‘Toast the ROASTER’ “For Master Roaster: The original Java Joe, Joseph J. Palozzi”

By Dahni ©️ 2019, all rights reserved

This post, (Chapter), is dedicated to and is meant to be a tribute to, the original Java Joe, Joe Palozzi, or simply, “Joe”. I have written about Joe at other times and in other places. I’ve started a series on the Gathering Place blog, still incomplete. I’ve struggled with this since his passing in March of 2017. I took it hard. Still do, but I think all I wanted to say about Joe, is here to follow. It is time. Joe was the grandfather of micro-roasted (small batch), coffee, since 1974. Yes, Starbucks ®️, whom Joe referred to as Scarchucks, had their original beginning in Seattle, WA, in 1971. But it was a joint venture of three college students, who were taught how to roast (OVER-roast), coffee by Alfred Peet (Peet’s Coffee). They only sold roasted (OVER-roasted), whole beans that they purchased from “Peet”, they used equipment from “PEET” to roast (OVER-roast), those beans, and sold equipment by “PEET”. Except for samples, they never offered brewed coffee until, 1987. Joe was doing this since 1974. So yes, “Joe”, Java Joe, Joe Palozzi was the grandfather of micro-roasted (small batch) coffee beans— fresh roasted, fresh ground, and fresh brewed coffee! He was the pioneer of the coffee bar for the United States. And he has always built his own roasters himself, from a 19th Century design. To my knowledge, two of his original roasters are still in operation, in Rochester, NY, to this day. If you were born or raised, living in Rochester, NY in 1974, there was a great possibility you either met Joe or someway or another, had some of what he roasted, his COFFEE! Joe opened his first coffee shop, Pittsford’s (Pittford, NY), Cafe Primo, in 1974. By the 1980s, he was in Hawaii, making a living as an organic coffee farmer and playing golf in his bare feet. There is a lot of mystery about Joe. I couldn’t even find the month and day he was born, just the year. Along life’s way, Joe did many things, but he finally settled on coffee. The entire Rochester area was spoiled and perhaps took for granted, the treasures here, few others even come close to having. Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb (the big three), were all here. French’s Mustard was here. And you can thank (or not), some government scientist, working in the Rochester area, for the fluoride in the water of almost anywhere in the world today. The personal computer was invented here by Xerox, before IBM, Microsoft & Apple were even thought of yet. The digital camera was invented here by Kodak. Adobe was started by people that worked for Kodak. Incredible innovators and artists were here in plenty. Some great ideas were started here, but never went anywhere else or someone else, someplace else, made them happen. I’ll give you an example of what I thought was a great idea at the time, but never happened. I’ll bet you never knew that I tried to sell whole beans of coffee by the pound, years ago? And not just any coffee, but Joe’s, of course. And of course, he would get the credit for it, but Joe didn’t care, he just wanted to roast and sell coffee. My idea was to make custom designed labels and you could purchase them for gifts and etc. and it would have your name on it. Look—   Oh, and music—musicians and composers and singers, some of the best in the entire world were here and some are, still here. Part of the problem was, there were just so many, in one place, I guess? Other than Chuck and Gap Mangione, few make it beyond Rochester. There’s a glut of geniuses and talent here, but unless you were born here, raised here or live here, you probably wouldn’t know these are just the facts. The same can be said of Joe, You may have never heard of him? But I would venture an educated guess, you have heard two words thought, written or spoken together, “Java Joe”! Well, this is the man, behind those words. But even if you have never met Java Joe or tasted his coffee, we all owe him a debt of gratitude and appreciation! By “we” I mean, almost everyone in the USA, if not other countries too! The facts are that before Joe, Java Joe, there was no fresh roasted coffee, master roasters, and coffee bars that sold by the cup, fresh brewed, from fresh ground and from fresh, expertly roasted coffee. virtually, anywhere else, but in this area! Well, here is a question for you. If everything I have written above about Joe is true (and they are true), why isn’t there a Java Joe’s, wholesale bean roasting and coffee bar on almost every street corner in the the world, instead of that “other” outfit? That’s a good question. Joe had wondered about this for years. Why had the retail coffee world, passed him by? I suppose the same question could be asked about all the other talent in abundance (a plethora), from this area, why or why not?? Poor management? No agents? Who knows why? But you could go to almost any local bar & grill on any night and find incredible, incredible music, and most likely, Joe’s coffee. His coffee was found at many grocery stores, online, shipped all over and even many of the finest 4 star restaurants in this area, ALL HAD (many still have), their coffees from Joe (by those that keep his legacy alive).

When Joe opened Java’s (still there), it was downtown Rochester, NY on Gibbs St. and right next to the George Eastman Theater (the guy who started Kodak). WOW, even back then, George recognized the talent in this area. Eastman School of Music is still today, one of the best schools, for music anywhere. All three of Susan’s sons, are all incredibly musically talented and one of them has a master’s degree, from Eastman. My pride is not the point. Right next to a theater, comparable to most major, major cities of greater size, there was (is), Java’s. Joe opened Javas on Gibbs in 1992. Mike Calabrese took over the business in 1997.

It was the most central, cultural, popular, eclectic and bohemian drawing place, in all of Rochester, NY, and the surrounding area. All races, colors, creeds and people of interest, would be found here. Musicians, homeless, starving-artists, wealthy people,  business people in three-piece suits, people in full tuxedos with their musical instruments in cases and in tow came in mass. The Interior was rustic with wooden floors, worn tables, and artist’s works hung on the the walls for sale, to notice or were gifts to the real draw here, the man that roasted the coffee, Joe! In the middle of the often standing-line only crowds, there would be Joe, roasting coffee. People like Chuck Mangione playing his flugelhorn and his brother Gap, tuning and then expertly playing (and all this for FREE), on an old donated piano could be found at Java’s. Many pianists here, know how and often do, tune their own pianos. Joe had enough of the noise, the hustle and bustle and he left, for the public market. His partner, Mike Calabrese would continue to run Java’s and Joe would roast the coffee. So he loaded up his truck and moved his roaster to….sorry I was thinking of a song.  🤣 Joe moved his roaster to The Rochester Public Market. Over there, he only had to be open twice a week to the general public and he could just do what he loved, roast coffee in relative peace and quiet. Over there years, he probably has been in every building at the market. Two of his hand built roasters are still there. One was seized through a messy divorce and the other one, Joe built another one, just about 3 doors down, where it still roasts his coffee, by people he taught, to this day.

In the above picture, this was Joe’s place at one place among many at the Public Market. His was a corner lot with some parking and including the building in blue. He lost this in a nasty divorce, his once excellent credit rating, the roaster that he built and his even his employee, he personally taught how to roast. His roaster is still there today, roasting coffee under a different name.           Several doors down on the right (not seen in picture), is where I first met Joe. From here he moved to that corner lot. There he lost his roaster and then, he moved again, and built another roaster, where it is still, to this day. Today, this still roasts today, by those he taught and is now owned by Mike Calabrese, Joe’s former partner, who still owns and runs Java’s downtown Rochester, NY, next to Eastman Theater. Joe was always open to his wholesale clients. Most times you would find just Joe, just doing what he loved, just roasting coffee. If you happened to be there when he brewed up a pot for himself, he would share some. It’s not that I don’t think Joe didn’t like people, I just believe he was focused and just didn’t like crowds. I didn’t and don’t much either. And even though Joe started in 1974, when I was living in another state, just starting to ‘like’ coffee, I was first introduced to Joe, around 2003. I didn’t live in Rochester until around 2001. My wife Susan, Introduced me to Java’s downtown and Joe’s coffee. A friend of mine was running a small coffee bar restaurant. He bought all his coffee from Joe. One Monday morning, I was at Nick & Connie Reda’s, ‘Berean Cafe’. It was pick-up day for Nick (a fine Christian man, musician and music teacher), to re-supply his coffee stores at the cafe.. Nick invited me to come along. On our way, Nick tried to prepare me, for meeting Joe. Nick said, “Joe, well Joe, can be a little intimidating, opinionated; like a seaman’s salty dog in his brash and colorful language. Well, Joe, is just Joe, but he makes great coffee!” I already knew about Joe’s coffee, so there was no surprise there. The place was an old building in and out. It had lots of space; nothing fancy. There were a few tables and chairs, a counter with a grinder, a cappuccino/espresso machine, a brewer and some insulated pots for keeping the fresh brewed coffee hot. But mostly, it all centered around this big coffee roaster, shelves, barrels and bins of many kinds of green beans roasted coffees, paper bags for coffee, an old scale for weighing the beans and Joe, just Joe. That day and most days, Joe never even turned on the lights, to not draw attention, I’m guessing? I’m not even sure he always locked his doors, either. I know I had to track him down one time, to tell him they weren’t! 😊 Well, that day and most days, Joe was open, for his wholesale clients like Nick. Joe used words like “clients” instead of customers, for those whom bought his coffee. He was in his own way, always trying to elevate and educate the public about coffee. He knew all those Italian names and nomenclature, how to roast, grind and brew coffee, prepare espresso and other beverages with dark roasted coffees. He knew, did and taught others how to do those incredible artsy latte art things, with foamed milk and chocolate sauce hand painted with tooth picks or paint brushed creations. Joe was all self taught. Where did he learn all this stuff? I do not know, but one time he was in Italy, trying to make a living selling Life Insurance, to soldiers stationed there. I figure he learned the whole Barista culture from Italy. But Joe brought it to the United States. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “All roads Lead to Rome!” Well, one way or another, all the coffee roads led to Rochester, NY and to Java Joe! Unfortunately for Joe, all those roads and the people that left here, led to someplace else. As he thought, the Coffee Industry just passed him by!” I for one, whenever I see, hear about or otherwise know about the US Barista Culture, I’ll credit Joe, for all of it! But honestly, Joe could care less. He just wanted to roast coffee, sell it and drink it, black, always black, to taste as many of those 1200 flavor profiles in all coffee, as much as possible. This is exactly why, Joe could not stand over-roasted coffee.

“Are you wanting the taste of burnt caramel, from a dark roast, for your espresso? Coffee is one thing, but espresso is another. One is for medium roast and the other for dark. Don’t confuse the two! Don’t burn the beans! You can’t taste anything from that black dark crap, other than burnt little pieces (over-roasted coffee beans), of charcoal in hot water! I don’t know what in the hell that is, but it’s not coffee! Don’t over-roast and burn the f—ing beans!”

-Java Joe-

Joe was a master roaster! Roasting it is both a highly developed skill and an art. So is or should be, the consumption of coffee! I now believe part of the reason Joe was never recognized world-wide, was mostly in part to our taught and continuing ignorance about coffee. Before 1957, most restaurants, diners, gas stations and homes were ‘perking’ their coffee on a stove in aluminum per-co-lators. This took time. And for the most part, everyone was drinking and selling dark, black, so-called coffee from a can, from probably either Folgers®️ or Maxwell House®️. They didn’t even roast, they baked the hell out of the beans.This is part of our history in the United States. Then in 1957, the paper filter and pour over brewer was invented and the Bunn coffeemakers were introduced commercially. Everyone at home still had to perk theirs until the home Bunn model became available, in 1963. The end results of Bunn ®️ were better and quicker, but everyone was still, for the most part drinking burnt, over roasted (or over-baked) coffee, roasted who knows when, from a can that had been packed in nitrogen to preserve it’s familiar aroma, for who knows how long. I wanted to write its burnt smell, but I wanted to be nice, but this is exactly what it is. Joe discovered more, so much, much more! There are around 1200 flavor profiles in coffee, all coffee, all the time, always! One never gets to tastes them if they are burnt out of them. They are all different, all the time and always. No two coffee origins will ever taste the same, every single time or even day to day. Well, that’s not good for consistency. That does not keep or grow your business, unless, your business is about educating and masterfully delivering on those complex and elusive. 1200 flavor profiles in coffee. I think this is in part, why Joe seemed prickly to many people. There is a lot of ignorance in the world of coffee. It’s one thing to be ignorant, but something entirely different to be stupid, when right teaching is available, and Joe was a willing and master teacher. Joe taught me that noone is ever going to be ‘coffee free’ until, they understand how coffee is supposed to taste, all 1200 flavor profiles and black. Now I still put cream and sugar in mine, but I can at least tell the difference between fresh and stale, and what real good roasted coffee tastes like instead of burnt, over-roasted, baked, fried or the nuclear crap called coffee. I’m not there yet, but I ‘m working on pure-black-coffee and getting myself free. Joe taught me and I’m repeating it here,  you’ve never had coffee if all you know is burnt charcoal. Starbucks reformed the lie, made it consistent, rebranded and repackaged the most highly acidic and caffeinated burnt beverage in the marketplace today. They hyped it, made it a cultural thing and demand high prices for the privilege of drinking what has not been changed for well over a hundred years, burnt (over-roasted), coffee. OK, let’s suppose that caffeine is your thing. How does Starbucks®️ do it? Do they add even more? Do they bio-engineer the beans they buy? Probably not! Caffeine is in the bean itself. Some by their very nature have more of it or less than others. But here is the fact, a secret to most people. The longer your roast the beans, the more caffeine is removed! So why EVER over-roast or burn the beans??? Something more? Yes, I guess, that burnt taste? I know people that will never drink anything other than Starbucks®️, McDonalds®️, and other chains that each have their own version and consistent brands of burnt. Dunkin Donuts ®️ do not over-roast theirs,(except their dark roast), but use either blends or less quality beans, but not organic. They all live under the lie that it aint 🤣 isn’t or ares’nt 😂 coffee unless its burnt (whether they ever use or think of the word “burnt” or not), because that is what it is! A dark roast is not for coffee it’s for espresso etc. This is how I found and met Joe. Nick’s warning or heads-up to prepare me, was lost on me. I got Joe and his intensity and his intense, steel blue eyes, from the very first moment! He was real! No pretending, he was Joe, always just Joe, Java Joe! For my part, Joe was my friend. I don’t know how he felt about me, he never said, but deeds and actions matter. Joe always remembered me. He always sold me coffee when I came in. He liked cash, but he always took my check. I have found at least one of those checks, exactly where I left it when I came back around a month later. Joe sold coffee to me at wholesale prices. Often if I came in and he was talking to other people, he would stop what he was doing and help me. Many, many times when I came to see him, it was just Joe and I. He would be at some stage of the roasting process and we would just talk about coffee. I was never interested in roasting coffee because, I thought it was way beyond my skill level to even learn, beyond my bank account to invest in the needed equipment and especially, out of my means to purchase, the hundreds of pounds of coffee that seemed to all be required. Joe had burlap bags and bins and wood barrels of green coffee beans, 100’s and hundreds of pounds of green coffee beans. We would just talk coffee. Joe and I would argue (friendly), for our personal favorite coffee. His was Kona from Hawaii. He lived there for a while. He could have quoted Mark Twain

” I think Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other.”

Mark Twain, Letters From Hawaii

I would argue, for my favorite, Blue Mountain, from Jamaica. I lived there for awhile. I could have said, Joe, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), was a Missourian. So am I, born and raised. Missouri is, the Show Me state. I don’t think Mark (or Samuel), ever made it to Jamaica? But I lived there for awhile and Ian Fleming lived there for years, at his place he called, ‘Golden Eye’. There, he wrote many of his most famous books and introduced the world to, his fictional character, 007, “Bond, James Bond.” In Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming describes Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee as—

“the most delicious coffee in the world!”

James Bond, ‘Live & Let Die’, By Ian Fleming

I will say this about my ‘Blue’ and Joe. At one time, in order for Joe to purchase Blue Mountain, it had to be a minimum of around 440 pounds in a wood barrel, shipped by boat, train and truck from Jamaica. You do the math. At the time, It sold retail, for $55 a roasted pound! And Joe, even though he liked Kona better, he could roast it exactly like I remembered it, when I had it in Jamaica! But at $55 a pound, I couldn’t afford that and I would only buy a half a pound around the holidays. But Joe had to move that coffee and at 440 pounds, it was quite a feat to do! Joe knew coffee in and out, everything about it, everything about each origin and how to bring out the best in each one. And this is what Joe and I would talk about, just coffee. In 1974, I was just starting to like coffee. In 2003, when I met Joe, I fell in love with coffee! ☕️ Mike Calabrese, partner (L) and Joe (R), talking coffee over coffee, with a picture of Joe, by a chalk artist, on the wall behind. No, Joe didn’t teach me how to roast coffee. Joe taught me how to love coffee and I think he would love that I can now, roast to my satisfaction with even greater love than he first imparted to me! I was never interested in roasting until about 2012. I still not interested in roasting commercially as a business. It is just a passion and a craft I have developed and because of Joe. I think he would be pleased to know that I am roasting on a open flame on my grill, in the garage, all year long— once a week and about two pounds at a time. Joe was close as he ever could have been, to going viral and becoming a household name. There was a husband and wife team that started a bread company years ago called, Montana Mills. Oh, while their breads were rising, their locations and popularity were too! There was some big money behind them as they expanded rapidly. They approached Joe about a dual joint venture, a new concept store. One side would have Montana Mills and the other side with a pass-thru, would be Joe’s, selling whole roasted beans and fresh brewed coffee by the cup. The pass-thru could be closed, allowing either to open or close at their discretion. The first of several planned locations was constructed, I saw it, it was cool, but it never opened. When Joe found out that the owners wanted him to roast his coffee like ‘Scarchucks’, he told them to get the bean burners to roast for them, he was not going to over-roast and burn his coffee!! So, that was it. Later, Krispy Kreme Donuts bought Montana Mills. That did not last long! Today, you can only find Krispy Kreme Donuts in some grocery stores around here and the only evidence of Montana Mills was, Great Harvest Bread Company where they somehow were able to acquire, some of the original bread recipes, from Montana Mills.

Joe used to only sell coffee beans in paper bags.

“What do you need cans of nitrogen packed coffee for to preserve it’s freshness? Coffee is meant to be brewed and consumed, in 7-10 days, from when it was first roasted, not years ago!”

-Joe-

 

Then Joe started using vacuum sealed foil bags, not to preserve the freshness so much, but to off-gas the CO2, within the first hours after roasting and some believe, for up to 24-36-48 hours depending on the variety, before you grind and brew. To me, Joe summed himself up personally, in the following.

“When you taste our coffee I personally guarantee it will be the best coffee you ever tasted.”

 Java Joe

No, Joe did not teach me how to roast coffee. But he pretty much taught me most of all I know about coffee. Most importantly, he taught me HOW to Love Coffee! I think he would be happy, that I am still ‘LovN it’ and now, I can roast my own. I’ll never be a master roaster like Joe, but I do roast to my satisfaction and can show others, just like you taught me Joe, HOW TO LOVE COFFEE! And now, I can also show anyone, how they can roast their own coffee beans to their satisfaction, with a popcorn popper or a skillet and some green beans that I can buy, even just a half of pound at a time, if that is all I need. So can anyone!

What led me to this journey—
Living in Jamaica for a time opened my eyes to the movement of coffee across the islands — from Haiti to Jamaica, and from Jamaica back to Haiti. That passage between lands stirred my own exploration into the origins of coffee. Years afterward, those same pathways inspired what I eventually called my RESET blend — not as invention, but as a rediscovery of the historic trek of coffee across islands and generations.

To pay tribute to the man who taught me to love coffee, I returned to Java’s with the hope that my blend might, in some small way, stand as a gesture of gratitude to the original, the one and only, Java Joe — or simply, my friend Joe.

In closing, all I can write is: Thank you, Joe!

I miss our good conversations, but I smile and imagine you on some beach in Hawaii, playing golf in your bare feet, roasting, grinding, brewing, and enjoying Kona — your favorite — and maybe even getting a chuckle about me roasting coffee with my popcorn popper and skillet, while still loving my Blue Mountain (when I can afford it).

☕️ Yes, Joe, I still love coffee!

Still and forever your friend,

  Chapter 2 — ‘Toast the Roast’ ‘My Art of Manliness”