SPRINGFIELD – Behind an antique barn door on Gasoline Alley, lies a coffee shop with all kinds of character; Monsoon Coffee Roasters is owned by Tim and Andrea Monson. The couple opened up their coffee shop on Jan. 1, 2018, on Jan. 15, 2019, after a year of incredible growth; Monsoon Coffee opened their doors in a new location, 270 Albany Street.

Tim began roasting coffee in 2013 as a hobby. He had been involved in the coffee shop and restaurant business for many years in different parts of Massachusetts. He always knew he would like to roast his own beans and run a shop of his own one day. After a few years of his wife and him taking turns being a stay at home parent for their daughter, they wanted to try a new method of making an income.

“We were sick of working towards other people’s dreams,” said Tim. “We wanted to start working for ourselves, our own dreams.”

That is what led them to start Monsoon Coffee. The couple got their foot in the door by having a booth at the Forest Park Farmer’s Market where they sold their beans. The next step was to open up shop at their original location on Main Street in Springfield. By July, Monsoon had maxed out that location due to their quickly increasing popularity and the demand for more pounds of beans roasted a day. Luckily, the couple had met Jack Wysocki at the farmer’s market. Wysocki is a co-owner of the building where Monsoon Roastery is currently located; he invited the couple out to see the space. Tim and Andrea fell in love and signed their new lease in October of 2018 and started making the space their own immediately.

Tim minored in Green and Sustainable Businesses in college. Since their location change, he has been able to put his degree to use. Every business on Gasoline Alley is considered a green and sustainable business. Monsoon Roastery reduces, reuses and recycles everything.

“We only produce one kitchen sized trash bag of trash a week.” Tim commented.

Everything inside the roastery is made from repurposed materials. They established a composting program with all their wholesale partners. Monsoon operates completely on wind power energy and uses compostable materials at their roastery and events. Monsoon uses recycled material to put the coffee beans in, eco-friendly cups and lids, glass jars from Smyth Trinity Dairy Farm to keep dairy products in and corn and wheat straws for their cold beverages. By running the business this way the Monson’s have saved money between fees and electric bills. Monsoon is striving to leave as small of a carbon footprint as possible and are working toward their goal of becoming a zero waste business.

Tim shared with Reminder Publishing that he loves working with Andrea, and that they make a great, balanced team.

“Working with my wife is awesome!” Tim commented.

Tim specializes in the production of the product and the knowledge behind roasting the beans while Andrea is extremely knowledgeable on how to market their business and customer relations.

Being a green and sustainable business is not the only aspect of their Coffee Shop that sets them apart. The Monson’s have adapted a unique way of roasting their coffee beans in order to give it a rich, smooth taste. They use a fluid bed roaster. This technique is faster, allowing Monsoon to produce 25 pounds at a time. Fluid bed roasters rely on convective heat.

“It really is like a popcorn popper!” Andrea commented. “We heat the beans just enough until we can get the best flavor.”

The Monson’s are excitedly looking toward the future, hoping to build up more social capital among their community. They hope to reach this goal through hosting or participating in events with other local coffee roasteries or local beer breweries.