Meet Our Lead Roaster: Timothy Carter — Crafting Excellence With Every Roast

At Bassline Coffee, our commitment to quality begins with the expertise and passion of our team. Meet Tim Carter, the person behind our exceptional coffee offerings and the champion to our commitment of excellence in every cup.

Tim is a Northern California native and entered the specialty coffee scene in 2004. Tim's coffee journey was fueled by curiosity, dedication, and an unwavering love for the craft. Tim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on roasting; understanding the nuances of coffee cultivation, detailed roasting profiles, and refined flavor descriptions. With an acute understanding of flavor profiles and roasting techniques, he orchestrates the transformation of raw green beans into the aromatic treasures that fill your cup.

But it's not just about roasting; it's also about craftsmanship. Tim meticulously oversees every step of the process, from bean selection to the final roast, ensuring that each batch meets the uncompromising standards that define Bassline Coffee. Tim sources the finest beans from sustainable and ethical sources worldwide. He forges partnerships with importers, farmers, and cooperatives that share our values, ensuring that every sip of Bassline Coffee is a testament to responsible sourcing.

With Tim at the helm of our roasting operation, you can trust that each cup of Bassline Coffee is crafted with care, expertise, and passion. Cheers to great coffee, crafted with love.

Meet Our Founder: Brad Katz — Coffee and music lover, CEO of Bassline Coffee (and Waveworks AV)

This all starts with my love for coffee and entering what's considered the "3rd wave" of coffee in the US and beyond. The 1st wave was canned coffee like Folgers and Maxwell House that had a basically infinite shelf-life. I remember downing a cup early in my life, getting ready for school and puking, nuff said. 

The 2nd wave caught me in college with Peets; I had already been assistant manager of one of the “cool cafes” in Ashland OR, and I remember a Peets popping up once on my way to the mountain. It was a regular stop for me as the flavor and intensity was huge and new. 2nd Wave meant relatively “fresh” dark roasted beans that could sit on a shelf for a month or two, but you sort of knew the region(s) they came from and maybe could start to taste the differences.

I tasted my first sip of the current 3rd wave while visiting a close friend in Portland who took me to Stumptown, which to this day, is still a favorite. I was so amazed with all the flavor in that Stumptown latte that I asked them if they knew where I could find anything comparable where I lived: the Bay Area. They told me about their friends who were starting Ritual and how they were working on opening a cafe on Valencia Street in the Mission District in SF. I had to wait patiently for a few months before they opened, but it was well worth it as they remain at the top of my “consistently good 3rd wavers” list. The 3rd wave is all about fresh, light roasted coffee where you can taste a variety of unique notes including citrus, dried fruit, and even candy. Purchasers seek out individual farms and have trained co-ops to sort and grade the beans for best profile and terroir notes.

Spending so much time at Ritual (Flora Grubb was very close to my work) talking coffee and brew methods, led me down the very long path of perfecting my own pour-over coffee techniques that brought out the best of the beans I liked. Then came home roasting for a few years to the point I usually preferred my roasts to that of the numerous professional roasters high on my list. This started me daydreaming about owning a cafe and roasting professionally down the road.

Now we come to Covid-19 squashing what I was building with my new sound company, Waveworks AV. Not that I’ve quit sound at all, but I did have a bit more free time to research and start roasting on a commercial level. So far it’s been more of a money suck than I was hoping, but I’m really happy about what we’re bringing to the table in a crowded marketplace of great coffee. There’s not a lot of roasters doing different roast levels with the flavor of what I feel are the best coffee beans available.

We are new and learning, but at the same time, can offer something for every kind of coffee lover with a truly unique cup. The reception and support our coffee's received has been overwhelmingly positive and made this pursuit worth it.  I love all the stories that coffee creates, now one of mine is creating the best cup for you. Hopefully we can enjoy it all together with maybe some coffee and music together soon too!