58 beanscenemag.com.auINDUSTRY PROFILE
Kirby and Sarah Koopman, Owners and Founders of Ransom
Specialty Coffee Roasters, have established a business that specialises
in customised coffees and barista training for cafés.
K
irby and Sarah Koopman
are living their dream.
Up at the crack of
dawn, each day you’ll
find the owners and
founders of Ransom Specialty Coffee
Roasters in their Cairns-based factory
roasting, packaging, and preparing
coffee for distribution to cafés in and
around Queensland.
Before entering the world of roasting,
Kirby and Sarah spent several years
running their own café, which was losing
money when they purchased it.
“One day, Kirby just came home and
said he bought a café. I went from being
a legal secretary, to mum, to café owner.
It was pretty full on but incredibly
rewarding,” Sarah says. “Every day is an
adventure with Kirby.”
After establishing a loyal following
and successful business, the couple
turned the business around, producing a
profit, and were at an impasse on which
direction to take next.
“We began roasting just for our café.
Within six weeks, coffee sales increased
by 30 per cent. Within a year, it was
300 per cent, and just kept growing. We
were still learning about roasting and our
machine, but other cafés started asking if
they could use our blends. We were torn
between roasting and serving coffee. Out
of the blue we were approached by a
regular customer who wanted to buy our
café. We took it as a sign and decided to
dedicate our efforts to roasting full time,”
Kirby says.
“Our start came when we gave a local
café a bag of coffee to try. Its barista
accidently put it in the grinder on a
busy Saturday. The regulars commented
on the coffee being exceptional that
morning. The owner realised it was our
coffee, not their usual brand. He called
me and they switched straight away.”
Four years on, Kirby and Sarah roastThe complete
package
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strstrstsikes as sapopose sesewitwitwitwith th th th the he he heLatinooooooooLoLoLoLoLoLoLoLoooove ve e e ChCChChChChChhhhihihhhhhhhhhhld blebleblebleblend.nd......58 beanscenemag.com.au
INDUSTRY PROFILE
Kirby and Sarah Koopman, Owners and Founders of Ransom
Specialty Coffee Roasters, have established a business that specialises
in customised coffees and barista training for cafés.
K
irby and Sarah Koopman
are living their dream.
Up at the crack of
dawn, each day you’ll
find the owners and
founders of Ransom Specialty Coffee
Roasters in their Cairns-based factory
roasting, packaging, and preparing
coffee for distribution to cafés in and
around Queensland.
Before entering the world of roasting,
Kirby and Sarah spent several years
running their own café, which was losing
money when they purchased it.
“One day, Kirby just came home and
said he bought a café. I went from being
a legal secretary, to mum, to café owner.
It was pretty full on but incredibly
rewarding,” Sarah says. “Every day is an
adventure with Kirby.”
After establishing a loyal following
and successful business, the couple
turned the business around, producing a
profit, and were at an impasse on which
direction to take next.
“We began roasting just for our café.
Within six weeks, coffee sales increased
by 30 per cent. Within a year, it was
300 per cent, and just kept growing. We
were still learning about roasting and our
machine, but other cafés started asking if
they could use our blends. We were torn
between roasting and serving coffee. Out
of the blue we were approached by a
regular customer who wanted to buy our
café. We took it as a sign and decided to
dedicate our efforts to roasting full time,”
Kirby says.
“Our start came when we gave a local
café a bag of coffee to try. Its barista
accidently put it in the grinder on a
busy Saturday. The regulars commented
on the coffee being exceptional that
morning. The owner realised it was our
coffee, not their usual brand. He called
me and they switched straight away.”
Four years on, Kirby and Sarah roast
The complete
package
Rama somCoCffe Roasoaoastttrs’ K maannn
s rss ikes as poposes Latin veee ildbbl.