When pulling teeth for a living got to be too much for Matthew Jung-Quillen, the former dentist flipped a 180 and made a place for himself in the world of specialty coffee. After winning a contest that would see him spending hours cupping and sample roasting with barista championย and Blue Bottle Coffee green coffee buyer Charlie Habegger, Quillen would soon be inspired enough to end up in opposite parts of the world chasing his new passionโfrom Rwandaโs coffee washing stations to the 2016 United States Barista Championshipย in Atlanta to, currently, the sprawled out urban jungle of Los Angeles.
Fueled by caffeine and a simple, honest passion for learning coffee, the humble, busy Jung-Quillenย is currently the owner of Cameo Coffee Brewers, a traveling pop-up pour-over station for LAโs local retail boutiques, the Director of Coffee at LAโs fine dining masterpiece Destroyer, and โMaster of Projectsโ for Coffee Manufactory. Quillen craves the act of juggling projects and somehow found time to sit down with Sprudge before hosting yet another Cameoย pop-up at theย Tanner Goods leather boutique in Downtown Los Angeles.
Matthew, thank you for taking a moment to speak with us. Let’s go to the beginning: how did you get your start in coffee?
Matthew Jung-Quillen: Oh man, I have kind of a weird story. Iโm not the typical coffee professional that started off as a barista when they were a teenager. I actually grew up in South Brooklyn, New York and moved into the city after high school. I drank a lot of coffee in college andย Iโm actually a trained dentist and I practiced dentistry out here [in LA] for about seven and a half years. I learned a little bit about coffee through the route of necessity. After I moved to LA in 2008, I used to hang out with some friends that were working in food and beverage and we used to do coffee things on the weekends. One of the first things, kind of inspirational personalities, was Charlie Habegger. He would invite me to do cuppings and sample roasting on the weekends. Second was probably Devin Chapman, who I met a few years ago, and met and connected based on a mutual love for a band in Portland called Pure Bathing Culture. I started helping him out with some coffee stuff, which is when he first transitioned from Portland to LA for Verve. Long story short, I ended up being his competition coach in 2015.
How did you go from helping Charlie out to suddenly being a coach in 2015?
I think it was a matter of sticking my nose into a lot of places. I was really blessed that people were open to having someone thatโs kind of a stranger to specialty coffee kind of hang out and teach. I think they knew I was approaching it in a real way and my life didnโt depend on specialty coffee. That year was huge in just my personal training. It was really rigorous but I loved it. We were up till one or two in the morning, five or six days a week at the Verve training lab. That really opened my eyes to specialty coffee. Meeting everyone from around the country and realizing it was a tight-knit group that knew specialty coffee. Itโs just led me on this path of exploration but really pushing boundaries/opportunities that presented themselves.
What is Cameo Coffee Brewers and how did you come up with the idea?
I knew I wanted to have a coffee family, andย I ended up just doing this coffee pop-up. A lot of my friends that Iโve met that work for different roasters are always sending me coffee. Itโs really gracious of them. But I found that I would have too much coffeeโI would cup or brew some of the coffee and have too much left over. Cameo kind of evolved from this idea and it was meant to just be cameo pop-ups at different locations that arenโt food-related, and also bring in my friends’ coffee to brew with me, thus the Cameo name. I reached out to a few brands that I really love here in LA that I knew didnโt have beverages inside just to see what they thought, and got some really great responses from companies like Shinolaย andย Poketo. Long story short, I put the pop-up in a few places that I frequented or shopped myself and ended up doing it at Pine & Crane, and then Tanner Goods, thatโs why weโre here today, is because they’ve beenย super, overwhelmingly supportive. It [serves]ย to engage with these brands but also present coffee in a way thatโs really approachable to people that just might be shopping that day. I try not to get into these crazy tasting notes and origins, and really keep it simple. Just introduce them to coffees that they might not see otherwise around LA.
How did you get involved with your current projects with Tartine and Destroyer, and how the heck are you doing three jobs at the same time?
Iโm just so passionate about it. Itโs easy to work hard when youโre pursuing something you really enjoy with people that you respect and enjoy being with. Thatโs probably the difference between dentistry and what Iโm doing now. I loved my staff and I loved the people I work with, but for me personally it wasnโt expanding all of my areas and all that interests me. Destroyer evolved from a relationship. This summer, as Destroyer was becoming a real thing they were about to open, [owner] Jordan Kahn, a friend, just approached our team and asked me if I would be able to help with this project going on. As soon as I heard it was Jordanโs project I was like, โAbsolutely. Iโll work three different jobs at the same time. Itโs fine. Itโs not a big deal.โ For me, it was an opportunity to work with someone that I think truly is going to change the culinary scene in Los Angeles.
Tartine Coffee Manufactory evolved when I came back from [a coffee trip to] Rwanda. I was doing a pop-up and looking for the next step in what I was gonna do with coffee. As Coffee Manufactory formed, they reached out this summer and were like, “Hey, weโd love to have you as part of the team.” I was honored. They are people I would sweep floors with because theyโre good friends.
What makes you most passionate about coffee?
I think itโs wonderful that coffee as a product really connects the world in an amazing way. I think it has stories that are never-ending, and the people on our end of it are really amazing and talented. I think the people here in Los Angeles, no matter what their role is, no matter what company, have a common ground. Weโre all working to produce something that can change someoneโs day. Itโs already changed other peopleโs lives around the world and I think thatโs an important connection.
Katrina Yentch is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. Read more Katrina Yentch on Sprudge.