From Barista to Coffee Expert: Fire Dept. Coffee's Jacob Ball Brews Success

Fire Department Coffee just wrapped up our time at the Specialty Coffee Association Expo in Chicago, and it was a fantastic experience. 

We had the opportunity to meet with coffee experts and continue building new relationships for direct trade, strengthening our commitment to sourcing high-quality coffee beans. It was great catching up with friends in the coffee community and engaging with people who share our passion for coffee from farm to cup. Attending the expo is always an invaluable experience.

Our team, including founder Luke Schneider, hosted a booth at the expo where we shared our story and offered samples of our roasts. This year, our Director of Coffee, Jacob Ball, joined us for the first time as an official representative of Fire Department Coffee. Although Jacob has attended the SCA Expo multiple times, this was his first time showcasing our brand.

At Fire Department Coffee, we like to bring a touch of humor and lightheartedness to our work and about the first responder lifestyle, as those who follow us on social media know. However, our core mission remains to support sick or injured first responders. It all starts with our dedication to roasting exceptional coffee because our customers deserve nothing less.

Jacob plays a vital role in achieving this goal.

“The taste speaks for itself,” he said. “We’re a humorous brand but if you don’t have a good coffee behind it, people are only going to try it once and move on. We have to make sure the taste is there for people to stick around.”

An Expertly Trained Palette to Guide Our Amazing Roasts

A Rockford, Illinois, native, Jacob Ball had already begun a career in coffee when he met FDC’s former Chief Roaster Dave McWilliams in 2015.

Fire Department Coffee is a proud member of the Specialty Coffee Association, where Jacob also took classes and eventually became a trainer. He took trips to the great coffee-producing nations — Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil — to visit farms and taste coffees. He earned his Q Grader Certification, which was awarded by the Coffee Quality Institute. It signifies expertise in sensory evaluation of coffee, specifically green, unroasted coffee beans.

“I love the depth of flavors,” he said. “Coffee can be so complex. It has more flavor components than wine.”

Jacob joined Fire Dept. Coffee in 2019, initially to help out during a particularly busy period. But he fit right in and quickly demonstrated his value to the team. Now, as our Director of Coffee, his expertise plays a major role in helping us maintain the rich, delicious, and creative roasts we’ve become known for.

He’s got his everyday favorites — Original Medium Roast and Donut Shop — but he gets particularly excited about the ever-changing variety of roasts that we create for our Coffee of the Month Club, Fire Dept. Coffee Club and Spirit Infused Coffee Club.

“We can really express our creativity with our monthly coffees because we’re changing them every month,” he said. “It starts with brainstorming, figuring out a few different ideas, and sourcing ingredients to try them out.”

Black Cherry Bourbon Infused Coffee, for example, became one of FDC’s most popular roasts ever. But, as Jacob remembers, it wasn’t until they had tasted eight different variations of the roast that they settled on a winner.

He especially likes the Coffee of the Month Club because it gives him a chance to engage with extraordinary coffee from some of the world’s premier coffee regions. It’s a challenge to find the perfect coffee that will resonate with the men and women who love Fire Dept. Coffee.

“We’re looking for balance,” he said. “We tend to go for balanced, sweet coffees with hints of milk chocolate. We’re looking for high-end blends that the everyday coffee drinker will love.”

Ready to Explore New Coffee Horizons

If you run into Jacob at an event, you can bet he’s ready to talk coffee.

He’ll tell you about his favorite roasts and what’s next for Fire Dept. Coffee — including our exciting Fair Share Initiative, as featured in Forbes, to help the small farmers who work tirelessly to produce exceptional beans that give life to the beverage that gives us life. He may even hint at some of the many exciting things that lie ahead for Fire Dept. Coffee.

Jacob, as always, will play a pivotal role in developing our roasts. And he’s vital to our efforts to be a champion for the coffee industry and a resource for coffee lovers. We’re here to bring the coffee community together, and we can’t wait to share more of our plans.

Most of all, when you meet Jacob, you’ll see a man who loves coffee, loves talking about coffee, and loves Fire Dept. Coffee.

We’re so grateful to have him on the team and to tap into his expertise day after day to produce the roasts that we are so privileged to share with each of you.

We’re so grateful to have him on the team and to tap into his expertise day after day to produce the roasts that we are so privileged to share with each of you.