Michael Vecchione (commonly referred to as "Coffee Mike") began his coffee journey in 2005 while Active Duty in the United States Coast Guard and assigned to a mission in Guatemala. Through chance circumstances, Mike befriended Fernando from Fernando's Cafe and he spent his mornings having breakfast with him and talking about coffee roasting, green coffee, and the science behind it. What Fernando shared lit a spark in Mike and for the rest of his 20 year Coast Guard career Mike read every book about coffee roasting he could get his hands on and began experimenting with all sorts of extraction methods on coffee from hundreds of roasters. Mike retired from the Coast Guard in 2018 and opened his first shop which was a cigar and coffee shop. Shortly after Mike and 3 partners opened their first roastery and Mike began roasting coffee using convection/fluid bed methods. During the next two years he scaled that business and became certified SCA Roaster LVL I on a traditional drum roaster. Mike also won "Readers Choice" Best Coffee for Coastal Virginia Magazine 2 times and appeared on FOX News morning Show. In 2021 Mike left his company to pursue greater adventures in coffee and began working for Town Center Cold Pressed. It was here he mastered traditional drum roasting. Cold Pressed went on to achieve 100% roastery growth for the next 4 years and won Coastal Virginia Magazine's "Best Of" 2 more times! Mike also received 2 "93" ratings and a prestigious "94" rating by coffeereview.com on 3 of his roasts. Since then, Mike also launched several successful white label brands and continues to grow Cold Pressed Roastery as their cafes begin to franchise. Keeping an active presence in the community, Mike also serves as a City Commissioner for the city of Chesapeake and on 2 boards for veteran nonprofits.