{"id":1957,"date":"2019-04-04T02:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2019\/04\/04\/passion-and-sincerity-at-istanbuls-kimma-coffee-roasters\/"},"modified":"2019-04-04T02:00:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T12:00:37","slug":"passion-and-sincerity-at-istanbuls-kimma-coffee-roasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2019\/04\/04\/passion-and-sincerity-at-istanbuls-kimma-coffee-roasters\/","title":{"rendered":"Passion And Sincerity At Istanbul\u2019s Kimma Coffee Roasters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kimma<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an unseasonably warm winter day in Istanbul when I get off the metro at the Sanayi Mahallesi station. Sanayi Mahallesi means \u201cindustrial neighborhood\u201d in Turkish, a name whose accuracy makes up for what it might lack in creativity. The district is home to a somewhat grungy assortment of garages and warehouses, with the occasional office park that\u2019s crept in from the neighboring financial district in search of lower rents.<\/p>\n

I follow a zig-zagging street downhill\u2014one is always either walking uphill or downhill in Istanbul\u2014past the Ka\u011f\u0131thane State Hospital, before spotting a triangle-shaped logo in front of an otherwise unmarked storefront. I ring the bell and am soon greeted by one of the best coffee brewers in the world, Asl\u0131 Yaman, who welcomes me into Kimma Coffee Roasters’<\/a> new roastery and training lab.<\/p>\n

Asl\u0131 Yaman is tall with cropped hair. She speaks English\u2014and Turkish\u2014in a distinctive soprano with a certain musical quality. She\u2019s upbeat and cheerful, despite being tired from a busy few days in Madrid\u2014her first board meeting as a trustee of the Specialty Coffee Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

Asl\u0131 Yaman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ushering me into Kimma\u2019s training lab, Yaman offers to brew me a coffee, recommending a natural process Costa Rica. She asks my preferred brew method, but I opt to have Yaman choose. She selects a Chemex<\/a>, the method she used to earn third place in the 2014 World Brewers Cup in Rimini.<\/p>\n

As Yaman carefully folds a Chemex filter origami-style, making four distinct triangles to evenly distribute the thicker parts of the filter, we chat about the new space.<\/p>\n

Although Kimma Coffee Roasters is about to turn three, it\u2019s the first private space for the wholesale coffee roaster. In addition to being home to their coffee roasting operations, Kimma\u2019s headquarters hosts a steady stream of courses in the Specialty Coffee Association\u2019s Coffee Skills program. Yaman served as the education coordinator for the SCA\u2019s Turkey chapter before being elected to the SCA board of directors. The space has barely been open for a month, but it\u2019s already welcomed a carousel of aspiring baristas.<\/p>\n

We sit down with our coffee at the conference table and are soon joined by Yaman\u2019s business partner, Hanife \u00d6zyurt, who begins to tell me the story of their company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very close friends, like sisters,\u201d says \u00d6zyurt. The relationship, which precedes and transcends their coffee careers, provided the inspiration for Kimma\u2019s name, which they discovered on a road trip from Istanbul to Ankara, Turkey\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Asl\u0131 drove I looked up \u201csisters\u201d in different languages,\u201d says \u00d6zyurt. They thought the Finnish word \u201cKimma\u201d had a nice ring to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked our Finnish friends, and they liked it,\u201d says Yaman.<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

\u00d6zyurt and Yaman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to being short and memorable, the name projects a strong, feminine brand in a male-dominated coffee industry. Although it\u2019s traditionally women who make coffee in the home in Turkey, the business side of things, whether importing or roasting, remains a man\u2019s world. But Yaman and \u00d6zyurt aren\u2019t afraid of the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just brewing coffee, we\u2019re trading. And the business side of things is really tricky,\u201d says Yaman. \u201cSometimes they don\u2019t want to do a project with a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the obstacles, \u00d6zyurt and Yaman retain a positive outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about professionalism. They see our passion and sincerity,\u201d says Yaman. \u201cWe don\u2019t believe in boundaries or borders. \u201c<\/p>\n

But beyond passion, Yaman and \u00d6zyurt both have serious business chops. Yaman earned an MBA at Istanbul\u2019s Bilgi University, with her dissertation focusing on Starbucks expansion in the Turkish market. Her research led her to a job at Istanbul\u2019s John\u2019s Coffee<\/a> before taking a position at Soyuz Coffee<\/a> in Kaliningrad, Russia, where she worked for five years.<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

\u00d6zyurt followed a more conventional career path in business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a corporate life. I was a communication manager for a big company, but I was not happy,\u201d says \u00d6zyurt.<\/p>\n

During her international business trips, she would often visit coffee shops that Yaman would recommend. During a trip to San Francisco, one shot of espresso particularly stood out. \u201cI said, \u2018If this is a coffee, what are we drinking?\u2019\u201d says \u00d6zyurt. \u201cI told my husband, ‘I\u2019ll leave my corporate life and start a coffee business.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00d6zyurt\u2019s growing interest in coffee coincided with Yaman\u2019s desire to move home, a decision more personal than professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back to Turkey because I really missed my family and friends,\u201d says Yaman.<\/p>\n

Yaman realized she could take her expertise and experience and use it to help guide the nascent Turkish coffee community. When she had left Turkey in 2010, Istanbul\u2019s specialty coffee scene was practically nonexistent, but by 2015 the city was on its way to becoming one of the fastest growing markets in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to show how we could succeed. I wanted to share all of this knowledge with the community here,\u201d says Yaman. Her experience working for a large roaster, going to origin, and excelling on the world competition stage made Yaman a valuable commodity in Istanbul. As soon as she moved back she took on a variety of consulting jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a network I could bring to my country,\u201d says Yaman. That network includes current World Barista Champion Agnieszka Rojewska, who will be leading SCA coffee skills programs in the facility.<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

\"kimma<\/p>\n

For Kimma\u2019s first two years, they rented time in Delfiano Coffee<\/a>\u2019s roastery. But as Kimma grew, \u00d6zyurt and Yaman knew they needed their own space. And a new partnership with local chain Cup of Joy<\/a> made that possible. The founders of Cup of Joy made an investment in Kimma, which in turn roasts the coffee for Cup of Joy\u2019s three Istanbul locations. Cup of Joy is also a woman-owned business, and by all accounts a pioneer in specialty coffee retail in Istanbul.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zyurt and Yaman have big plans for the space. In addition to a 10-kilo Probat<\/a> coffee roaster, and designated packaging area, the lab space is home to three espresso machines which allow them to maximize hands-on time in training sessions. A sponsorship from Turkish milk-giant Sek<\/a> is allowing them to provide free courses to a wide variety of baristas, many at conventional cafes, who otherwise wouldn\u2019t be able to afford training. Their goal is to train 1,000 baristas in 2019. This is on top of pro bono projects in Ethiopia and Rwanda, focusing on women producers. The work in East Africa is close to the heart of both \u00d6zyurt and Yaman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to farms,\u201d says \u00d6zyurt, \u201cWe\u2019re trying to support the farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to give back,\u201d says Yaman.<\/p>\n

In all, it\u2019s an impressive work schedule, especially in an emerging market like Turkey. But \u00d6zyurt downplays their accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not saving the world,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re just making coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimma Coffee Roasters is located at\u00a0Sanayi Mh., I\u015f\u0131n Soka\u011f\u0131 No:3\/A, 34415 Ka\u011f\u0131thane\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n

Michael Butterworth is the publisher of Pilgrimaged, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Read more Michael Butterworth for Sprudge<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Passion And Sincerity At Istanbul\u2019s Kimma Coffee Roasters<\/a> appeared first on Sprudge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Coffee News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s an unseasonably warm winter day in Istanbul when I get off the metro at the Sanayi Mahallesi station. Sanayi Mahallesi means \u201cindustrial neighborhood\u201d in Turkish, a name whose accuracy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26],"tags":[63,27,65,33,61,32,59,31,30],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}