In Southern California, the Curtain Goes Up for Stage Right Coffee Co.Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

Beans and drums are now sharing the spotlight with strings and amps under the direction of professional guitar technician Robert Ortiz, who has launched Stage Right Coffee Co. (SRCC) in Southern California.

The company, whose whole-bean bags are labeled with stickers resembling concert tickets, is named for the position Ortiz occupies when maintaining the guitar setups for bands such as Blink 182, No Doubt and System of a Down.

“For me, they are both passion projects that have turned into businesses,” Ortiz told Daily Coffee News. “I don’t consider either ‘work’ because at the end of the day, I love what I’m doing. Both are a constant learning process and serve as creative outlets for me. They are both sensory experiences.”

Ortiz, who remains active as a studio technician and still works concerts when the opportunity is there, launched Stage Right last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the live music industry.

In coffee, the artist Ortiz has been working with is Benjamin Milczewsky, head roaster for Southern California-based Bodhi Leaf Coffee Roasters, SRCC’s sourcing and roasting partner. Over a Diedrich IR12, Milczewsky and Ortiz hone profiles with beans largely hailing from the Americas.

Stage Right Coffee Founder Robert Ortiz.

“I tend to favor Latin beans as they reflect my upbringing culturally,” Ortiz told Daily Coffee News. “I am a first-generation American, but my family is from Northern Mexico. When I share these blends and flavor profiles with coffee drinkers, I hope that they may invoke similar memories and stories within their lives, as they have for me.”

Stage Right also regularly collaborates with Ortiz’s famous rocker pals on beans and blends.

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Currently on offer is a medium-roasted bean from the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala called “Pixies — Rock Me Joe,” while another forthcoming blend is being crafted in collaboration with California band Incubus.

“[The bands] informed me of their preferred vibe and direction in regards to what they were looking for, coffee-wise,” said Ortiz. “I then put together four to five coffees that I thought they would enjoy, and shared those with the bands. Once they tried these samples, they agreed on their favorite for the collaboration.”

While these deliberations occur remotely for now, Ortiz said he looks forward to a time with more in-person coffee interactions. In fact, the original plan for Stage Right was a retail cafe, but the pandemic upended the business model.

“We chose to pivot, and out of that came the SRCC direct-to-consumer coffee brand,” said Ortiz. “We are currently working on doing some pop-up events for 2022, which will grow the brand to an even larger level and put us in a position to ideally open a brick-and-mortar shop of our own in the near future.”

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