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fee shop in towns that were serviced by small local roasters. I started seeking them out in a sort of 'stick-it-to-the-man' break from paperwork and my SKU-driven corporate day. "Tere was one shop in particular, somewhere in the Midwest, that I would make a point to visit every time I could," he says. "Tey had espresso at a time when few had ever tasted espresso. Blonde crema and all, it was not only something new to me, but the culture surrounding it felt warm and comfortable anytime I walked in. Tat place set the bar for cofeehouses, and most likely cofee itself, for me at the time. Te baristas were the key, as they never made this farm kid from central Missouri feel any diferent from any other person that entered the building. "Tat connection continues to be a driver when I work with baristas," he says, circling back around to one of the reasons we asked Tracy to be the focus of this article: In April at the Specialty Cofee Association of America's (SCAA) Conference & Expo in Boston, Tracy will be ofcially announced as 2nd Vice President of the SCAA Board. As such, he will look forward to serving as the president of the board in 2015. We're talking about this because Tracy stands out historically from past SCAA presidents for a specific reason: He comes from deep barista roots. He's worked for retailers and roasters who are active in competitions, and for the past five years he's grown his own consulting company, Brewed Behavior, to become a sought-after entity used to round out and strengthen all the retailing and roasting corners of a host of new companies the world over. Tracy excels, however, at one-on-one training with competition baristas and stafs at some of the best cofee companies. Most notably, he worked closely for more than two years with multi-time Greek Barista Champion Stefanos Domatiotis. Tese days, Tracy is completing work on his own training center for retail and roasting, as well as hands-on barista instruction. He's also debuting an educational course with Nuova Simonelli designed to create communicative fow, from quality green cofee to exceptional bar skills. We asked Tracy to sit with us for this Master Q&A; session to tell us more about his past, present, and future as a specialty cofee ambassador. Sarah Allen: Tell me about where you came from and your familial environment growing up. Tracy Allen: I was born in 1966. My father and mother divorced early, so I spent most of my childhood with my grandparents while my mother worked a couple of jobs at a time. It's my grandfather and farming that I credit for the forming of my work ethic. And my mom and grandmother taught me to cook and keep things orderly, and the value of manners. My dad was a Marine, pretty much absentee. He was out protecting our country, so I couldn't really argue with that. My grandfather was the man in my life; I named my son afer him. SA: Procter & Gamble hired you right out of college. Tell us about your work there. TA: I became a Beverage Specialist for Procter & Gamble in the late 1980s, which meant growing the Millstone Cofee brand in the Midwest. I had foodservice accounts like small diners and cafés. Applebee's was headquartered near my house, but became a Folgers account. Denny's, however, opted for Millstone—big volume, to say the least. Oh, and I had some ofce cofee exposure as well, selling businesses on the "employee beneft" of this brand name, higher-quality cofee. One OCS [ofce cofee service] client truly took risks and helped put both Kansas City, Mo. and myself on the coffee map was Anthony Simone at Necco Cofee. When I was selling Folgers and Millstone, he was two blocks from the Folgers plant, part of the Italian community, and had a ton of foodservice and OCS accounts. He was my biggest account and deserves a ton of credit. Uncle Anthony. He helped me set and break my own sales records repeatedly against all the major cities in the country. Eventually, I started roasting and sourcing at P&G; on an introductory level in Seattle, where I got to see specialty coffee emerging. I thought, "Oh gosh, this is going to be a big deal in my lifetime, and I get to be a part of it." I didn't clearly see it as specialty yet, but I definitely knew it was special. My biggest takeaway from P&G;—besides the sweet paycheck, benefits, and job stability—was learning the science of consumer behavior. Not one day goes by that I don't feel that knowing this is a huge advantage in our spectrum of coffee. This was the inspiration for naming my business Brewed Behavior. SA: When and how did you make the jump from regular to specialty cofee? TA: For that I have to credit Danny O'Neill and The Roasterie in Kansas City, Mo. He had started a small air roastery and focused on sourcing directly, and everyone in town was hearing about it. He heard I was looking to bail on corporate coffee and had his staff track me down. He was the president of the SCAA at the time and had lots of distractions pulling at him, so he asked me to be his director of operations and hold down the fort, which I did for the next two and a half or three years. It was a great way to enter the specialty world, with lots of opportunity for trial and error, and I am grateful. So many dedicated, Midwestern-values type people worked hard everyday to help us grow that brand. In fact, the first official SCAA-sanctioned regional barista competition took place right there in Kansas City during that time. Danny remains a great self-marketer and visionary. SA: Can you recall your frst cofee experience? TA: My mother bought groceries on Tursday nights at the IGA store, and a cashier named Diane would take me on break with her so my mom could shop. I remember seeing that hot black liquid transformed by sugar and creamer until a slight tannish tinge appeared, making it a creamy, caramel-like drink. Once it cooled she'd let me try a sip, and I knew it was something I wanted more of. SA: Your work and vision in barista competitions started early—you were the frst-ever chair of the World Barista Championship's (WBC) Rules and Regulations Committee. But when did you frst start taking notice of barista competitions? TA: At P&G;, we learned to always be looking beyond the bright shiny object for the next big thing. Te efort that company puts into studying consumer behavior is meant to identify the next trend so they can prepare for it. Using some of that methodology, I knew the baristas were about to get their due in the United States. More importantly, a generation of post-millennials was about working for a cause, more than a paycheck. Te pieces were about to line up and produce a self-oiled machine for developing a cultural incubator for entrepreneurs. SA: Did you hang out in cafés growing up? What role did cofee play in your early years? TA: Cofee was a part of my life starting sometime in high school. I never drank much in the way of sof drinks and eventually eliminated them all together. At some point in the mid 1980s I found some primitive information about roasting green cofee in my mom's popcorn popper. I started roasting and got a step ahead in some ways, with lots of trial and error. SA: So you had a gut feeling back then, like 'Damn, this is big.' TA: I felt that if we allowed the past and current baristas to guide the future of competitions we would see a new culture built for the long term, a launchpad for cofee careers and ambassadors of every step preceding the delivery of that cup. I did my time as chair of the WBC, and then bowed out to make room for fresh ideas closer to the barista. Knowing when to excuse yourself is as important as any other skill. 92 barista magazine