As everyone knows, starting your own business is never easy. But trying to start a coffee roastery with no money or roasting machine in a dusty garage? Impossible, right? Nevertheless, it was the very predicament Darko Arandjelovic and Xavier Alexander found themselves in 2012, when the pair came together and decided to launch Metric Coffee {2021 West Fulton Street, Chicago; 312.982.2196}, the coffee “Made by Humans,” according to their slogan.
Prior to 2012, Darko, had opened Caffe Streets, and was dedicated and focused on providing high quality, well-balanced coffee to his customers. However, he found it incredibly frustrating trying to source beans that would maintain the quality and consistency he desired. From beans not aligning with what the tasting notes promised to receiving late or frozen coffee beans, the challenges he faced were endless.
Photo via Metric Coffee
Meanwhile, Xavier was working at Intelligentsia Coffee as a roaster and quality control manager. He harbored his own desire to branch out, and held a vision for the specialty coffee industry that he hoped would impact Chicagoland and beyond. Having already experienced challenges trying to start his own business, he decided to concentrate instead on honing his craft. Xavier’s path merged with Darko’s when the two met at Intelligentsia Coffee. Not long after, they found themselves ideating over beer and tacos, calculating costs and looking for the roaster of their dreams.
The duo settled on purchasing an Old World, uber-coveted 1961 Probat UG 15 roaster, with hopes of obtaining it refurbished and ready-to-go. These classic German cast-iron drum roasters are widely known in the industry to be long-lasting, with an invaluable ability to yield a harmonious flavor profile that balances the sweetness and acidity of each coffee bean. Their excitement quickly faded as setback upon setback popped up. Not only were vintage coffee roasters quite difficult come by, but when their dream roaster (with all the bells and whistles, or so they thought) finally set sail for America, Hurricane Sandy handily rerouted it to Montreal instead. Eventually, they retrieved the roaster, only to find that it came with none of the refurbishments they had paid for. The two would pour even more funds, time, energy, and heart into rebuilding the roaster to their peerless standards.
Photo via Metric Coffee
Six months later, the Darko and Xavier were finally roasting—burning the midnight oil in a dusty, windowless old warehouse. From packing and grinding to cuppings and deliveries, the two were doing it all to launch their dream and bring their business to fruition. And their efforts have truly paid off—Metric Coffee recently brought their roastery to Fulton Market and opened its first café doors in 2016. The company is proudly debt-free and has grown to be a highly respected local roastery, fielded by a small team of dedicated employees (who are even given full benefits and paid time off). Metric also serves the greater Chicago community by hosting a number of events including roastery tours, coffee classes, training workshops, cuppings, and even barista throwdowns.
Photo via Metric Coffee
Traveling around the world to source precious Metric coffee beans are now part of a wild but rich journey that continues to unfold, all started by two guys with an exciting dream coupled with the grit to do whatever it took to realize it.
By Nari Ho
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