Rob Flanders started his business on a lie and a $39 wedding gift.
“I was out for dinner with some clients and said I loved ‘expresso,’” says Flanders of the night he professed a passion for a drink he’d rarely had and couldn’t pronounce. “Later, I got an espresso machine for a wedding gift. My wife and I used it for years and had a blast.”
Today, Flanders’ dinner lingo is free of malapropisms as he evolves into one of Lansing’s most knowledgeable coffee artisans. As president of
Rudy Baggs Coffee Roasting Company, he’s a true man of the bean, advocating the fresh-roasted experience for brew drinkers city-wide.
“Coffee is a social drink,” he says. “We want to promote that aspect of coffee—the sitting down and talking to people. You might as well do that over a good cup of coffee rather than a bad one.”
Finding the NicheAfter his initial awakening to coffee, Flanders traded his entry-level espresso machine for a high-end model. Starting off with French roast, he experimented with different blends—including espresso. It wasn’t long before the quest for better and better coffee led him to roast his own coffee at home.
“My wife, Robyn, said it was so good I should open up a store,” says Flanders. “Except I was having so much fun just roasting and exploring different coffees that I had no desire.”
But things changed.
Perhaps, Flanders says, it was the influence of his oldest son who ran a small coffee shop in Minnesota. Or perhaps it was the continual coaxing of his wife to share his coffee-roasting talents. Or perhaps it was the wisdom of Rudy, his mysterious alter-ego, who prompted Flanders to start a unique business centered on the bean.
“We came up with a great idea,” says Flanders. “Why not deliver fresh-roasted coffee to people in their homes?”
In 2003, Flanders launched Rudy Baggs Coffee Roasting Company from his home on the west side of Lansing. He did it after raising three children, after a career in real estate, after some people said it was time to kick back and relax.
Today, his company serves about 50 customers within a five-mile radius, distributing a variety of fresh roasted coffees in a champagne-colored PT Cruiser.
Flanders also partners with two local eateries to offer taste sensations involving coffee and food. His ultimate dream, he says, is to home deliver fresh roasted beans to more than 2,000 customers.
“As Rudy likes to say, you only get old once,” Flanders says. “There’s no sense doing it gracefully.”
Palate PartiesHis customers will tell you that Rudy Baggs' coffee opened their eyes to the variety of flavors and complexity of attaining the ultimate coffee experience—be it a single cup, or a pot paired with dinner or dessert.
“We just like the fresh-roasted coffee concept,” says Nick Gavrilides, owner and chef of Soup Spoon Café on Lansing’s Eastside. “It’s that fresh quality that really makes it stand out.”
Flanders and Gavrilides teamed up about a year ago, after meeting through a charity event hosted by an association of local chefs.
“I had started talking with the chefs there about coffee,” says Flanders. “I related how, so many times, you have a wonderful meal somewhere, only to get a stale bitter beverage afterward. Chefs would die if you served Mad Dog 20/20 or Boone’s Farm with a meal, but lots of times, that’s exactly what they’re doing with their coffee.”
Gavrilides understood. Shortly after meeting Flanders, the two got together and planned a series of special dinners, each one with elegant courses paired with different coffees.
“In my mind, it’s a new frontier,” says Gavrilides. “Like wine, you want to pair heat, or calm heat down, very similar to how you pair wine with food. The tannins in wine compare with the acidity of the coffee. It either enhances or cut flavors in food.”
Pastry chef Cecilia Garcia also sees the relationship between what’s in your cup and what’s on your plate. As the owner of
Mama Bear’s Café in Lansing’s Old Town, Garcia was intrigued by the idea of hosting special dessert and coffee nights, some by reservation only.
Patrons, she says, get to select one of three pastries made fresh on the premises—including torts, cakes or napoleons—then get advice on the best coffee complement.
“I think this is something new to this area,” says Garcia. “People seem excited to know there is something you can pair with food other than booze.”
In addition to their special food events, Garcia and Gavrilides feature Rudy Baggs coffee certain days of the week.
“We go through it pretty quickly,” says Garcia of the Sumatra and house blends. “Rob’s coffee has a wonderful flavor. It’s incredibly fresh. He’s a master coffee maker.”
Coffee-consciousFor Flanders, his goal is to awaken as many coffee drinkers as he can by treating them to the ultimate coffee experience.
He starts by importing coffee beans through bean brokers out of the Midwest, the West Coast, and from South America. He roasts beans once a week on Wednesdays, producing about 50 pounds of 25 different varieties.
The average customer, he says, receives one 8 ounce bag a week, delivered to their doorstep on Thursdays—typically no more than they can consume in a week.
“We’d rather you buy less than more,” says Flanders. “Our integrity is based on our coffee, and our coffee is based on its freshness.”
Mike Simmons and his wife, Sandy, have been on Flanders’ delivery route for about two years. Mike was sold the moment he had his first cup.
“I like his coffee so much, I’ve become somewhat spoiled,” says Simmons, who used to think he preferred dark, heavy coffee before he sampled a cup of Rudy Baggs.
“The common coffee out of a Bunn coffee maker isn’t something that floats my boat anymore,” says Simmons, who took Flanders’ “introduction to coffee” course offered to customers.
Long-time customer Anna Kaschner receives an assortment of flavors through weekly deliveries from Rudy Baggs. She says that, pre-Rudy, she never thought much about what she drank. But when she learned how over-roasting can cause bitterness, or how coffee can go bad or stale, her sensibilities changed.
“I’ve been catapulted into this elite that refuses to drink anything else,” says Kaschner, who turned her partner on to Rudy Baggs shortly after she discovered the blends in a local cafe.
“In a way, he’s ruined us for coffee from anywhere else for the rest of our lives, but we’re OK with that.”
New and seasoned coffee drinkers are invited to join the fresh-roasted community and to learn more about what makes for a good cup of coffee by visiting Rudy’s web site at www.rudybaggs.com.
Ann Kammerer lives in East Lansing, and has written about area businesses, non-profits and people for a variety of local and regional magazines.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Rudy Baggs' founder Rob Flanders
Rob's son Robert helps with making the coffee during a coffee dinner
Green un-roasted beans from around the world
Rob serving guests at one of his coffee dinners
Rudy Baggs stickers
Beans in the roaster
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie