The Business
About Better Coffee
Better Coffee started the same way all of those big companies started, at least that's what we tell ourselves, in a cafe with a single broken machine.
"I think it's garbage."
Turned into, "I think I can fix that."
A few hours later the entire La Marzocco Strada MP 3 machine was in pieces and there was a piece of paper taped to the table saying "PLEASE DON'T TOUCH."
Cut to years later Better Coffee is not only in your cafe but also settled into a proper workshop. We've invested in our business with training, and developed digital tools that help keep us modern and competitive.
We've worked with international teams and taken apart nearly every espresso machine on the market (so far!) but at the core of our business is this unwavering need to help those who share a love for coffee.
When a member of the Better Coffee team walks into a cafe it's always, "How can I help?"
Meet Joe
Hi, I'm Josiah. I go by Joe sometimes too, if that's easier.
I got my start the way a lot of people do: Starbucks. Don't scroll yet. When I was in my 20s someone asked me what I wanted to do, and I said open a coffee shop. So I raised the most money I'd ever seen, signed a lease, and while I was waiting for it to start I got a job at Starbucks and learned everything I could about running a place. By the time the keys were in my hand, I had a head start.
I did lose everything. The cafe survived, it's still around, still serving coffee, but I walked away with nothing. That chapter ended hard. What came next was figuring out what I actually loved about the industry, which turned out to be the puzzles. Other people's problems are my puzzles, and I can't leave one alone.
I came up through Ottawa coffee after that. Wholesale management, getting coffee products into grocery, and then the day I took apart my first espresso machine. That was it. Like handing a kid their first piece of Lego.
When I met Otto I understood pretty quickly what we each brought. He's the Tech, genuinely one of the best. I'm good on the tools, but what I love is teaching people how to make money with coffee. Figuring out where the puzzle is stuck and helping someone get past it.
That's what Better Coffee is to me.
Meet Otto
Otto asked Claude to write his bio, let us know how it did.
Otto has been working on espresso machines for seven years. He started out in cafes and moved to the technical side fairly quickly, partly because he liked the work and partly because, in his own words, he doesn't have a face for customer service.
He's the technical lead at Better Coffee. Most weeks he's in Montreal for two or three days running service calls, and the rest of the time he's at the Ottawa shop doing rebuilds and the harder diagnostic work. He's certified and warranty-approved across La Marzocco, Victoria Arduino, Nuova Simonelli, Slayer, and Synesso, among others.
He's also the 2025 Canadian Aeropress Champion, for whatever that's worth.
If your machine is doing something strange, Otto can figure it out.