IT consultant Jochem (33) is also a master of fire: “Since my trip to Australia, I have a passion for quality coffee”

In the special leisure category we have found a very special one with this Apeldoorner. Jochem Pieper (33) is a “fire master” in Bosbrand on the Zwitsalterrein for about four hours a week.
“I like complex processes, I get satisfaction from it. I find this in my daily work, but also as a firefighter.

Teachers cafe

Jochem’s love for coffee started early. “At daycare, I drank all the leftover coffee from the teachers’ cups,” says Jochem with a big smile. “They always put a lot of sugar in their coffee, but they didn’t stir very well. I loved those leftover sweet coffees and learned to drink them from an early age.

At the nursery I drank all the leftover coffee from the teachers in their cups

Jochem

Burgundians

But at the Pieper family in Lichtenvoorde, they drank coffee from pods. “I didn’t drink that, I really don’t like it,” says Jochem. “My relatives are real Burgundians. We like tasty and good food. But when it comes to coffee, I’m a real foodie.

Complex processes

Jochem says he has been living in Apeldoorn with great pleasure since 2011 and has a long relationship with his girlfriend from Hilversum. He studied business informatics at the Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer and has been working full-time for a few years now. Reflect as an IT consultant. “I like complex processes, I get satisfaction from it. I find this in my daily work, but also as a firefighter.

I like complex processes, it gives me satisfaction

Jochem

Queuing at six for a good coffee

During the trip he made with his grandfather in 2016 through Australia and New Zealand, he saw what a special coffee culture there was. “As early as six in the morning, people lined up in the best cafes for a cup of quality coffee to take away,” says Jochem. “I thought it was so special. We don’t really know that in the Netherlands. In big cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht it’s only starting to happen.

firefighter

A few years after this fine career, Jochem embarked on his new passion: roasting coffee as a master of fire. He got in touch with Matt van Maastricht of the Schenkers restaurant. They share their passion for quality coffee. Matt provided the location, equipment and raw grain supply. Jochem has become the master of fire, or the one who roasts all the coffee beans for Bosbrand. After that, the roasted beans are sold to coffee lovers and restaurants.

Jochem says his passion for coffee roasting was born mainly because roasting is a real job. “What also appeals to me about roasting beans is that by organizing the process as well as possible and adjusting the roaster as well as possible, you can obtain the best quality coffee beans,” says Jochem. “It’s like in my computer work. If the quality of the process is optimal, the end result is also of high quality. I take a kick at that.

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Jochem feels the unique taste of a coffee bean

On the site of the former factory in Zwitsal, sacks of ecological and fair trade grain are stacked. Tons of already roasted beans also abound. The beans come from farms in Peru, Brazil and Nicaragua. They have a supplier in each of these countries. These are premium quality beans. From the highest segment available in the world. Jochem also explains that each bean has its own unique taste. “My sense of smell has always been very developed. I also recognize the different smells of the beans,” says Jochem.

My sense of smell is very developed. I also recognize the different smells of beans

Jochem

Jochem van Apeldoorner learned the tricks of the trade Hugo Pigeon, fire master and owner of Duif Coffee. “It’s really a job in its own right, but super fun to do. I also find it difficult to maintain the same bean DNA throughout the roasting process. It’s pretty hard, but I’m getting better. Coffee machines in restaurants are configured to deliver a certain quality of coffee, for which the quality and DNA of the beans must always be as similar as possible,” adds Jochem.

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He says the “café vibe” in Apeldoorn is also on the rise. “The coffee drinker from Apeldoorn is particularly picky. Younger generations are open to new types of coffee, but older generations are particularly loyal to brands such as Douwe Egberts. But it’s already better than a few years ago. People know best where to find us, but also stores like Simon Lévelt and Kaldi, which also sell quality coffee. And of course the restaurants in Apeldoorn where Bosbrand coffee is served, including Schenkers,” says Jochem.

Apeldoorn’s coffee drinker is particularly picky

Jochem

Help, my husband has a hobby

We also asked him what his girlfriend Mindy thinks about this special hobby. “She thinks it’s great because she can enjoy this delicious coffee too. And when we’re together, I certainly don’t just talk about coffee. Jochem also received an Ethiopian coffee plant from his girlfriend last year to make his “own coffee”.

How does Jochem prefer to drink his coffee?

Jochem has become a real coffee maniac. He made his passion his hobby. Of course, we also asked him how he prefers to drink his coffee. Jochem replies: “Pure, black. And sometimes a ‘flat white’. A double espresso with a layer of vegetable milk. And a maximum of two a day, very good coffee.

Are you or do you know an Apeldoorn with a story worth telling?

Let us know! Maybe he will soon be Apeldoorner of the week in the neighborhood!