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  • Home
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  • About Trish & Nick

About Trish & Nick

Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters is a coffee roasting company in the San Francisco Bay Area. We're working to become the area's most recognized purveyor of sustainably sourced, expertly roasted specialty coffee, presented with unparalleled service.

Founders:

Trish Rothgeb: co-founder, co-CEO, director of coffee, and roastmaster.

Her experience in the industry spans over 30 years as a coffee roaster, green coffee buyer, and teacher of all things coffee. An avid traveler in coffee growing regions worldwide, she teaches "cupping" to coffee producers and coffee professionals around the world. She is also credited with coining the term "third wave coffee" and identifying the relevant concepts.

Trish is a licensed Q-Grader and credentialed Q Trainer by the Coffee Quality Institute. She has served on the SCAA’s Roasters Guild Executive Council, was a charter member of the World Barista Championship Board of Directors and a founding member of the Barista Guild of America.

From 2013 to 2016, Trish worked on staff at the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) as the "Director of Programs: Q and Educational Services," in addition to her work with Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters.

Trish on Twitter: @trishrothgeb
Trish on Instagram: @trishrothgeb

 

Nicholas Cho: co-founder, co-CEO, and head barista.

Nick founded murky coffee in 2002, which developed to be Washington DC's premier coffeebar, winning barista competitions and recognition around the specialty coffee industry.

Over the past few years, Nicholas served as a director on the Barista Guild of America’s Executive Council, on the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Board of Directors, on the World Barista Championship Board of Directors, and as the chair of the United States Barista Championship. He was also the 2006 South East Regional Barista Champion and has served on the SCAA Standards Committee.

Nick has been a guest lecturer at the University of California Berkeley, Dartmouth College, University of California Davis, and a speaker at various events around the world including the SCA Symposium and Tamper Tantrum. He also hosted the first podcast for coffee professionals and enthusiasts at portafilter.net.

Since 2020, Nick has also become known around the world as "Your Korean Dad" with millions of followers on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Nick on Twitter: @nickcho
Nick on Instagram: @nickcho_
Nick on TikTok: @YourKoreanDad

Media

"Trish Rothgeb coined 'third wave' — and is now looking toward coffee's future," Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2019

"Inside an SF Coffee Roaster's Radically Inclusive Berkeley Cafe," Eater.com, August 22, 2019

"Taste This: Learning How to Brew the Perfect Cup with Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters," KQED, Jan 30, 2018

"Nick Cho doesn't much care for cold brew coffee," San Francisco Magazine, July 27, 2017

"The December Dripper," Cool Hunting, April 11, 2017

"The Office Coffee Bars Of San Francisco Tech," Sprudge.com, October 18, 2016

"City Guides: San Francisco" Bon Appetit, April 7, 2016

"In San Francisco, Wrecking Ball Coffee’s Making Better Less Cool" Sprudge.com, October 27, 2015

"Karl the Latte, Wrecking Ball’s Spiced Almond Milk Latte." San Francisco Chronicle, October 21, 2015

"Lesson from Wrecking Ball's new coffee spot? Experience counts." SFGate.com (San Francisco Chronicle), November 20, 2014

"Inside Wrecking Ball Coffee's New Cow Hollow Cafe," Sprudge.com, September 4, 2014

"Trish Rothgeb" - Birds of Unusual Vitality, August 2014

Experience First, Fuel Second: Coffee Geekdom Unites at Our Coffee Summit, Edible Manhattan, April 22, 2014

"First Look At Wrecking Ball Coffee's New Walk-Up Window In San Francisco," Sprudge.com, November 19, 2013

City Visions "From Bean to Buzz--COFFEE!" KALW Local Public Radio 91.7 San Francisco, October 1, 2013

"Specialty coffee stars putting down roots in Bay Area," San Jose Mercury News, April 22, 2013

Interview, Food GPS, March 20, 2013

San Francisco Magazine, April 2012

Uncrate.com, January 27, 2012

"Ristretto | Holiday", New York Times T Magazine Blog, December 21, 2011

Cafe at Home Magazine (Korean), PDF Document (3.2 MB) July/August 2011

"5 Small But Mighty Roasters to Seek Out," Serious Eats: Drinks, May 9, 2011

"The TONY blind coffee taste test," Time Out New York, December 7, 2010

National Public Radio, All Things Considered, "Shade-Grown Coffee Put To Test" September 11, 2010

New York Times, Diner's Journal Blog: "Top Baristas on Display in New York" April 22, 2010

"DIY coffee: Roasting beans at home," Washington Post, January 20, 2010

 

Other Reading:

"Trish Rothgeb on the State of Specialty Coffee" Imbibe Magazine, May 2, 2016

"What’s The Ish, Trish?" on Sprudge.com

"Scandinavian Style", Jannicke-Marie Johansen

"I Want Coffee, Not Coffee", by Nicholas Cho, Specialty Coffee Association of America Chronicle

"Third Wave Coffee" Wikipedia article

The Washington Post, "Your Local Coffee Shop, Courtesy of Starbucks?" by Nicholas Cho, July 26, 2009

Imbibe Magazine, "The Two Sides of Nick Cho," PDF Document (1.2 MB) March/April 2008

Imbibe Magazine, "Coffee's Third Wave" May/June 2006

New York Times, "For the Coffee Palate Too Refined for a Certain Large Chain" November 16, 2005

Coffeegeek.com: "The BGA and the Third Wave," April 2, 2005

North Bay Bohemian: "Queen of Cups," July 28, 2004

The Roasters Guild Flamekeeper: "Norway and Coffee" by Trish Rothgeb, PDF Document, November 2002

Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters
1580 Folsom Street
San Francisco, California 94103 USA
contact@wreckingballcoffee.com

©2020 Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters

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