Markus' Story
Markus's journey into coffee really started around 2015. That year alone, he spent over $1,000 on espresso shots because he couldn’t understand why there was so much inconsistency from one shot to another. That curiosity led him to fresh-roasted coffee and how much roast date mattered. The problem was that consistently finding coffee roasted within a few weeks wasn’t always easy, so eventually he thought: maybe he could do this himself.
BlackMan Roasting Company
In 2019, he started roasting coffee in a popcorn maker after seeing someone do it on YouTube. To his surprise, it worked. He used that for about six months before moving to a Fresh Roast SR540 during the pandemic. As he increased his capacity, he started sharing coffee with friends. They kept telling him how good it was, and in 2021, he decided to officially start BlackMan Roasting Company.
Initially, the idea behind the company was pretty simple: provide fresh coffee for his friends—and selfishly, make sure he always had fresh coffee for himself. Espresso was still his main obsession, but as more people began asking him for different roast styles, he realized he needed much more control over the roasting process.
Unlocking Flavor with the Bullet
He purchased his Aillio Bullet in May 2024, and that changed what he was able to offer. Instead of focusing primarily on espresso, he could consistently develop sweeter medium roasts, fruit-forward coffees, and lighter roast styles. By August, he had really hit the ground running with retail bags, farmers markets, and coffee cart pop-ups.
Then in December 2024, he created The Coffee Experience™.
He realized a lot of people simply didn’t know how many different flavors coffee could naturally have. He wanted to teach that without the intimidation that can sometimes come with specialty coffee.
"Nobody should feel stupid because they don’t know something about coffee. The Experience is supposed to be educational, interactive, and fun."
From Garages to Google and the NFL
That idea has taken him places he never planned for. One of his earliest Experiences was at Redpoint Ventures, an American venture capital firm. His third was literally in someone’s garage.
But at that garage Experience, one of the ten guests happened to lead the San Francisco 49ers Foundation, which eventually led to an Experience with their team at Chase Center. Since then, he’s had opportunities to share his coffee and knowledge with multiple organizations, including Workday, Amazon, and Google.
The Bullet has been a huge part of making that possible. It gives him the consistency he needs for retail while also giving him the freedom to experiment for The Coffee Experience. He’s hosted 12 Experiences since December 2024, and no two have featured the exact same five-coffee lineup.
No Judgment, Just Fresh Coffee
Markus doesn’t have a predetermined destination in mind for BlackMan Roasting. He just wants to keep growing, roasting great coffee, and educating people.
"When someone leaves The Coffee Experience, I want them thinking, ‘I didn’t know black coffee could taste that good.’ They can go home and add milk. They can drink Folgers. There’s no judgment. But now they know what fresh coffee can taste like."