They say “Virginia is for Lovers.” And if there is on thing that Richmond, VA locals love it’s their specialty coffee scene. One such roaster and cafe that has begun to carve out quite the following and was even able to get on my radar way out here in Calgary is none other than PAIX COFFEE.
I was able to recently get my hands on some of their coffee and it was amazing. After chatting with Danny Hodge from their team I knew theirs was a story worth sharing. So here ya go, I am thrilled to introduce Paix Coffee to you as our Coffee Roaster of the Month for November!
Hey Danny, so great to get the chance to connect with you! Help our audience get to know you a bit better…
What’s your personal backstory in coffee?
How did you get started?
What keeps you going in coffee?
Me and my business partner, Seth, both have similar backgrounds in coffee. We both started working in coffee pretty much right out of high school. I always thought coffee shops were cool and I enjoyed spending time at them. I then thought it would be fun to work as a barista somewhere. I got a job at my favourite local coffee shop in Charlottesville and that’s when it all started. I instantly fell in love with the culture around cafe’s and also began to understand the complexity of coffee and what it takes to go from farming, importing, roasting, and brewing to get a good cup of coffee. The unknowns of coffee are what drew me in to want to learn everything there is to know and where it comes from. To this day, I continue to learn more about the small details that can increase sweetness and complexity. All that in addition to the community of people that come together over coffee is what keeps me going in the ever evolving industry.
To continue with my story, after a year and a half of being a barista I had the opportunity to learn how to roast. This only intrigued me more as roasting opens many more doors into the coffee rabbit hole. At this point I knew I wanted to open my own coffee shop and roastery, so I made it my intention to learn everything there was to know about coffee and owning a cafe. I continued to work for other roasteries for the next 3 years until I met Seth. We instantly hit it off and quickly realized our dreams aligned and within a month of meeting each other decided to go for it and start Paix.
Before we go much further, share with our readers what you’re drinking/enjoying these days when it comes to coffee!
I’m always a black coffee kinda guy, so whether it’s espresso, batch brew, or a pour over that’s what I’m always reaching for.
Can you tell us a bit about the history of Paix Coffee and your café?
We have had a bit of a unique journey over that past year and seven months. We began as a coffee cart popping up around Richmond, VA, serving coffee from roasters all over the world. Our motto was to find the best coffee we could find, even if the costs were not super practical. After just about 7 months of operating the cart we had the opportunity to open a small cafe. This allowed us to also start roasting our own coffee. Our motto as a roastery has not changed since the beginning, we simply want to roast and sell coffee that truly blows us and our customers away.
A lot of customers ask why “Paix”? (pronounced pay). “Paix” is “peace” in French and that word means a lot to our business. Seth and I are both Christians and we value our faith. We strive to create an environment of peace and spread that to the community we are serving. We value creating relationships with our customers and want our customers to have an unique experience when they enter our shop and have our coffee.
So, home-base for you is Richmond, Virginia. I know that “Virginia is for lovers” so, tell me what you love about the coffee culture in your city/state.
Since starting our own cafe/roastery, we have noticed how much specialty coffee is appreciated and valued in Richmond. There are a number of roasteries here that are roasting different styles of coffee which makes the city have a more diverse coffee scene. It feels like a lot of the Richmond population enjoys specialty coffee which makes it unique to other cities. Because of this, we have really great conversations with customers and can build those relationships. There is also another part of the Richmond community who know very little or who are just beginning to expose themselves to the world of specialty coffee, so we get to use that opportunity to provide a space for them to experience it.
In an increasingly competitive market when it comes to standing out among the many great roasters out there, what’s unique and noteworthy about Paix?
One thing that I think we do differently than most specialty roasteries is that we don’t have a range of best to worst coffees available. We have a very high standard for what we offer and if it doesn’t match that then we won’t sell it. Our roasting process emphasizes transparency and skill, which highlights the unique flavor profiles, reflecting the beans’ origins. We care deeply about sharing these experiences with our customers and making it a meaningful experience for them.
I see you’ve gone unique direction in terms of your coffee packaging. What was the decision to go the route you did?
We wanted to go a different route than what others are doing. We wanted something that was quality, unique, and economical. The bottles stand out from what others are doing and they add an aspect of reusability. For our customers in Richmond, we will reuse any bottles brought back to us. This limits waste and costs for our customers. Additionally, recycling glass has substantially less energy consumption and pollution than other materials used for coffee packaging. We also feel like the unique style matches the brand of our business.
Your current lineup of coffees showcases some incredible producers/farmers. How important is it to you to establish and maintain close relationships with them?
One of the biggest joys in this business is getting to taste all the creativity and hard work that these producers have done. We value the relationships with the farmers and importers. We communicate closely with the producers so that we can build that relationship with them. They are all truly doing amazing things and if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be here.
Lastly, when it comes to the future of specialty coffee, what would you like to see in terms of trends, initiatives, direction? How is Paix helping to contribute towards those?
I think the biggest thing that I would like to see is more recognition of the farmers that produce all this wonderful coffee. I think a lot of focus is on the roasters and I believe a lot of what makes a roastery special is that they can find the best farmers and producers. I try to always emphasize that we are simply trying to showcase our producer’s coffee through quality roasting and brewing and I think that is something the industry can grow in.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. Is there anything else left that you want to say? Here’s your chance!
We are so thankful for the opportunity to live out our dream by serving such delicious coffee to our customers. We have such a great support system and following here in Richmond and we are very thankful for that. We would not be where we are today without the amazing community here. Cheers!
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Contact Info:
web: www.paixrva.com
instagram: @paixrva
email: info@paixrva.com
Find their beans: If you’re looking to get your hands on some beans then definitely check out their web-store for what they’re currently roasting.
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I just want to say a huge thank you to Danny from Paix Coffee for helping to share their story. Check out their site, grab yourself some beans, and enjoy!
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
commonly coffee 