Paul Gilles, Vice President of Operations
paul@portlandroasting.com
Paul Gilles, lawyer turned entrepreneur, joined Portland Roasting after opening a specialty coffee chain in Fukuoka, Japan – the first of its kind in that city. As co-owner of Rosarian Coffee Company and president of East Meets West Company, he gained a thorough understanding of Japanese business and social practices and became fluent in conversational Japanese.
Paul’s role as Vice President of Operations allows him to use his international business management experience to oversee production, customer service, human resources, risk management, international business development and general administration duties at PRC.
Paul Gilles, lawyer turned entrepreneur, joined Portland Roasting after opening a specialty coffee chain in Fukuoka, Japan – the first of its kind in that city. As co-owner of Rosarian Coffee Company and president of East Meets West Company, he gained a thorough understanding of Japanese business and social practices and became fluent in conversational Japanese.
Paul’s role as Vice President of Operations allows him to use his international business management experience to oversee production, customer service, human resources, risk management, international business development and general administration duties at PRC.
Andres Castro, Quality Control Engineer
andres@portlandroasting.com
Andres Castro came to Portland Roasting Company via Bogotá, Colombia, as an intern from the University of Washington, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship. During his tenure at Portland Roasting Coffee, he has created, implemented and directed a coffee quality control system; researched, tested and wrote the Quality Control Manual; and developed and ran a coffee-tasting program for employees and key customers – among his other myriad of other duties. He became an invaluable part of the team.
Andres manages Portland Roasting’s green coffee buying and quality control systems. His specific responsibilities include tracking coffee usage and inventory, arranging and tracking pre-shipment samples, organizing, scheduling and analyzing coffee tastings while at the same time working with the purchasing manager to get coffee ordered. Finally, he is responsible for analyzing the coffee commodity market in order to predict timing of coffee purchases.
Andres Castro came to Portland Roasting Company via Bogotá, Colombia, as an intern from the University of Washington, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship. During his tenure at Portland Roasting Coffee, he has created, implemented and directed a coffee quality control system; researched, tested and wrote the Quality Control Manual; and developed and ran a coffee-tasting program for employees and key customers – among his other myriad of other duties. He became an invaluable part of the team.
Andres manages Portland Roasting’s green coffee buying and quality control systems. His specific responsibilities include tracking coffee usage and inventory, arranging and tracking pre-shipment samples, organizing, scheduling and analyzing coffee tastings while at the same time working with the purchasing manager to get coffee ordered. Finally, he is responsible for analyzing the coffee commodity market in order to predict timing of coffee purchases.
Yeshi Tharchen, Production Manager
yeshi@portlandroasting.com
Yeshi comes to Portland Roasting via a long road, all the way from New Delhi, India. A Tibetan, Yeshi received his primary education in New Delhi where his family had emigrated to. He eventually earned advanced degrees in computer graphics and multimedia from the American Institute of Technology. His first job after college was assistant administrator at a Buddhist Monastic School. Here, his duties were wide-ranging and included accounting duties, preparing student reports, communicating with international school sponsors and teaching English to the monks. Another job took him to the movie industry where he worked as a production supervisor on a film called “We Are No Monks.”
His work history bodes well for his role as Production Manager at Portland Roasting, where Yeshi wears a lot of hats in his daily quest to make sure the proverbial trains run on time. His earlier positions at Portland Roasting as a production worker and production supervisor provided ample opportunity to learn how to run equipment and roast beans and to observe a smoothly functioning production line and warehouse operation.
When not overseeing the production line at Portland Roasting, Yeshi spends time with his wife, surfs the web, watches movies, plays guitar or listens to music. Occasionally, a home project will draw his attention as well.
Yeshi comes to Portland Roasting via a long road, all the way from New Delhi, India. A Tibetan, Yeshi received his primary education in New Delhi where his family had emigrated to. He eventually earned advanced degrees in computer graphics and multimedia from the American Institute of Technology. His first job after college was assistant administrator at a Buddhist Monastic School. Here, his duties were wide-ranging and included accounting duties, preparing student reports, communicating with international school sponsors and teaching English to the monks. Another job took him to the movie industry where he worked as a production supervisor on a film called “We Are No Monks.”
His work history bodes well for his role as Production Manager at Portland Roasting, where Yeshi wears a lot of hats in his daily quest to make sure the proverbial trains run on time. His earlier positions at Portland Roasting as a production worker and production supervisor provided ample opportunity to learn how to run equipment and roast beans and to observe a smoothly functioning production line and warehouse operation.
When not overseeing the production line at Portland Roasting, Yeshi spends time with his wife, surfs the web, watches movies, plays guitar or listens to music. Occasionally, a home project will draw his attention as well.
Ryan Johnson, Roaster
ryan@portlandroasting.comEclectic best sums up Ryan Johnson, a
member of Portland Roasting Coffee’s roasting team. An artist by
avocation, Ryan’s colorful resumé lists previous jobs as
community organizer, custom picture framer, carpenter, even a short stint
as a barista.
Ryan started his career at Portland Roasting in production. He then dabbled in deliveries, and now splits time between roasting duties and production. A big coffee fan to begin with, his time at Portland Roasting has deepened his knowledge of coffee, particularly the global impact of coffee and the efforts it takes to bring greater justice to the growing communities. This has only fired up his passion to learn more. To that end, he has his sights set on taking a trip to a Farm Friendly Direct farm. Closer to home, his aim is to excel at the craft of roasting and cupping.
Straight-up double ristretto shots are a favorite for this self-described “Okie,” who migrated west from Oklahoma. He lives with his wife Elizabeth, and 4-year-old daughter, Nora. She is kept company by a chihuahua named Rosa and two cats. Ryan bikes “everywhere” and listens to copious amounts of music but not at the same time. He has also been known to DJ an event here and there.
Ryan started his career at Portland Roasting in production. He then dabbled in deliveries, and now splits time between roasting duties and production. A big coffee fan to begin with, his time at Portland Roasting has deepened his knowledge of coffee, particularly the global impact of coffee and the efforts it takes to bring greater justice to the growing communities. This has only fired up his passion to learn more. To that end, he has his sights set on taking a trip to a Farm Friendly Direct farm. Closer to home, his aim is to excel at the craft of roasting and cupping.
Straight-up double ristretto shots are a favorite for this self-described “Okie,” who migrated west from Oklahoma. He lives with his wife Elizabeth, and 4-year-old daughter, Nora. She is kept company by a chihuahua named Rosa and two cats. Ryan bikes “everywhere” and listens to copious amounts of music but not at the same time. He has also been known to DJ an event here and there.
Ed Bert, Lead Roaster
ed@portlandroasting.comA Pacific Northwest native and longtime
coffee drinker, Ed began his roasting career after an eye-opening trip to
Papua New Guinea to visit the coffee farm of the Kinjibi Tribe. He saw for
the first time the agricultural process behind a product that, prior to his
trip, he considered nothing more than a commodity purchased from his local
grocer. He was struck by the entire community’s dependence on the
success of the crop for their survival and the stark disparity between the
wages of the grower versus the retail cost of goods.
Ed returned to that states focused on becoming a positive part of the supply chain and found what he was looking for at Portland Roasting and their Farm Friendly Direct program. He worked his way up to lead roaster and now divides his time between roasting, green bean warehouse management, quality control, and coffee cuppings. His favorite part of the job is assisting purchasing by organizing in-house tastings and cupping coffees from around the world that fit Portland Roasting’s profile, including beans from Papua New Guinea, where his journey began.
When not creating the perfect blend, Ed spends his time disk golfing, leading his wiffle ball team to victory, and drinking good Oregon beer.
Ed returned to that states focused on becoming a positive part of the supply chain and found what he was looking for at Portland Roasting and their Farm Friendly Direct program. He worked his way up to lead roaster and now divides his time between roasting, green bean warehouse management, quality control, and coffee cuppings. His favorite part of the job is assisting purchasing by organizing in-house tastings and cupping coffees from around the world that fit Portland Roasting’s profile, including beans from Papua New Guinea, where his journey began.
When not creating the perfect blend, Ed spends his time disk golfing, leading his wiffle ball team to victory, and drinking good Oregon beer.
