Todd Purse
1-Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.
My Names is Todd, I’m the head creative/ Illustrator at Brandywine Coffee roasters in Wilmington Delaware
2- When and why did coffee become important to you?
Coffee was mainly something consumed at dinners late nights after local shows for a lot of my life. Ally, my partner and now wife, worked as a Barista and manager at a local coffee shop and that was probably the first time I starting getting more into it. This also lead to my work at Brandywine which is super important to me!
3- Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?
Totally, it was an Ethiopia Natural from Sweet Bloom that had tasting notes of Strawberry pop tarts and when I tasted the strawberries in the cup I knew there was something special to it all!
4- What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?
Probably that I don’t have to leave the house, haha. I start my day around 4am before the kids get up(plus I think there something magical about that time of day) drawing and making coffee in the kitchen. I have a studio in the garage where I’ll work until round 6:30/ 7, when Teddy (my 4yr old) gets up. Those few hours are my most creative time of the day even if it’s not the most productive it feels great to just live in imagination land for a little while.
5- What’s your favorite brewing method and why?
Kalita wave, probably cause it’s what I learned first and I find the most easy to get a consistently tasty cup.
6- Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?
This is a super tough question having drank so many amazing coffees over the the last 6 years. I think the first lot of the mandarin washed processed coffees from La Chiquita. It was fermented with dehydrated mandarins and tasted liked straight oranges. It was a fun reminder of how creative coffee can be!
7- Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from? Why?
I think it shifts all the time, I tend to default to saying Kenyan coffee cause it’s just become a personal favorite and tend to have such a big sweetness to em. But you can get gems from anywhere it seems.
8- Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).
Abracadabra in VT! Clint and the crew are the best, super tasty coffee from super groovy folx!
9- What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?
Be kind and keep it fun! On all ends it seems to just be best practice to be nice and try to keep things fun.
10- How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality?
Brandywine doesn’t have any cafes so we really haven’t felt many changes on that side internally. But I’m bout really the best to speak to that since I’m mainly just drawing silly things for the bags. Haha
11- How do you see the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?
That’s a big one! Just thinking of the date 2031 blows my mind. I have hopes it’ll be in a good place and continue in the path of inclusiveness, kindness, and imagination. The coffee scene is filled with amazing caring and creative people, although it’s nothing is perfect it’s that’s combo that keeps me hopefully for all things in the future.
12- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Being a dad, a husband, and drawing silly things for coffee packaging… maybe packaging where the characters come to life abs interact with our coffee friends!
13- Any last word? Any tip or suggestion you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?
As silly and cliche as it sounds just be nice and be sincere. Find people who are doing what ya wanna do and try to connect. Fail and fail again until it doesn’t matter and then it’ll all happen.
