Kerry Sachs was standing on a veranda in the Andes when it hit him.
He had just spent weeks with the Andean farmers learning their roasting secret — a slow, precise method passed down through generations that produced coffee unlike anything he had ever tasted. Smooth. Rich. Warm. Deep. No bitterness. No burn. The kind of coffee that made you close your eyes on the first sip.
He understood the problem. If you tried to roast this way in the United States — slow, patient, at precise temperature and pressure conditions — you could never compete in the market. The energy cost alone would make it commercially impossible. Every roaster who had tried had faced the same wall.
And then it hit him like a wave.
He had already built the solution. Years before he ever set foot in Venezuela. Years before he ever tasted that espresso. His biomass furnace — operating at above 95% efficiency — was the exact tool needed to roast coffee the traditional way at commercial scale. He had been carrying the answer with him the entire time.
It was a perfect marriage. An ancient roasting tradition perfected over generations in the Andes. And a revolutionary biomass furnace so efficient it could power towns. Two completely separate inventions. Two completely separate journeys. Colliding in one man, in one moment, on one mountain.
Kerry got to work immediately. He built the first roaster — engineered around his biomass furnace, calibrated to replicate the specific time, temperature, and pressure conditions the Andean farmers had perfected over generations. No additives. No chemicals. No shortcuts. Just roasting, done right, at commercial scale for the very first time.
The coffee that came out was unlike anything he had tasted since that veranda in Venezuela. Smooth. Rich. Full flavored. No bitterness. No harsh burn at the back of the throat. No need for cream or sugar to make it drinkable. Just coffee — pure, complex, and completely alive — the way it was always meant to taste.
Kerry packaged it carefully and shipped it to his brother in the United States.
Jim Sachs opened the package, brewed the coffee, and took a sip.
He put the cup down and said seven words:
The Words That Started Everything
“That’s the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.”
— Jim Sachs, 1994
Kerry had the invention. Jim had the vision.
He saw immediately what this coffee could mean — not just as a product, but as a movement. He understood that every American who had ever watered down their coffee, masked it with milk and sugar, or simply given it up because it hurt their stomach had never actually tasted real coffee. They had only ever tasted what the Industrial Revolution left behind.
Jim knew how to change that. How to package it. How to tell the story. How to build a business model around the most extraordinary cup of coffee either of them had ever tasted. Kerry had created the idea and the technology. Jim would turn it into a brand.
In 1994, Kerry Sachs and Jim Sachs founded Puroast Coffee.
They started small. Jim and Kerry headed to California — the natural home for people who cared about what they put in their bodies. Their first sales were through health food co-ops, communities where people already read labels and asked questions and refused to accept the ordinary.
The coffee found its audience immediately. People tasted it and understood. No explanation needed. Just the cup. Just the flavor. Just the feeling of drinking coffee the way it was always supposed to taste.
And then something completely unexpected started happening.
The letters started arriving. Before email. Handwritten. Mailed. Dozens, then hundreds of them — all telling the same story.
“I had to give up coffee because of my stomach. With Puroast, I can drink it again. This coffee changed my life.”
Hundreds of letters. All the same story. This was more than flavor. Something deeper was happening — something Kerry and Jim had never even set out to create.
That question would send them back to UC Davis. And to a world-renowned coffee scientist who was certain he already had all the answers.
He was about to be very surprised.
Taste What Started It All
The original. Patented. UC Davis verified. The coffee that started a revolution.
Puroast was founded in 1994 by Kerry Sachs and Jim Sachs. Kerry invented the biomass furnace and discovered traditional Andean roasting in Venezuela. Jim tasted the first roast and had the vision to brand it, package it, and bring it to the United States.
Jim Sachs tasted Kerry's first roast and said: “That's the best cup of coffee I've ever had.” Those seven words launched Puroast Coffee in 1994.
California's health food co-op community was the natural first market — people who already cared deeply about what they put in their bodies. Those early co-op customers were the first to recognize that Puroast was something different. And then the letters started arriving.
Kerry's furnace operated at above 95% efficiency — far beyond anything available to commercial roasters. That efficiency meant he could replicate the slow, precise, energy-intensive roasting conditions the Andean farmers had perfected over generations, and still compete commercially. No one else could do it. That's what made Puroast possible.
Hundreds of handwritten letters arrived from California co-op customers — all telling the same story. People who had given up coffee because of stomach issues could suddenly drink it again. This was more than great taste. Something scientifically significant was happening — and that question sent Kerry and Jim back to UC Davis.
Sources: UC Davis Government Feasibility Study — Biomass Furnace Efficiency. Shibamoto T. et al. (2009). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. National Coffee Association — History of Coffee.
Medical Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you have a medical condition, consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes.
