“The experience which made me realized I wanted to be a coffee professional, was the first time my roasting profiles succeeded in extracting radical flavors from all the single origin coffees I had. I realized that’s what I wanted to do, what I still do today, find so challenging and exciting--being able to taste such different flavors in coffees from all around the world. In addition, there’s the delight of people sharing the joy of something that I’ve made, consuming coffee I’ve just roasted!”
Charlie was born in San Francisco and grew up in Saint Helena. He graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in sociology and went on to be a commercial film editor based in Santa Monica. He won a Mobius award for a recruitment campaign for the Los Angeles Police Department. He served in The National Guard for six years as an 11B. Charlie’s father, Leon Sange, co- founded The Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company in 1985; when Leon’s health began failing, Charlie moved home to St. Helena to help with the business. “Taking care of him meant taking on the Company and now, along with my mother and brother, it’s evolved into a family business. It’s been an amazing blessing,” he explains. “We get spoiled living in the Napa Valley,” Charlie says. “It’s a place that celebrates good food and wine and spirits and beer. Everyone takes time to enjoy his palate! We wouldn’t be as successful in other parts of country that don’t share the Valley’s celebration of these things,” he says.
Ryan Heitz, Napa Store Manager
“My pivotal coffee moment, the experience which made me realized I wanted to be a coffee professional, was when I first became interested in coffee roasting. I started making espresso drinks for my folks when I was ten years old. They bought a new machine and needed something to keep the early rising child busy, so I was paid two bits a latte.” As a young man, Ryan worked at The Roasting Company while he also worked in the food world. “I had thought about being a chef and began working on the side as a catering cook. The more I was drawn into the culinary world the more I was drawn back to coffee. Wine can have tens of thousands of possible flavor combinations where as coffee can have hundreds of thousands. When I finally began roasting coffee I knew that I would always have a love of gourmet coffee. The churn of the roaster, the sweet smell of the smoke, the heat radiating from the cooling beans, and the farm five thousand miles away are all present in my mind with every sip of joe.
In my years at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, I see that coffee has really begun to receive the praise that it warrants. In the Napa Valley, with so much emphasis on food and wine, it’s only right to bring in great coffees from around the world and experiment with them until every roast offers a unique palate experience. I am very happy to see all the industry growth outside of the traditional coffee hotspots like San Francisco and Seattle.
At The Roasting Company, we are distinctive because we are a small family run business that focuses on producing the best possible product and in the process we are continuously learn to raise the bar higher and higher.”
Ryan is an avid chef when not roasting coffee. “I love cooking and have always been a huge fan of BBQ. If it walked, swam, or flew I’ll grill it up!”
Doug Dunlap, General Manager
“My pivotal coffee moment, the experience which made me realize I wanted to be a coffee professional, was when I went to a three day training seminar about coffee in Long Beach in 2007. I was amazed with the amount of people, classes, new products and equipment. It was then that I realized this is a huge part of the world economy and a fascinating industry to be working in. I communicated with people who were recently involved with the coffee industry and connected with long time acquaintances within the industry.”
Doug was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon and grew up in St. Helena. He served in the United States Army Reserve for eight years. His tour included serving on a funeral detail which traveled around the South providing honor guard service for fallen soldiers’ services.
Doug loves to garden and cook. One of his favorite kitchen tools is his slow cooker: “I love to cook beef stew with the slow cooker; there is something to be said about waiting and being patient for your food!”
“In my fourteen years at The Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, I see that coffee is a delicate commodity that requires attention to detail, from harvesting a coffee bean that is hand-picked off the tree to roasting in small batches ensuring one end of the roasted coffee is as perfect as the other end. Medical studies have shown that coffee can possibly lower the risk of diabetes, protect the liver, relieve muscle pain associated with exercise and is a good source of fiber, a great source of antioxidants. Coffee certainly gives you energy and puts you in a good mood.
At the Roasting Company, we are distinctive because we specialize in small batch roasting which improves the final roasted coffee product. Roasting in larger quantities risks one part of the coffee being roasted darker than the other: imagine if you put every piece of clothing you own in the dryer to get dry at the same time---that would be impossible, right?!”
Nancy N. Haynes, President/CEO
“My pivotal coffee moment, the experience which made me realize I wanted to be a coffee professional, was my first cupping at Royal Coffee, in 2004, where I could see how everything I’d learned in the fine wine business fit into everything I was learning about the specialty coffee world
In my years at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, I see that sharing coffee can create community. The coffee business, from growers to importers to roasters to retailers, is populated by committed families, who pass on their passion for the product.
At The Roasting Company, we are distinctive because we are on our second generation of family participation, with a third coming along, and because all of us look forward to coming to work in the morning and, especially, to our first cups of coffee in the morning!”
Nancy was born in Palo Alto, California. She grew up in San Carlos and graduated from Mills College with a degree in American History. Nancy is a busy wife, mother, grandmother, razor scooter enthusiast, navigator for her husband’s plane and an avid bridge and Scrabble player. She has been very active in the community, serving or having served on the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce Governmental Relations Committee, the St. Helena Public Library Board, the American Red Cross Board. Nancy has also been a volunteer in the St. Helena public schools and she’s also assisted in fundraising for the San Francisco Symphony and the Oakland Symphony.
In the kitchen, she’s known for her maple pumpkin pots de crème at Thanksgiving. On her radar is returning to Paris, one of her favorite places in the world.
Photos by Jim Randall Darter
