Well, thanks for asking.
Welcome to the DOCR Education Department — where all coffee drinkers are welcome. Whether you’re the type who zones out with a meditative morning brew or the kind who’s wondering why your coffee bag mentions “processing,” we’ve got you covered.
Meet the EDU Team
We’re a crew of four coffee-obsessed humans: Nate Hamood, Amélie Haakonsen, Tyler Bunting, and me — Emma LaVoie. What brings us together? Besides a shared love of coffee, we also happen to be collectively fueled by a mild-to-moderate caffeine dependency. And we take our roles seriously. Our mission? Make sure your coffee never tastes bad ever again. You're welcome.
Sure, that might sound dramatic. But there’s a real story behind why this work matters to us. Through our public classes, one-on-one training, and community events, we’re all about diving into the why behind brewing, processing, sourcing, and the overall magic that is specialty coffee.
We’ll break down the story behind each bag, walk you through brewing the perfect cup, share about our coffee community, and remind you why choosing to support your local coffee shop and roastery makes all the difference.
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Nate Hamood
President & Director of Coffee
Nate’s where DOCR’s story begins. As our President and Director of Coffee, he wears about seventeen hats on any given day — from sourcing and profiling new coffees to patching leaks and fixing espresso machines. (Seriously. Someone get this man a second phone.)
He’s behind the coffee we serve at DOCR you’ve come to love and handles all sourcing, roasting, and QC across our cafes. What drives him? “Being able to represent a single ingredient with such variety and complexity.” That passion shines through in every cup, and in the relationships we maintain with the producers behind each coffee we roast.
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Amélie Boulanger
Director of Sales & Education
If you’ve ever seen a DOCR bag of coffee outside one of our cafes, Amélie had a hand in getting it there. She’s responsible for supporting our wholesale partners across Michigan and beyond — making sure each cafe has the gear, the coffee, and the knowledge to brew great cups.
Amélie’s also an expert in helping people find their perfect coffee match, and she keeps our Education Managers (Tyler and me) caffeinated and inspired. Her love for coffee — and the fact that, in her words, “it helps me stay awake and alive” — keeps our team grounded, sharp, and always learning.
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Tyler Bunting
Education Manager & Equipment Tech
To understand Tyler’s dedication to coffee, know this: he’s never turned down a sip. Ever.
Tyler leads training sessions for our baristas, runs public coffee education classes, and helps install and maintain brewing equipment for our wholesale partners. His favorite thing about coffee? “The meditative aspect of brewing, and the acid.”
He’s always ready to chat extraction, technique, or brew gear — and you can usually catch him explaining some fun new method to someone in one of our cafes.
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Emma LaVoie
Education Manager & Blog Voice of Reason
Hi, it’s me. I help maintain brew standards across all four DOCR locations, teach internal and public classes, and spiral down coffee research rabbit holes so you don’t have to. Tyler and I tag-team quite a bit in our internal and external coffee education program. Some may call us the dream team. Others may say we’re over-caffeinated.
My favorite part about this work? Helping someone have that aha moment — when they realize what coffee isn’t supposed to taste like, and that coffee can taste like fruit, because it comes from one! The world of coffee is huge, weird, and incredibly fun to explore — and I love getting to share that with others.
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Why DOCR EDU Exists
As you’ve probably picked up, the through-line in everything we do is sharing knowledge and building community. Sure, it sounds a little cheesy — but we’re serious about it. We love brewing great coffee, but we love geeking out about it with someone else even more.
This intro is just the beginning. We’re launching this blog as a way to stay connected with you — to share what we’re learning, what we’re brewing, and what’s inspiring us along the way.
Expect regular updates on:
- DOCR coffee releases
- Brewing guides & tips
- Deep dives into coffee science & sourcing
- Community events & class announcements
- Industry insights & hot takes (yes, we’re talking about the iced coffee vs. cold brew debate)
- Behind-the-scenes stories from the DOCR Education Department
- Contributors from in and outside DOCR writing about their fields of study within the industry
- Insight into current conversations in the specialty coffee world
- Educational posts about brewing, tasting, and more
New posts drop every few months — so stay tuned, and follow along for the ride! We’re so excited to keep learning, experimenting, and sipping with you.
And before you ask — yes, we do have a mantra:
“Where the discipline of science and knowledge meets the beauty of art and community.”
Happy reading and sippin’, friends!
With love,
Emma LaVoie
Education Manager
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About the writer: Emma LaVoie is the Education Manager for Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters. She's the brains behind this blog and lit a fire under our team to follow suit. You can almost always find Emma reading a book with a coffee in hand. If you're interested in reaching out to Emma, shoot her an email: emma@dessertoasiscoffee.com. She'd be happy to geek out over coffee with you. (Seriously, don't hesitate to reach out — she'll love it.)