Jive Talk Rob Sykes

Hello! On this episode of Jive Talk, we feature Norma Odegard, GM of Boomtown Main & Boomtown Understory (their newest location in Downtown Houston). We begin the episode diving into her coffee background. Like many baristas, she began at Starbucks, starting there in 2004 and working with them for four years before moving on to Tully's, where she became head of barista training for 60 locations! After 6 years with Tully's she moved to Houston, where her husband is from. She was the manager of Siphon Coffee in Montrose for years before becoming the GM for Boomtown Coffee's downtown establishments. In addition, she works with the Houston Coffee Collective and is a member of the Specialty Coffee Association. Norma is one of the most pleasant and genuine people I know in coffee and it was a real treat to learn about her coffee journey and hear her perspective. I hope you enjoy!

In this episode of Jive Talk, we sit down with Sean Marshall, owner of Fusion Beans, Southside Espresso, and Coterie. This was our first time meeting. And, I am super excited to release this episode, as he is one of the forefathers of the Houston specialty coffee scene, along side with Max Gonzalez, David Buehrer, and Matt Toomey. Some of the topics we discuss include: the challenges of starting and owning a roasting company and two coffee shops, the role of the coffee shop in seed to cup, the mill he owns in Yemen, coffee community, and what "coffee" means to him. Hope you enjoy!