Coffee People
The business of coffee relies on the shared passion of coffee people all over the world, and this section is dedicated to introducing the members of our diverse, dynamic supply chain. Here we ask a few fun questions of our partners at origin, our employees, and our customers; and we share their answers with you so that you can get to know them like we do—in their own words.
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David LaMont, Customer Relations – Atlanta
David LaMont has been with Counter Culture since late 2006 and serves as our extremely capable Customer Representative in Atlanta, where he lives with his wife Cathy, son Ian, and daughter Aya. A budding cupper with an impressive knowledge of all things culinary, David is the guy you need to speak with if you’re aching to improve the coffee scene in Georgia by opening a new shop or reinvigorating an old one. Originally from the Atlanta suburbs, he made his way through Colorado, Osaka, Athens (Georgia), and Hiroshima, Japan, before ending up back in the 'burbs. Now he, Cathy, Ian, and Aya spend many happy days in the backyard sandbox.Q: What coffee are you currently drinking?
The Gathugu Auction Lot 1438 from Nyeri, Kenya.
Q: Choose your favorite coffee and brewing method.
Recently, our Rwandan coffees in a vacuum pot have been hitting the spot. The current lot from Humure really is spectacular.
Q: Who at Counter Culture Coffee would you most like to arm-wrestle, and why?
Anybody other than John Moore … New Yorkers are tough.
Q: What is your favorite book?
In the past year—Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore.
Q: What keeps you busy outside of work?
My son Ian has the energy of 10 men (each having consumed a few espressos). Busy is a bit of an understatement.
Q: Share an interesting fact you've learned about coffee while working at Counter Culture Coffee and name the person from whom you learned it.
I had no idea about the amazing number of coffee varieties that exist in the wild in Ethiopia until I took our “History, Buying, and Origins” class with Peter G.
Q: When you were eight years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Wow… this is embarrassing. It isn’t so much a “what” as it is a “who”—Einstein. Yeah, I’m a nerd.
Q: If you could beam yourself anywhere in the world for your lunch break, where would you go, and what would you eat?
Finally, an easy one. Japan. Hiroshima. “Ga-Ba”. “Red Horse” Ramen with rice and gyoza.
Q: Which Counter Culture Coffee customer is most likely to see you outside of work (i.e. where do you like to hang out)?
No brainer … Tony and the crew at Octane. Pastries and coffee on my way in to work, and great beers when Atlanta traffic leaves me stranded in Midtown after work.
Q: David, you recently revealed a considerable artistic talent when you designed some promotional materials for the Atlanta-area GeekFest. What gives? Where did you get those mad skillz, and where else do you put them to use?
“Mad skills” may only be an enormous exaggeration, but thanks for the vote of confidence. Most of my other masterpieces are short-run works done in crayon for one particularly devoted 2.5 year-old fan. A lot of still life work—trees, suns, trains, and the occasional giraffe.
