Roast to Delivery: Daniel Van Duyne in the Stages of Production

Daniel Van Duyne getting ready to package bags of our signature Weirdo blend.

I arrived at our 6th street cafe one warm, sunny November afternoon to meet with a member of our team whose work can be invisible but is vital - Daniel Van Duyne. I was so grateful that he was able to take time out of his busy schedule to talk with me. He had just returned from running a delivery, and was in the process of making cold brew for our wholesale clients. I grabbed a snack while I waited and shadowed as he moved between various tasks. I snapped some candid photos and videos of his work along the way, and got myself and my pen prepared with a cup of Weirdo. The next hour or so was pleasant and laid back. As our paths do not intersect much, I got to learn a bit more about his role here and how that has evolved, and vice versa. We discussed his pre-Cirque days, a bit about him outside of work, his early days here and current schedule, and what might be next. It was altogether a refreshing chat, and I am excited that I get to share it here.

Daniel seems to have always had a knack for high-volume, fast-paced work environments. Though he's had a long interest in coffee, he previously worked in kitchens, and appreciated the flexibility that came with it. Daniel crossed paths with Cirque in February of 2022, but it certainly wasn't his first brush with coffee.

Daniel preps Central American single origin retail bags.

In fact, Daniel had been roasting his own coffee at home off and on since 2015 (the more I hear of our team, like Daniel and Nate, trying this, the more tempted I am to try it). Daniel and his brother constructed their own drum roaster with a hand crank. I was thoroughly impressed. He told me a bit about how it worked and the learning curve that came with it. “We actually got some pretty great roasts out of it”, he said, “but it was also easy to get some that weren’t as good”.

And besides home roasting, outside of work Daniel seems to be very creative. We talked about our shared love for reading, music, getting outside, and cooking. Daniel was recently married, and he and his partner enjoy experimenting with new recipes.

Daniel was hired in 2022 to head packaging and delivery. That job has a pretty loaded, ever-changing schedule, but each day he starts off by checking up on the orders and preparing doses of green coffee for Elise to roast. Since coffee loses moisture and therefore weight in the roaster, it takes a special formula plugged into the computer to calculate how much green coffee is needed to fulfill orders. Daniel learned from farmers Christian and Mario (who provide coffee for our Weirdo blend) that from farm to roast, about seven pounds picked is needed to lead to one pound roasted. For the Weirdo blend, about 20 pounds green leads to 18-19 pounds roasted. I found this very interesting - it makes perfect sense, but how often do we think of that as we consume our coffee?

Elise then begins to roast the wholesale and online orders. Though the schedule varies week to week, often Daniel is the one roasting a lot of the coffee served at each of our three locations. A few months into his time here, a position opened to assist roasting, and Daniel stepped up. Elise showed him the ropes and taught him her recipes, and now he is roasting Weirdo and Bizarro to perfection to be brewed into decadent espresso and smooth batch brew.

But roasting is just the tip of the iceberg for Daniel’s position. Each day brings a new task. On Mondays, it’s wholesale cold brew, Tuesdays are for roasting, brewing concentrate, and delivering syrups and online orders, and Wednesdays being the busiest, when he packages roughly 200 bags of retail coffee. Thursdays he delivers to Reasor’s, and he is usually able to take a three day weekend - though Fridays are occasionally used to catch up or give the roast room some TLC. He even makes sure deliveries are made the same day coffee is roasted, always fresh.

To me, Daniel’s position is one of the most intriguing. He gets to see and be a part of almost every stage of production. He takes care of so many important aspects of running Cirque, and enjoys himself and keeps it all looking seamless and smooth. He and Elise work well in tandem with one another, and are able to switch up the weekly schedule when needed to maximize their time - and this way, it never gets boring.

All in all, I found our conversation eye-opening, educational and pleasant. Afterward, he allowed me to take some more photos of him working and was kind enough to learn a bit more about my position and experience at Cirque. He’s a friendly face with lots to give to coffee and to conversation, and I am honored to have gotten the opportunity to learn with him.

If you see the Cirque van driving around town, give Daniel a wave! When he’s not out making deliveries, you can find him in the roastery and around the cafe.