Meet Alex at Morning Mixer, every Friday morning on the Artpace rooftop. Morning Mixer is a partnership with our friends at Estate Coffee Company. Artpace members get 10% off their coffee!
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Alex Dyck, proud parent of two wonderful cats, Fiona and Luna, and one amazing dog, Jenks. While, I am originally from southern California, I have lived in San Antonio for most of my life. I took a short excursion up to Massachusetts for college but along the way I also picked up a passion for coffee. After a few too many caffeine-fueled cram sessions, I started roasting coffee out of my dorm as an escape from the cafeteria batch brew. Over the summer breaks I interned over at Brown Coffee Company as a production roaster learning the ins-and-outs of specialty coffee. Later, I joined Brian at Estate Coffee Company as the shop’s Head Roaster.
What was your best coffee design?
My best latte art design was probably a pretty killer swan, but I definitely have a lot of room to improve when it comes to latte art.
What do you like most about San Antonio & the San Antonio art scene?
While art has never been my fortë, I appreciate San Antonio’s art scene for its focus representing indigenous art and the support it provides for local artists.
What’s your favorite type of coffee?
I love Ethiopian heirloom varietals of coffee with their tea-like body and intense floral, citrus, and stone fruit notes. Otherwise, more often than not you will find me drinking a cappuccino.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve mixed into a coffee?
I have mixed quite a number of things into coffee in order to expand our drink menu at Estate Coffee Company, but I think the one that was most surprising was steamed orange juice. It was not too bad, but not good enough to be appearing on our menu any time soon.
What’s your best or earliest coffee memory?
My favorite coffee memory was back in college when I got my hands on a minuscule amount of Panama Gesha coffee. I roasted the coffee out of my little air popcorn popper and some how did not completely ruin it. I made a pour- over the next day, which I split with my partner. The resulting cup of coffee changed my entire perception on what coffee could taste like. It still remains the best cup of coffee I have ever had, and the cup that I chase to this day.
