Charlotte, NC-based Customer Relations Representative Brent Hall was born in Charlotte and, after living briefly in Wilmington, NC, as a youngster, primarily grew up just down the road from our roastery in Durham. A traveling fool from an early age, Brent has already had “awesome trips” to Mexico, Australia, Russia, and Costa Rica. His coffee experience began in high school at a small neighborhood shop called Outer Banks Coffee House, which was later renamed Mr. Toad’s Coffee House. Just before attending Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Brent also worked at Paradigm Coffee House in Cary. After earning a Bachelor’s degree from ASU in Music Industries with a concentration in Recording and Production, Brent did some soul searching in California before heading back to NC for a job as a barista back at Mr. Toad’s, where he was quickly promoted to roaster and lead barista.

Today, Brent lives in Charlotte with his wonderful dog Jake (pictured). In his spare time, he does his “best to take photos of everything and get outdoors.” He also plays guitar, enjoys bicycling around Charlotte, indulges in his beloved Muenster cheese, and loves—really loves—pulled pork barbeque and “really interesting beers.” According to Brent, no snack bar is safe around him and he doesn’t like watching much TV, although a good film is another matter. He also enjoys a good cup of coffee now and then.

Q: What coffee are you currently drinking?

Well, while answering I am about to cup 23 coffees from Cup of Excellence El Salvador!! But really, right now it’s the Gitare lot from Kiambu, Kenya … sweet apple brightness, and big body … love it.

Q: Choose your favorite coffee and brewing method.

It’s a toss up between espresso and French press. They both seem very simple, but when you really explore and experiment with each method, there are surprising amounts of room for creativity and discovery.

Q: Who at Counter Culture Coffee would you most like to arm-wrestle, and why?

I think I would arm wrestle [former Traffic employee] Julie (aka Jelly Bean) even though she would probably beat me. Or challenge Chris Owens to an arm wrestling while free pouring latte art contest!!

Q: What is your favorite book?

The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Collection

Q: What keeps you busy outside of work?

Dog, photography, guitar, bicycles (on occasion), laundry, cooking, eating, finding the perfect porter.

Q: Share an interesting fact you've learned about coffee while working at Counter Culture Coffee and name the person from whom you learned it.

The level of phosphates is indirectly related to the perceived acidity in coffee, meaning that the higher phosphate coffees (e.g. coffees from Sumatra) have a lower perceived acidity. I learned that from our Head Roaster Timothy Hill, who gave me an essay on phosphates and perceived acidity.

Q: When you were 8 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A rockstar … still living the dream.

Q: If you could beam yourself anywhere in the world for your lunch break, where would you go, and what would you eat?

La Fortuna, Costa Rica, I would meet up with a guy named Miguel and his son Miguelito and eat huevos rancheros and watch Volcan Arenal from his back yard.

Q: Which Counter Culture Coffee customer is most likely to see you outside of work (i.e. where do you like to hang out)?

Eh hem … Blake Barnes at The Common Market … they have a back patio, wireless, and I hear the coffee is pretty good there.

Q: Brent, we know you’re big into photography. What types of photos do you like to take, and what is your camera of choice?

Oh man, this is a hard question … what types do I like to take … well, here goes. Before moving to Charlotte from Raleigh I was getting into something I call Renegade Guerilla Exhibitionist Cityscape Photos. For more info look me up on Flickr. My camera of choice is anything that will take a picture, be it a small pinhole in a wall or the digital camera that I could use as a down payment on a house, it’s all photography to me.

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