Jack "Of-All Roasts" Ranstrom: Mozart's Director of Coffee
Excellent coffee is our main focus at Mozart's Coffee Roasters, that's no surprise. Alongside the coffee, we strive to create a unique, memorable environment — one that people from all over the world would feel at home at; including the taste of their experience with our coffee.
Jack Ranstrom, Director of Coffee at Mozart's, is no new face to the Austin coffee scene. He has been roasting beans the old fashioned way since 1999 on Lake Austin!
“Back then”, says Ranstrom, referring to his start with Mozart’s twenty years ago, "Austin was not the international city it’s become. It was a dusty little hippie town with zero cafes that roasted on-site. This was the pre-Starbucks mass industrialization era. No one was roasting artisanal coffee like the way I had learned from Peter Larsen, a German master from Munich. He set up Seattle’s Best Roasting program. I was fortunate to have apprenticed with him for many years."
“Larsen taught me the analog way of roasting. How to use human touch and skill by manipulating the roasting machine. I learned about soul roasting which is about the human touch, intuition, and knowing precisely when to dry out the beans so the sugars caramelize and acidity vanishes. I build flavor paradigms. I’d say I produce soulful coffee for Mozart’s”
Using a Probat Roaster, Ranstrom hand produces up to 1000 lbs of coffee weekly on-site.
Mozart’s adheres to a 20th-century European tradition of roasting that produces full-blown deep flavors by pulling the sweetness from the bean. Ranstrom adds, “the simplicity of roasting with panache, feeling, and long experience is what Mozart’s serves in a cup."
To get a whiff of the gorgeous aroma emanating from Jack’s roasting, he only has to squeeze a one-pound bag. A proprietary technology using a gas valve releases the carbon monoxide inside the pack whereby customers can experience the aroma and flavor of the coffee beans inside.
So what's new?
As we approach the gift-giving season, Mozart's is launching several programs to satisfy not only our corporate clients, but the general public as well.
The Seasonal Thanksgiving and Christmas Blends, which have become a staple for the family table over the past 25 years, are available for purchase in-store as well as online here.
The Corporate gift program includes customized private labeling on coffees, gifts by the pound, and merchandise. Place your orders now before Mozart’s sells out!
Tis the season, everyone. We are proud to have Jack Ranstrom on our team as well as the amazing Mozart's family that we get to work with everyday! We can't wait to see you. The lights are coming!