Coffee

The Passion of the Screwed-Over Coffee Roaster

A male-oriented site of which we were unaware, Man Up Chicago, has an interesting piece on a Near West Side coffee roaster of which we were unaware, Passion House Coffee Roasters. How it got its name turns out to be a hair-raising story: founder Joshua Millman was sent to Chicago five years ago by his employer, another coffee roaster in San Diego, to start a roasting business— but when he got here, his employer turned around and fired him, telling him he lacked the necessary passion for coffee. Turned out years later that another employee had been spreading lies about him to the boss, but Millman channeled his understandable anger into really, really showing passion for coffee, spending four years working for Evanston’s Casteel Coffee (which just closed) before opening Passion House last April. His coffee is now in a number of locations including Sweet Cakes, Alliance Bakery, Blind Faith Cafe and City Provisions, and he’s even made up with that former employer— which is why it’s called Passion House and not I’ll Show You You Bastard Coffee Roasters. [Manupchicago.com]

The Passion of the Screwed-Over Coffee Roaster