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Lora Vickrey & Dismas Smith -
Owners of Hotwire Coffee
Here’s the story of a lovely
lady
Hotwire Online Coffeehouse was founded in 2002 by
local Seattleite, Lora Vickrey. Thanks to her supportive
friends and many Seattle-style focus groups (over steaming cups of
Joe), she developed the concepts, found the locations, and got
Hotwire on its feet in short order!
Who was bringing up some very
talented staff
Hotwire boasts some of the finest staff in
town… highly trained baristas and a highly skilled art and music
director!
All of them were committed to
excellence, like their boss
Lora developed the hotwire
dream of providing the highest quality products to the community -
from the coffee beans to the teas, to the excellent internet and
computer access and the fine music and art
offerings.
They even liked her
curls.
Ain’t she cute?
Here’s the story of a man named
Dismas
Dismas Smith joined the coffee industry in 1999
and in 2002 won the title of North American Barista Champion at the
SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) national barista
competition. He went on
to place 6th in the World Barista Championship in Oslo,
Norway, that same year.
Who was busy with coffee training of his
own
Dismas learned to manage a coffee house at
Seattle’s acclaimed Zoka Coffee Roaster and to roast coffee from
Master Roaster, Tim McCormack.
He also traveled the world after his barista championship,
training baristas, judging barista competitions, and generally
networking with baristas around the globe, soaking up wisdom and
knowledge from talented coffee professionals in several
nations. He also
experimented a lot on his own, cupping single-origin coffees and
developing signature drinks.
He had many ideas swirling ‘round in his
head
All of this experience combined to form new
ideas and goals he would someday put to use in his own coffee
shop. He wanted to
explore new levels of quality and share his newfound knowledge of
the fascinating world of coffee with his customers and the
public.
Yet he had no coffee
shop.
Till the one day when the lady met this
fellow
Dismas started working for Lora in 2004, part
time while he put together his business plan.
And they knew that it was much more than a
hunch
That this group would somehow form a
partnership
It became evident that their goals fit hand in
hand. At this time, they also sought the help of Dismas’s mentor and
friend, Tim McCormack.
The three decided to join forces in 2005.
That’s the way we became Hotwire Coffee
Roasting Company.
Dismas started roasting Hotwire’s coffee right
away and took over staff training. Tim and Dismas have great
plans in store for Hotwire’s new roasting company. Together Lora, Dismas, and
Tim intend to move onward and upward, and continue in the goal of
providing top notch products and service to their customers and to
begin to give the general public a peek into the amazing world of
coffee!
Lora
Links
Dismas Links
     
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