale our coffee all over the world, and we will work really hard to achieve all our goals.
We have heard that your coffee-shop is amazing and that the vibe is so friendly - what is the kind of place you want Three Marks to be?
- We try to generate a positive impact on the day-to-day life of our customers. Tasting a good coffee can make your day. We work with the best possible coffee and strive to create a unique environment. Three Marks Coffee is the sum of everything that happens when you walk through the door. An experience that has the coffee as the protagonist and is complemented by music, design and customer service. It’s is really important to generate empathy with every costumer. Make them feel great.
What are your plans for the future?
- We want to be among the best roasters in Europe and we will work hard for it. Our plan to achieve this ambitious goal? Continue to surround ourselves with good people with good personality. People who share their passion for good coffee and are able to find their place to grow within the company. Three Marks Coffee's values will continue to be based on respect for the product and the craft. Provide the best high quality roasted coffee to all the clients. Our idea is not to scale without control, but to preserve the excellence we want to achieve through a responsible business coherent with the world of specialty coffee.
DAMBI UDDO
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Guji
Producer: Guji Highland Coffee Plantation
Process: Natural
Altitude: 2100 - 2130 masl
Variety: Heirloom
The Guji Highland Coffee Plantation is a family business managed by Wadessa Yachisa. In 1995, at the age of 17, Wadessa was forced to leave secondary school to join the army and complete his military service. On his return in the late 1990s, the political situation was such that he could not resume his studies. The young man found himself unable to continue his education, despite wanting to do so.
Driven by a strong ambition, he managed to bounce back and quickly turned his hand to other projects. He began by working in one of the gold mines in the Guji area.
He then decided to invest his savings in coffee, considered a promising regional industry. In 1999 he created a first company with friends, which he headed for several years. Then, in 2010, he journeyed to the Guji appellation in Dambi Uddo. He went there for a religious ceremony, but on meeting and talking with local farmers decided to invest in its beautiful coffee forest.
In 2012, Wadessa Yachisa created a new company, Guji Highland Coffee Plantation PLC, with other members of his family. They now have 150 hectares of land devoted to coffee production and also work with local farmers who supply them with cherries.
This coffee is harvested in the Dambi Uddo forest, in the Guji appellation. It is named after an endemic tree "Qararo" that can grow several tens of metres high and offers a shade ideal for optimum cherry ripening. This coffee is organically grown and harvested by hand in a rich forest, which gives it its unique characteristics.
This is how Three Marks brews it:
FILTER:
Preferred method is with the Kalita Wave.
Input: 15g
output: 240g
Time: 2:00
ESPRESSO:
Input: 18g
Output: 36g
Time: 30 seconds
We hope you enjoy and see you next month!
