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Bob Anderson
Mobjack Bay Coffee master roaster Bob Anderson releases coffee beans at the family-owned company’s location in Gloucester, readying them for packaging.
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Mobjack Bay's Deadrise Blend
Most recently, the Mobjack Bay Deadrise Blend landed at the Cheese Shop in Merchant’s Square in Williamsburg.
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Hope and Zoe Warren
Sisters and co-workers Hope and Zoe Warren help package fresh coffee for customers.
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Charles Birr
Charles Birr, father of Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters owner Celeste Gucanac, is a trusted sommelier and will tell you coffee is just like wine, with regions giving beans distinct flavor and the roasting process being unique for every blend.
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Rainforest Alliance Certified
All of Mobjack Bay’s beans are certified organic and have fair trade or Mobjack Bay Coffee Rainforest Alliance certification.
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Julian timing the roast.
Celeste and Jo Gucanac’s son, Julian, carefully times Bob Anderson’s roasting process.
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Celeste and Jo Gucanac and boys
Celeste and Jo Gucanac are roasting love for the Chesapeake Bay, not only for the good of their business, but also for the waters they love.
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Jo with the kids
Jo Gucanac and their three children, Sofia, Julian and Gabriel.
Williamsburg coffee aficionados got an early Christmas present this holiday season when a new brand of coffee arrived at one of the area’s most iconic shops, the Cheese Shop in Merchants Square. The bold, robust but balanced roasts of coffee come from a local business just across the York River, where the passion of two morning people has led to some great java.
Celeste and Jo Gucanac have always been morning people, rise-and-shine types of folk. But at the heart of their up-at-dawn lifestyle lies the secret of their early pep: a hot cup of aromatic coffee.
It’s how they start their day, ruminating over the fragrant notes of the tasty bean. It was on one such morning ten years ago, or so, that the husband and wife had an epiphany about their personal and professional futures.
“We were having coffee in the morning, looking out the window “at the Chesapeake Bay,” Celeste Gucanac recalls wistfully. “We looked at each other and said to each other, ‘Let’s do coffee and give back to bay restoration.’”
And that was it: the humble beginnings of Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters. Nine years later, the former ballerina and the IT professional’s Gloucester-based business is flourishing as it closes in on its first decade.
“We’re still roasting really great coffee and we’re still loving the bay,” Celeste Gucanac says.
A Labor of Love
The Gucanacs had no idea what they were doing when they set out to create their first roast in 2007. They had no background in coffee, no connections to the industry, just a passion for the robust morning beverage and a desire to own their own business.
Celeste and Jo set out to learn everything they could about coffee: how the bean is grown, where to buy it, how to roast it, how to perfect it. Jo traveled the country meeting with other roasters to learn the art of darkening beans, while Celeste studied up on how to select the highest quality of beans.
The enticing, if not seductive, smell of coffee is a creation unto itself, one that requires planning, attention to detail, and a little science.
“The evolution of our roasting process has been one of the many enjoyable aspects of this business,” says Jo Gucanac. “As we settled into our knowledge of coffee and how each bean is unique, we were able to fine-tune our roasts to bring out the flavor and nuances that we wanted to emphasize.”
Celeste Gucanac vividly recalls the first time they got it right. It was 10 p.m. Celeste and Jo were at their shop, roasting away while their new born son slept soundly amid the whirr of the roaster. Jo dumped the freshly roasted beans into the cooling bin, and the scent that wafted up made the couple giddy. They knew they should let it sit for a few days for the flavor to come into its own. But it smelled too good to wait.
“We brewed coffee right then, and we drank it,” Celeste Gucanac says, still with a tinge of awe in her voice. “It was a big moment for us.”
Quality over Quantity
Kelsick Specialty Market was one of the first stores to carry the Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters product. The Gloucester gourmet shop was all too happy to support another local business, and that relationship continues to this day.
“It does fabulously,” says manager Megan Brockman, noting that on a chilly January Thursday the store’s Mobjack Bay coffee shelves were empty. “People love it. It’s got a huge following.”
Most recently, the coffee landed at the Cheese Shop in Merchants Square in Williamsburg. Mary Ellen Power Rogers, owner of the gourmet eatery and retail store, says the appeal of Mobjack Bay coffee is twofold. One: it comes from a local business. Two: to ensure freshness, the company will replace the coffee if it doesn’t sell quickly.
“It’s particularly nice to have a coffee that is a locally roasted coffee,” Power Rogers says, adding that offering a locally sourced, high-quality product is key to her business. “Our most important customer is the local customer.”
At the Kelsick Market, the store’s staff have been carrying the coffee for so long that they have become enthusiastic fans themselves.
“In the morning, it’s what we brew in the pot here,” Brockman says. “It’s big and bold and rich without being bitter.”
A few years ago Brockman sent a bag of Mobjack Bay’s Deadrise blend to her mother in New Mexico, for Christmas. She liked it so much that she asked her daughter to keep sending it.
“It is really great, and there’s tons of choices too,” she says.
Brockman’s perspective reflects the Gucanacs’ goal: to create artisan roasts from quality beans that come from responsible growers. All of the company’s beans are certified organic and have fair trade or Rainforest Alliance certification.
“We decided the way we purchase beans is just as important as how we roast them,” Celeste Gucanac says.
The most important part of roasting, Jo Gucanac says, is appreciating the qualities of the beans you’re working with.
“It starts with understanding that origin beans have distinct flavor profiles, much like grape varietals do,” he says. “For example, Central American coffees tend to be acidic, hitting your palate towards the front. Indonesian coffees tend to be lower in acid, hitting your palate towards the back. By combining the two origin coffees at different ratios, you can change the feel of the coffee in your mouth.”
The Deadrise blend, for example, is a dark roast, bold but balanced, that projects a French roast taste without the bitter bite. Conversely, the Mobjack Java is a medium roast, full bodied with undertones of cocoa powder and walnut but very little acidity.
“The most important factor to consider when creating a blend is that it will not appeal to everyone,” he says.
“That’s why we offer more than one.”
For the Love of the Bay
What makes Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters unique isn’t just its well-crafted coffee. The Gucanacs’ decision to earmark a portion of the business’s proceeds to go toward the restoration of Chesapeake Bay is yet another way the company stands out from the rest.
It was their love of the water and the bay that brought the couple to Gloucester in the first place, boating along the James River down to the Mobjack Bay. Their commitment to the watershed was later reinforced when a neighbor warned them not to let their children swim in bay waters because of bacterial contamination.
“That made us really sad but motivated to do something,” Celeste Gucanac says.
Since the inception of their coffee business, the Gucanacs have set aside proceeds to help clean up the bay. They’ve donated money and their own time to countless environmental initiatives, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
Celeste and Jo and even their eight-year-old son aren’t afraid to roll up their own sleeves and do the job themselves. Celeste recalls a littler pick-up the family did last year along Route 17, and other times when Jo will just go out in the bay and pull trash from the water.
“It’s not just profits; we’re also using our time to give back,” Celeste says. “We feel good that we’re out there being a part of it ourselves.”
The importance of being environmentally responsible guides the business’s philosophy.
“It is about both the ‘backyards’ of the plantations we buy from, and about our ‘own backyard,’ the bay and its watershed,” Jo says.
Future and Family
Today the Gucanacs and their children can still be found roasting at their Hayes headquarters, which also doubles as their only retail location. The kids meander through the warehouse-like-shop, watching as the roaster hums life into the beans and lounging among the burlap sacks that have traveled from Brazil or Central America or some other foreign locale. It’s definitely a family affair.
All that heart and passion has paid off. Now nearing its tenth year in business, Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters is hitting a new stride. The brand is sold in coffee houses all over Virginia and in retail locations in Richmond, the Northern Neck, the Middle Peninsula, Williamsburg, and other parts of Hampton Roads, including Tri-Star Grocery Store in Kilmarnock, Ellwood Thompson’s in Richmond, and Café by the Bay in Deltaville.
So far, the response from the Cheese Shop’s customers in Williamsburg has been good, Power Rogers says. What helps, she adds, is the rising trend among shoppers to support smaller artisanal producers.
That’s something that also matters to the Cheese Shop.
“Small producers, whether it’s a cheese maker, wine maker, or coffee roaster—their attention to quality and detail is really important to them, as it’s important to us,” Power Rogers says. “You can’t really get that same personal attention with a factory-made product.”
That detail has led to a milestone for the Gucanacs: a place on shelves at upscale grocery Whole Foods. The coffee debuted at the new Newport News location in November before becoming available at other area Whole Foods locations in February.
“Knowing our coffee is available at Whole Foods is exciting because it’s a great venue,” Jo Gucanac says, adding that being picked up by the store isn’t a validation of the beans but, rather, of his family’s business and the grocery’s commitment to sourcing locally. “Whole Foods offers products that people understand meet specific quality standards.”
The goal now is to stay the course, he says.
“We are hopeful the quality and taste of our coffees continue to transform general coffee drinkers into connoisseurs,” he says, noting that as their customer base grows, “so will our bay restoration efforts.”
Celeste remains humble about her company’s success. She’s still as passionate as ever and remains grateful to have been able to create something for herself, her family, and the community.
“We’ve never looked back,” she says. “It’s been great.”
