A passion for coffee
For years, industrial engineer Alexander Gourguis was responsible for the optimisation of work processes. How did he find his vocation in coffee? Accompanied by photographer Manuel Nieberle, we visited Gourguis' roasting plant Purschwarz in Wiggensbach to find out.
"I'm happy every day that I had the opportunity to turn my passion into my profession."
Alexander Gourguis
Gourguis' passion was ignited on a city trip to Berlin in 2013. At breakfast in the restaurant, the barista recommended a coffee from Panama, and the matter of its preparation overwhelmed Gourguis. "Up to that moment, I simply enjoyed coffee, but nothing more." The new taste experience inspired him to plunge deeper into the world of coffee.
A part-time job at the Weber coffee factory in Kempten subsequently helped Gourguis gain initial experience with roasting. In his own small "experimental laboratory" he started to test different ways of coffee preparation and became ever more enthusiastic about it. In 2016 one thing led to another, and Gourguis purchased a used drum roaster. While looking for a suitable place to store it, a friend told him about a warehouse in the local commercial area. The desire to open his own coffee roasting plant drove Gourguis to finally put it all on one card and become self-employed.
Find out what helped Gourguis to make his dream come true: read the full story in the Autumn/Winter 2019 issue of LfA Magazine.
Since 2016, Storyboard has produced the customer magazine of LfA Förderbank Bayern. Published twice a year, the magazine carries LfA news and funding opportunities. A variety of narrative perspectives as well as large-format infographics and service elements bring to life complex content on the topic of business development. The Autumn/Winter 2019 issue focuses on business start-ups and meets a selection of LfA-funded entrepreneurs. In an interview, Felix Haas, organiser of the Bits & Pretzels conference, urges a new entrepreneurial spirit in Germany.
