How could you not love a guy called Michelangelo Franco? What a guy! So full of passion and energy and so easy to talk to. As the name suggests, Michelangelo is from Italy (Bari, to be exact. And if you haven’t been then I seriously suggest you add Bari to your list!) where the coffee scene is huge, yet he wasn’t in love with the darker roasts and bitter coffee.
Some years ago he became more interested in wine, the different regions and grapes but he was too much of a lightweight (his words, not mine!) to really get into it. A friend got him into coffee and he soon became totally obsessed! He says he loves the chemistry of extracting flavour from the coffee.
Michelangelo actually had a coffee shop in Nottingham until very recently when the cost of living and other macroeconomic factors meant it wasn’t a viable business anymore and sadly had to close up. That said, he has a positive outlook when looking back as he says it gave him perfect insights into consumer behaviours and preferences.
That’s what ultimately led him to his true passion of roasting coffee! In the past, he worked for a Costa Rican organic coffee farm where he saw first-hand how farming is super hard work and the economic reality around the world. Now that he is on the other side of the equation, fair pay for farmers is really important to him and wants to eventually add a high level of transparency about his business for his customers.
Franco Specialty Coffee is a young company but founded by a guy you can’t help but wish the absolute best to. We are super happy to offer his amazing coffee this drop!
