Boomtown Coffee

or most of us, it’s a morning ritual or a habit that we just don’t want to break; but for Matthew Toomey, java is his job.

“It’s a really big business,” said Toomey. “We are looking for things like body, mouth feel, sweetness, acidity, bitterness.”

In 2011 Toomey opened Boomtown Coffee. A business that roasts, bags, sells and brews specialty coffees.

“When most people think of coffee they just think of the little vessel or the cup of cappuccino, but it’s harvested and treated like a commodity. It’s actually the number two commodity traded in the world behind oil,” Toomey explained.

Coffee is a $100 billion business worldwide but Toomey’s love of these beans began before he was worried about profit, when he was a child and his grandmother drank hers black.

“They say smell is such a nostalgia, well that smell of black coffee from my youth has literally resonated with me. Although I didn’t like the taste I was fascinated with the smell.”

That rich smell floods his roasting room where beans start out green. However, after a few minutes in a 400 degree machine they are a rich brown color. Then they’re cooled, taste tested and bagged. Consumers can buy them whole sale or enjoy a brew brewed up at his Boomtown location in The Heights. His coffee is sold at several different locations across Houston including The Honeymoon Café & Bar where he has leased a room for his roasting machine.

Toomey explains that his coffee customers are eclectic.

“Not just the hipsters… there are lots of beard toting, V-neck sporting, scarf wearing, thick rimmed glasses people; it’s everyone! “

From field to cup, there’s a whole lot of work that goes into your simple morning boost.

“There are so many variables that go into achieving that really good cup of coffee and that’s what my job is to pay attention to all those variables.”

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