Suze Riley’s Bold Move in Maupin
By Donna Henderson
Maupin, Ore., February 19, 2024 — To meet Suze Riley is to meet a personality as bold as the dark roast coffee she proudly, passionately and meticulously roasts and retails from her small, but state-of-the-art facility in Maupin, OR.
The realtor, Maupin Chamber of Commerce director, adventure motorcyclist and self-described “skiver” (read on), had no intention of adding yet another labor-intensive occupation to her life. But when the founder-owners of her favorite brand (and mine) of brew decided to retire, her passion for their coffee, combined with her talent for growing local businesses lit a fire in her once again…and she’s been roasting, retailing and delivering Bold coffee since, while growing the business one sample cup at a time.
So when the fragrance of roasting beans wafting through Maupin earlier this week reminded me of my intent to interview Suze for the CCC, I followed my nose to the roastery, where we arranged to meet on Zoom the next day, while she was on the road delivering coffee to her customers in Portland.
Suze Riley is making bold moves in Maupin with her new small, state of the art coffee roasting business.
DH: To start with, how did you come to make your home in Maupin, and to start roasting coffee there?
SR: I moved to Portland thirty-six years ago from London when my then-husband was offered a job there. After I obtained my green card I became a realtor, which has been my main occupation for the past twenty-six years, as well as helping people to grow businesses, which is what I did in England.
In Portland, I belong to an all-women’s group that meets once a month, called ‘Skive’, which is English slang for ‘leaving work early’ or ‘not even turning up at all that day.’ At school, I was a really good ‘skiver” (laughs). And I have an English friend who also came to Portland around the same time as I did. So we would meet every month around somebody’s kitchen table and drink wine, eat snacks and talk about industry. About eight years ago, my friend Kathy Middleton came with a pound of Bold coffee, and said “If anyone here is looking for some really good, dark roast coffee, I’ve got it!” In fact, I was looking for some really good dark roast coffee—historically difficult to find in Portland. So I bought that bag from her…and I have been buying it ever since— I loved what they produced!
Meanwhile, my then-husband and I bought a house in Maupin. I gradually got more and more enamored with that community and involved in it, and a few years ago I moved there from Portland full-time. Which continues to amaze me, because I’m a Londoner! I’m used to living among, you know, seven million people, not just a few hundred.
Then one day Kathy called me, and said, “We want to move to Maupin. Will you help us?” And I said, “perfect! But only if you bring Bold coffee with you!” (laughs), She and Ken were already considering stopping the roasting at that point, but when I said that, Ken said “Oh, all right, we’ll bring the roaster,” and they did, and and continued roasting in Maupin, from their home.
So, fast forward another two years maybe, and all the Department of Agriculture rules changed about what you had to have to be a commercial roaster. Suddenly Ken and Kathy needed triple sinks, he needed to vent through a flue…all of those things. So Ken said “I’m done.” Which is when I turned around and said, “Well then, I’m buying it! “
That was just over a year ago, and I moved all the equipment into what used to be the Mayor’s office, after the City Hall moved to the new Maupin Civic Center. It was the right size, it had a flue, and I knew the owner was putting in a triple sink— done and done! I had the machine upgraded so that I could put a computer on it, which meant that I could reliably roast exactly the same thing every single time, which was massive! Because there are some variables which mean that if you are not completely on it every second, your roast can go from being completely mediocre to fabulous… or, if it goes too far, turn into burnt toast. So my roasts don’t do that…unless I’m really not paying attention.
DH: Did Ken teach you to roast, or did you have experience with roasting before?
SR: A friend of mine in Portland had a home roaster, which had piqued my interest years earlier. Then I watched Ken do a few roasts, and that was the catalyst. I have spent this past year perfecting the art of roasting and it only gets more interesting!
Coffee roasting equipment.
Bold roasts a variety of types of coffee beans.
DH: Tell us something about the specific kinds of coffee you roast and offer.
SR: When I bought the business, I began by roasting the varieties that Ken and Kathy were roasting: Sumatra, Sumatra Decaf, Papua New Guinea. I’ve kept those, and I’ve added in Peruvian, Columbian and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. And I do blends, because thats where it really gets exciting: put two or three varieties together in the correct percentages and suddenly you’ve got something really interesting! I buy from two importers, and all my beans are organic and fair-trade. If I can’t trace the beans back to the growers then I won’t buy them.
I know that I’ve got something that most roasters in Portland are not doing, and I’m providing something that people really, really love. And that’s brilliant; I love that.
DH: What is your customer base, and how has the business has grown?
SR: In the first year, I’ve matched and even grown the business without really trying, just by getting people to try the coffee!
I started selling it at the Tygh Valley Farmers’ Market. I would make an airpot for each veriatal, and tell people to walk down the line with a little cup and taste each one. If they were coffee drinkers —and most people are— there would always be one they liked. And watching that voyage of discovery was —and still is— fantastic— it’s one of the things I love participating in. So people in Tygh Valley started to become regular customers. Year-round, it’s available at the Tygh Valley Farm Stand, in Maupin at The Imperial River Company Lodge, and of course online.
DH: So part of what you’ve learned is that you could grow “Bold” by just being really…bold!
SR: That’s exactly right— it might as well been named for me!
For more information and to order, visit www.boldcoffeeroasters.com
