Community Spotlight · Pacific Foods, Portland, OR
Maggie Davis
In 2008, Maggie Davis was struggling to find a job in the field she had studied, interior design, due to the recession. She took a position as a barista at a café, and was immediately intrigued by the coffee world. “As I became steeped in café culture (pun intended) and learned that it could connect me with the local community, and then the broader world of coffee, I was hooked,” she says now.
Maggie’s fascination with coffee only grew the longer she worked in the industry and connected with the community of coffee people. “The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn, and that is still true for me today—I love that this industry is broad enough to provide a lifetime of learning and growth,” Maggie says. “And, it has brought me some of my closest friends, as it is—I believe—an industry full of incredible people.”
In addition to managing training and coffee programs at some of Portland, Ore.’s best-known coffee-roasting companies, Maggie has been working as a consultant for coffee-industry companies—including Pacific Foods. With Pacific, Maggie has helped to schedule and coordinate product evaluations, manage trade show booths, and support internal and external events. Beyond Pacific, she has worked with coffee companies to certify baristas under the SCA’s Coffee Skills Program as an Authorized SCA Trainer. “While COVID has been a tough go for consulting, at least for me, I’m happy to be doing work that I care deeply about, with companies I believe in,” she says.
We’re so happy to have Maggie on the Barista Series Advisory Board, as she has a long history not just of working with Pacific, but with using Barista Series products—including at her first café job in Portland nine years ago. “Initially, it was just Barista Series Soy that I was working with, and the biggest difference I noticed off the bat was how well it steamed—that I could actually create microfoam with it—and it tasted great as well,” she says.
Since then, Maggie has worked with Pacific on the development of Barista Series products, including one of our most popular offerings, Barista Series Almond. “I was so stoked to help provide feedback from my café team,” she says. “Given the opportunity, I’ve never hesitated since to help grow and improve the product so that baristas receive plant-based beverages they are excited to serve.”