We are cafe hounds. We loyally track down the best coffee the world can offer.
Matthew Maher: maher@cafehound.com
Coffee lover and graduate of the University of California, San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) specializing in international relations, public policy, economics, and business strategy. After completing many years of advanced study in New Jersey, Virginia, Spain, Mexico, and California, he was bound to come away with a few vices. He’ll only disclose that coffee was only a vice back in his days at the University of Virginia when he was studying foreign affairs and regularly drinking pre-ground crap out of a vacuum sealed brick (sorry Cafe Sello Rojo). He is now residing and working out of Washington, D.C. with projects focused on politics, economics, energy and business strategy. He is fully fluent in Spanish, and reading and listening proficient in Portuguese.
Krislert Samphantharak: krislert@cafehound.com
Coffee geek who is way too busy to be spending his time blogging for free about coffee. Having numerous publications in the academic and applied finance spheres, Kris is seen as an expert on economic development and finance, with specialization on Southeast Asian economies. He has a Ph.D. and A.M. in economics from the University of Chicago. He coauthored a book on the subject of corporate finance at the household level. Professional experience includes multiple contributions as a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in addition to his full-time job researching and teaching at the University of California, San Diego. In the midst of all of that, Kris enjoys a wide variety of coffee– let it be a traditionally brewed coffee served in a plastic bag from a street vendor in Bangkok, or an aromatic cappuccino with perfectly made foam served at a classic cafe in Rome– as long as it is made the best way it is supposed to be.
So now you’re probably asking yourself how two academic experts on economics, public policy, and international relations who clearly have a knack for business even begin to break the surface on the specialty coffee industry? Furthermore, what credentials do these two ‘HOUNDS’ have that makes stopping by this page worth it. Well, we hope the page speaks for itself because what you’re about to read doesn’t necessarily provide a resume style justification for our knowledge of the industry. Instead, you can now see how each of us would answer the question, “How, why, where did you find your passion for specialty coffee?”
