2024.09.24

The Art of Flavour Chasing: Chuck Herrera’s Coffee Revolution with Sanremo

Chuck Herrera, owner of GoodPeople Coffee in Santa Monica, California, is a name that commands respect in the specialty coffee world. One of the original adopters of the Sanremo Opera, Chuck has continued to push the boundaries of coffee with his dedication to excellence and consistency. From the Café Racer to the YOU and now the X-One grinder, Chuck’s journey with Sanremo is one of innovation, precision, and passion for the craft.

Chuck begins his story with gratitude: “Thank you so much for this opportunity to share our story. GoodPeople is just a coffee bar on Santa Monica Blvd, but we are what my dear friend and mentor Timothy Sweet has named ‘Flavour Chasers.’ GoodPeople has always been like that.”

Chuck’s path into coffee was unconventional but fueled by passion. “I quit my career of design and marketing to pursue what was my hobby, outlet, curiosity… coffee. I love it, all kinds—light, dark, co-fermented, washed, 2000masl, 1400masl, you get the point. My journey in the industry was met with obstacles and frustrations that made me question why I got into this industry. Simply said, I can cup consistently, I can manual brew consistently. Why BLOODY HELL can’t my shot stay consistent?!”

GoodPeople Sanremo Café Racer

This frustration led Chuck to seek out a machine that could deliver consistency, and he found it with the Sanremo Café Racer. “I first used the Café Racer on bar at The Boy & The Bear, when Sanremo North America was making noise for the first time on the West Coast. I instantly bonded with the team—likeminded professionals, or should I say Sprofessionals, that not only knew the industry was due for a shake-up but understood that consistency comes from understanding the basic laws of physics and a desire for an excellent cup time after time.”

For Chuck, consistency is the cornerstone of his business. “The way the Café Racer and the YOU have impacted our business the most is consistency. The Racer holding your individual group heads at 85°C is something more users should look into. This is pivotal for us. We started strong and consistent because of Sanremo. Seven years later, our neighborhood has five more coffee shops in the area—one being a Starbucks and another just 100 meters from our front door. You best believe we retain more regulars than anyone else. We have diehard regulars that share their horror stories from other cafés. We have truly fostered an ‘Open Feedback’ policy with our regulars. Consistency and retention of a client base is insanely important for what the market is looking like for the future in America.”

Halloween at GoodPeople

Chuck explains the feature that has had the most impact on his operations. “The feature I like most about the Café Racer is the multi-boiler setup. With my main boilers holding temp at 85°C, we’re finding amazing results staying at that temperature and even going below it. Over time, the development of the extraction goes to the sweeter side, remaining pleasant and more exciting. The YOU is so unique that we had to create a slow bar for it. We keep the YOU at 85°C as well. We use the low-pressure features to make pour-overs, teas, and high-end espressos that are pressure-profiled to the ideal extraction for each one. These are not espresso machines; these are extraction machines. This is what revolution looks like. The YOU specifically doesn’t make bad coffee. The YOU only makes good and excellent coffee.”

Chuck goes on to describe how the YOU has transformed his ability to offer more to his customers. “Specifically for us, we are high volume, and manual hand brews are not an option. It pained me for years to not offer them. Now, we can break off to the YOU and make an 8g pour-over for here that only takes 45 seconds to extract, allowing us to carry more coffees and offer more flavors to our black coffee-drinking community that keeps them coming back. We also make all our hot teas on the YOU. With the proper basket, you can extract a remarkable texture and body-forward tea in 90 seconds that will blow your mind. Taste and see.”

GoodPeople Sanremo YOU

The Café Racer and X-One grinder have allowed GoodPeople to experiment with different espresso recipes, further enhancing their flavor-chasing journey. “We dabble in multiple recipes because we use the X-One as well as pre-dose all our high-end espressos to offer anywhere from 8 to 10 espressos. This has allowed our team to truly gain knowledge of extraction and improve their palate. The main milk blend stays dialed in because our team of baristas does rest tests the correct way. They also know dialing in for just espresso is now fun. We experiment a lot with heavy pre-infusion and low temperatures for the ideal flavor-chasing experience.”

Chuck highlights one of the unexpected benefits of working with Sanremo equipment—the ease with which his team has adapted. “One of the expectations I never thought would be so easy was new hires and veteran baristas acclimating to the use of the machines. Without exaggerating, we have about 80 years of combined coffee knowledge in our team. Our coffee director has been in the industry longer than myself, and they all love how intuitive and responsive the equipment is.”

As someone deeply committed to hospitality, Chuck emphasizes that GoodPeople’s focus is on service and dedication to quality. “Our system is meeting you at the machine and grinders, then dialing in our customer for the best coffee experience possible. Hospitality, genuine service to the customer, and dedication to the perfect cup will be what sets us apart.”

In closing, Chuck shares his thoughts on the future of coffee and the role Sanremo plays in that journey. “There are coffee shops that got left in the third wave or reverted to full automation, and there are those of us who are trekking the path of the fourth wave. I cannot see that happening with another machine company, and the pioneering that Sanremo is doing is evidence that the best is yet to come.”

Related articles

Discover other Behind the Bar Stories