Coffee, customer service a way of life for Qazzaz family

The Qazzaz Coffee Company has stayed in the family, with his son Mohammad taking over operations in 1999.

Now, the business has grown into a local institution selling their specialty, Turkish coffee, along with American blends to business across metro Detroit and across the country to loyal customers.
 
“My Turkish husband has said that your coffee is better than any he had growing up in Istanbul,” reads an email from a customer from the company email shown by Mohammad Qazzaz.
The woman planned to take the coffee with her on a trip with her husband overseas.

Mohammad Qazzaz's father, known as Abu Dawood, the name of the popular Turkish coffee blend emblazoned across Qazzaz Coffee bags, brought a coffee roaster with him from overseas, thought to be the first in all of Dearborn, originally debuted his coffee at the Arabian Village market on the south side of town.
?A few years later, he had his own downtown Detroit headquarters before operations were moved back to their current Dearborn location and becoming a top supplier for several markets around the city.

Abu Dawood, who grew up in Palestine, became a coffee savant through years of studying the various types of beans and roasting methods, beginning in the 1950s when he embarked on a trip to Brazil.

There, he toured the countryside, visiting coffee farms and soaking up as much knowledge as he could while sending money to his father back home.

Mohammad Qazzaz, who now handles day-to-day operations, roasting and/or grinding the coffee fresh and made-to-order after it's imported from various countries across the world, said that his father has passed down his knowledge.

“He taught me everything from smelling the coffee and knowing what kind of coffee it is, to knowing the size of the beans, to knowing what's a good product and what's not,” he said.

“For example when you roast the coffee, it grows inside, sometimes it doesn't grow and that's how you know it's been sitting inside the warehouse too long, then it's time to send it back.”

For the Qazzaz family, the business has been built on 100% quality and customer service. That old fashioned approach is aided by a modern website named after the company, www.Qazzazcoffee.com, that handles several orders from various states.

A total of ten different Turkish coffee blends are available not counting the option to enjoy it with or without cardamom, and six types of American blends are also available, the latter the product of two years of research to find the best beans for their special mixes.

The Turkish coffee is distinguished by the way the bean is ground, and is quite popular within the local Arab American community in particular. The American blends are popular as well, and the Turkish coffee also has crossover appeal, with customers sending emails calling it the best they've ever had and particularly better then the most famous brand in the world, Starbucks.

“The way we roast is a family secret,” Mohammad Qazzaz said.

“Our slogan is 'Experience the Quality,' and we live up to that; we never cheat, we have been using the same quality blend for over 46 years imported from suppliers all over the world.”

The company has big plans for the future, hoping to become as big as some of America's most well known chains some day while maintaining their high standards of quality.

“This business inspires me because it came from my dad and I want to live up to his legacy,” Qazzaz said, “we want to be able to grow, not only to make money but to share our love for coffee with everyone and to help the poor out in the future, that's all part of our plans.”


The Arab American News