FOTC | MORNING GLORY COFFEE

Faces of the City is a series that highlights people who share our values and bring the same kind of intention to their own work that we bring to ours. It’s a way for us to spend time with individuals who are passionate about what they do, who shape their day through dedication and curiosity, and who choose to wear Benzak as part of their daily rhythm.

For this chapter we visited Dom Winton at Morning Glory Coffee, in Haarlem. As the owner and roaster behind Morning Glory Coffee, he has built his approach through years of experience across different parts of the coffee world. His focus on sourcing partners whose values he shares, his commitment to buying coffees that stand out for their quality and character, and his belief in doing things with low impact and high consideration form the core of Morning Glory’s identity.

When we visited his roastery, the connection between our worlds became clear almost immediately. While he worked in his space wearing our pieces, we watched him move through a process shaped by intention, precision and constant learning. It mirrored the way we think about denim: choosing the right materials, trusting the craft, and taking the time to refine every step.

To understand his perspective in his own words, we asked Dom a few questions about the principles that guide Morning Glory and the journey that brought him here.

You've built Morning Glory through experience, intention and a clear belief in doing things with care. What guides your approach when choosing the coffees you work with?

I think that because I spent time in the sourcing and coffee production worlds, it’s easy to have a kind of empathy for producers and a bit of a view to the challenges they deal with. It feels very real, very high stakes.

Sourcing is complicated and costly and requires a lot of people with a lot of specific industry and in-country understanding to do it well. The so-called ‘middle men’ are often the ones really making that machine run. So we need to work with really good partners who share our values and who champion relationship building and quality. We have Mercanta and Semilla that we work with. Specialty green coffee companies.

They both have an amazing approach, and they put us in touch with amazing coffees and the people who produce them.

We then try to choose individuals and projects that we think can benefit from working with us every season. We want to invest in them, get to know them, and promote the work they do as growers. Most of what constitutes quality in the cup comes down to the work they put in, and we are proud to roast and serve the coffee they grow.

At the same time, we also need to try to source coffees that we think our community in Haarlem will be into. We want to make them fall in love with these coffees. Luckily people here have good taste ;)

It takes a lot of trying things out, learning, listening, and steady relationship building, one season after another. We’re just at the beginning.

Roasting for you is an ongoing process of learning and refinement. How would you describe the role that craft and long-term thinking play in your daily work.

At some point there seemed to be a feeling that we were in danger of losing craft products, as a consequence of globalisation and the all-consuming beast of capitalism. But I think there has actually been a big resurgence in enthusiasm for high quality, ‘artisan’ products.

To me the craft part of it is not just about the technical details of how we manage quality and consistency - it’s about how other people connect with the product.
I’ve had so many people offer to help me out at the roastery on their free days. So many people who want to have long chats about the mechanics of the specialty coffee business. So many people who are so interested in what we do. I think it's because they really see the value in it, and it piques their curiosity.
Because of this, it's wonderful work to do. And I think it gives the craft a really good chance at longevity. People fuckin love coffee.

I guess I think of the long term as it concerns the whole craft, not just Morning Glory. I’m just carrying the torch (as it were) for a little bit, and my goal is to work to the kind of standard that has been set by roasters and craftspeople I look up to. Continuity and consistency breed refinement and progress.

Morning Glory operates on a small scale with a strong focus on quality. What do you appreciate most about working this way, and what keeps you committed to it?

The longest running study on happiness, conducted at Stanford or somewhere, found that the secret to a happy life seemed to come down to one main feature of that life - connection to other people.
This is the best thing about running a business at this scale - it connects us to the people we work with. Especially the coffee drinkers here in our city. That connection keeps you focused on what we’re doing and why we are doing it, giving meaning to all the day to day tasks that are involved in running any kind of business, but especially one where we try so hard to focus on consistently high quality.

This is super rewarding.

Looking back at everything that has shaped your path so far, what continues to fuel your passion for this craft?

Coffee, as a subject, has such tremendous gravity.
Its ubiquity and subtlety suck you into this fascinating rabbit hole - It's a massive, pan-global industry worth trillions, predicated on the simple but essential idea of this delicious morning beverage. Wrapped up in coffee is all this history, geography, sociology and economics. Stories of individuals, and stories of all humankind. It’s bottomless ;)

This is the kind of idea that got me so into coffee in the first place, and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of understanding that whole thing. I’ve been very lucky to have some great experiences in the business - as I'm having now with my first roastery - but everyday presents opportunities to learn new things, reach more people and refine my professional approach.

What is it about wearing BENZAK that feels aligned with your own approach to craft and quality?

I thought you’d never ask ;)
I love clothes. I love the opportunity to express something about yourself through what you wear. It’s an expression of aesthetic taste, for sure. But it’s also an expression of consumeristic taste - your values, not just your vibe.

So when you find a brand that nails both values and vibe, and allows you to express those aspects of yourself in comfy things that you can keep your whole life, you know you found something good.
Meeting people who make products like those of Benzak, and connecting with them on these subjects is a great bonus that comes with the job. And it helps to keep us believing that we humans can actually have nice things :)

Good coffee is about more than how it tastes. Good denim too is about more than what’s in fashion. Benzak is good denim.

 

Check out Morning Glory Coffee Roasters here.

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January 07, 2026
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