Greg Lefcourt
Director of Retail Operations/Co-Owner
OZO Coffee Company
Boulder, Colorado
What other coffee jobs have you had?
¢ Barista at Our Daily Bread in Santa Barbara, California, summer of 2000 (my first job with coffee!)
¢ Barista at Vic’s Espresso in Boulder, Colorado, 2003 “2005
¢ Barista at Allison Espresso in Boulder, Colorado, 2005 “2006
¢ Manager at The Tea Spot in Boulder, Colorado, 2006
What’s your favorite part about working in coffee?
I love that I can learn something new every day. I am challenged every day. The depth of knowledge is endless and I keep improving my skills within this field every day. Whether it comes from customer interactions, travel to origin, learning new equipment, competing with other baristas, meeting and befriending other coffee professionals, or simply dialing in my grind, I never get bored, and after 13 years in the business, I don’t see that changing.
Where do you ideally see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully working fewer hours but continuing to boost OZO as a leader in specialty coffee in Colorado ”and possibly in multiple states. I would like to be an educator of service, quality, and coffee knowledge and skills across the board for future waves of aspiring coffee enthusiasts.
Who and what inspires you?
All the folks working in coffee that know more than myself, as well as those who are just beginning. I am inspired to learn and teach simultaneously. The farmers growing harvest to harvest, the BGA, the SCAA, the people working hard to make specialty coffee better and better year after year.
What are you drinking right now?
Nicaragua Un Regalo de Dios. Like liquid gold: creamy, sweet, and so well rounded.
Crazy/memorable coffee experience you’d like to share?
Traveling to origin for my very first time, seeing the beans in mid-harvest, the picking, the processing, the buzz, the movement, the timing of everything. I was in Brazil on vacation to visit my girlfriend’s (now fiance) brother who lives on the beach in Bahia, Brazil. We took a flight to Minas Gerais to visit Santo Antonio Estates, and the farm that grew the coffee I used at the 2010 USBC, Samambaia. My lady is fluent in Portuguese, so she acted as a translator because there was no English spoken ’round those parts. Connecting with the source enabled me to have a newfound respect for and intimacy with coffee, and I returned to the States just that much more amped on why I do what I do everyday.
What do you do when you’re not doing coffee?
Snowboard, yoga, live music, hiking, disc golf, backpacking, cooking/eating, traveling, cruiser biking, hanging with my fiance, her daughter, and our Goldendoodle. Basically getting out and enjoying this wonderful world and all its beauty.
