Most, if not all of us know an offshore worker, whether it be a family member or a friend of a friend.
Like any job, it has its perks and downsides. For Huntly’s Tony Livingstone, one of the issues is the coffee.
“The coffee we have access to isn’t the greatest tasting,” says the 54-year-old.
“So to that end, I started to research into how coffee was produced and made.”
This was a huge influence in Tony becoming the owner of his own business, known as Neptunes Coffee.
Let’s take a look at his journey…
From a popcorn roaster to launching a fully fledged Huntly coffee business
Tony spent “a few months procrastinating” about how to start his company.
He then bought a popcorn roaster and beans and enjoyed the process and the results.
“Very soon after that I purchased a proper roasting setup and went from there,” he adds.
“I liked the thought of being able to produce my own great-tasting coffee. And then having the means to share the results with the wider world, thus Neptunes Coffee was born.”
Before launching Neptunes Coffee last April, Tony had absolutely no experience in the food and drink industry.
He runs it alongside his wife Kate – referred to as “chief taster” by Tony – at their Huntly home. Roughly four hours are spent roasting per week.
‘The orders and good reviews are coming in,’ says Tony, whose coffee is as strong as his determination
Neptunes Coffee sells beans and ground coffee that have been roasted to levels known as city, Viennese and dark.
They are available in bags of 125g, 250g, 500g, 750g and 1kg.
Tony said: “I like the Honduran beans roasted to the Viennese roast for the smooth, creamy and flavoursome taste.
“All raw coffee beans are from Falcon Speciality Coffee, who ethically source all the beans they sell, and the bags themselves come from the bag broker, which are fully recyclable.”
The business’ range can be found on the Neptunes Coffee website as well as in Insch’s The Butterfly Effect and The Ethical Shop in Huntly.
It is hoped to be stocked in Portsoy’s The Gift Box soon, too.
The only way is up for Neptunes Coffee
In terms of what Tony has loved most about running the business, he said: “The whole experience so far, from the conception of the idea and the orders coming in to the good reviews for something that I’ve produced.
“I’d love to expand more and upgrade to bigger premises and get a few restaurants and/or chains using my coffee, along with supplying the vessels that I work on currently with my fine coffee.”
Neptunes Coffee is currently a part-time business due to Tony continuing his work as a saturation diver offshore.
However, he went on to say: “Hopefully [Neptunes Coffee] will take off in the next few years or so, so that I can stay on dry land.”
Conversation