Member Spotlight: Leah Ellis

My name is Leah Ellis and I’m the owner of JavaTech Mobile Espresso Equipment Repair in Snohomish, WA.

We got our start back in 2010 in Georgetown, which is an old Seattle neighborhood. Unless, that is, you want to go way back to the 1990’s and our first good espresso at Carmel Coffee Company in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We tried our first mochas and lattes in their sunny grotto as the butterflies danced in the late summer blooms that hung from the walls of their courtyard. I’m sure as enchanting as it was, it gave us our love for the industry.

Fast forward some 15 years. My dad and brother were bicycle mechanics at our family-owned bicycle shop in a small town outside of Seattle called Spokemotion Cycles (we are directly related to the Wright brothers, who were bicycle mechanics before they built their first airplane – ironic, huh?). My dad had an old friend of some 50+ years with a warehouse in Georgetown that had an espresso stand in the parking lot whose machine needed repair. He called my dad, as everyone does because he can fix most anything, and asked if he could repair it. My dad gave it a go and that’s where our journey began. My brother and dad (our inside and outside techs) took the Beverage Equipment Service Technician Training Program and all other available trainings that we could get our hands on and set out to offer a helping hand to the Seattle-North machine owners. Since then, we’ve expanded our reach, upgraded our vehicle and gotten to know many fabulous people, many of whom we consider friends. We’ve been out late at night, early in the morning and on holidays. We’ve worked on just about every machine under the sun and certainly developed our favorites (which we’re happy to recommend as we’ll be repairing them on our next visit).

My role is owner, public relations, accounting, dispatch, customer service, parts pick-up, and drinking some of the finest mochas (my personal favorite) that this region has to offer, while chatting, problem-solving, and learning with roasters, stand owners, baristas, machine manufacturers, and anyone else in the industry that I can find to talk to. Tribal knowledge is the best way to learn and I’m always learning.

I’m really glad that the CTG will be bringing us together and standardizing the industry in the area of Coffee Technician training and certification, which is badly needed. What a ride this has been, and I’m looking forward to learning from, chatting and meeting with and enjoying getting to know others in the Coffee Technician world.