I learned about coffee as an agricultural product and commodity, about how the lives of growers are impacted … I became obsessed with the idea of working directly with producers, paying better prices and rewarding them for their work.” I had been doing fair trade–certified coffee. “I had a shop for three and half years leading up to Madcap. “A lot of decisions we made came from a lot of experience in the past,” Corlett says. We were so excited about sharing our story of coffee and how our coffee was different, how we were working with producers … we didn’t want people killing our coffee with milk.”īut passion, for an entrepreneur, paves the road to excellence. The two were so passionate about the quality of their product that he admits, “we were unapproachable to people initially. “We were really intense about how we served the product,” Corlett says, noting they poured coffee in nothing larger than 12-ounce cups and frowned upon milk, sugar and other additions. Hospitality, roasting top-tier coffee and providing a “truly differentiated” customer experience were top of mind when the cafe opened, just before the city’s downtown rejuvenation. With their Grand Rapids storefront, Corlett and Knapp were anxious to share their story of coffee with customers. Knapp focused on roasting and sourcing beans, while Corlett managed retail operations and business development. They operated their roastery in the basement. He partnered with one of his former employees, Ryan Knapp, and opened Madcap Coffee in the first block of Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids in 2008.

I wasn’t giving up on my dream of a coffee shop anytime soon.” “All the coffee concepts were slightly different and I tried to build off my mistakes and learn lessons in each instance. “I’m very much entrepreneurial at heart,” says Corlett, who went on to become a board member of the Specialty Coffee Association and chair of the Barista Guild of America. Over the next three years, Corlett’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to try various retail concepts of his own (including a drive-through cafe and roastery) before returning to Grand Rapids. His coffee experience intensified with a startup shop in Indianapolis. “I went from studying computers to having a strong dream of starting my own coffee shop.” “I fell in love with coffee-shop culture while I was in college,” recalls Corlett, a Chicago-area native who attended Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids. Madcap also has become the exclusive coffee supplier for Brew, a popular coffeehouse in downtown Traverse City.

Today, Madcap runs its roastery and two cafes in Grand Rapids, as well as one in Detroit, and one in our own backyard in Northern Michigan-Madcap Coffee arrives in Leelanau County this summer, opening a cafe in Leland in the former Blue Boat Coffee space on Main Street. They play a role in the taste and flavor potential of each type of coffee, a profile Madcap helps unlock during the roasting process.Īnd it’s the story of Corlett and his journey from an undergrad student to roaster, barista specialty coffee educator and business owner. Not only is the quality of beans detectable, but so is the uniqueness of terroir-the soil, the climate and topography of place. It’s a story you can taste in every cup poured at one of the company’s three cafes in Michigan, whether it’s a blend from Rwanda and Ethiopia or solely from a mountainous region of El Salvador. Founder and co-CEO Trevor Corlett and his team have cultivated relationships with small farmers around the globe, seeking out the best possible beans and paying fair wages for their selection. One that begins with coffee growers in remote lands far from its roasting plant and home base in Grand Rapids.

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