Spend 10 minutes with the awesome Teresa von Fuchs
10 Minutes With is our ongoing series where we invite you to take a little time getting to know some of the most interesting people working in coffee around the world. Today we talk with Teresa von Fuchs from Irving Farm Coffee in New York.
Teresa von Fuchs
Director of Wholesale
Irving Farm Coffee Roasters
New York City
What other coffee jobs have you had?
Sales rep for Dallis Bros Coffee, New York City; Starbucks barista in Seattle and San Francisco. Does bartending for years years count for anything?
What’s your favorite part about working in coffee?
I wanted to get back into working in coffee because I’d so regularly experienced coffee as an under-appreciated beverage. And there seemed to be a wave of delicious coffee and really cool cafes popping up. But having gone deep in for the last six years, I’m overwhelmed with how many rabbit holes there are to go down. Everything from rethinking cafe design and the customer experience, to global trade and poverty in agricultural economies. It’s all interesting. Plus I never get tired of tasting coffee. Ever. It’s freaking amazing how dynamic it is.
Where do you ideally see yourself in 10 years?
That’s a great question because our tiny niche does seem to be a young person’s world. But with so many roads to travel, there’s always going to be something that inspires me and gets me to wake up in the morning and go to work. Plus, I really love working with great people, and when there’s that, the titles and roles matter less than the fact that we’re building something awesome together.
Who and what inspires you?
There are so many hardworking people in every aspect of the coffee producing cycle. That so many millions of hands have touched and aided coffee’s journey never ceases to amaze me. People that I get to meet everyday who take the long view. Plus all the great people working straight from their heart in what they do.
What are you drinking right now?
71 Irving House Blend! Made in a French press, like, two hours ago. It’s still so damn delicious! Also, I’m wearing my pajamas.
Crazy/memorable coffee experience you’d like to share?
There are so many moments when coffee surprises you/or when I’ve embarrassed myself, so this may read a wee bit too earnest. But I’d have to say the first time I ever visited a coffee farm. Not only was it crazy the difference between ‘understanding’ a process and seeing it with your own eyes and hands. But also that cupping blew me away. Not that every coffee was so amazing, but that each one was so different. One table was just of the same varietal grown on different sections of the farm, another was the same varietal from the same section processed different ways. It was really the moment where I completely understand, intellectually and sensorially, that every. step. mattered.
What do you do when you’re not doing coffee?
Mostly keep up with an incredible group of friends I am lucky to know. We like to cook and eat food together mostly. I make small books and dioramas, though I’ve been slow on these projects lately. I write Haiku on the subway. I teach yoga. I also like to dance in my kitchen and take my wife out on dates.
