From a Passion to a Business
An interview with the founder of Verso L'alto Coffee
(All photos courtesy of Samantha Flanders)
TOH: Let's start with your story—what inspired you to start Verso L’alto?
Flanders: I’ve always loved working with my hands and exploring new hobbies. In my senior year of high school, I transformed the unfinished attic in our home into a small art studio. Every morning, my mom would bring up a pot of coffee for us to share—she called it our coffee moment. What started as a simple bonding ritual in the attic quickly became a cherished family tradition, one we still hold dear today.
Our family has always had a deep appreciation for coffee, but it wasn’t until college that I discovered the art of home roasting. In 2014 my thesis advisor, Jared Kuebler, introduced me to it. I was amazed that he could roast coffee right in his kitchen. More than that, I was drawn to the joy he found in the process—and how he shared it with me and others.
In 2017 while living abroad for a year in New Zealand, I stumbled upon a tiny micro roastery that completely changed the way I thought about coffee. The vibe, the energy, the smell of freshly roasted beans—it was contagious. Most mornings, I would make my way down from my apartment on Mt. Eden—one of Auckland’s 52 volcanic cones—to visit Atomic Coffee Roasters and savor a cup of their sought-after Yirgacheffe bean. The aroma of freshly roasted beans quickly became an essential part of my daily rhythm. As my time in New Zealand came to a close, I couldn’t imagine returning to the U.S. without this particular coffee in my life.
I brought one final bag of Yirgacheffe back to California and set out on a journey to replicate the experience through home roasting.
When I returned to the U.S. in 2018 I moved in with my older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Johnny. They humored my long-held dream of home roasting and fully embraced the journey—exploring the world of coffee with me, sampling beans, comparing tasting notes, and sharing in the excitement of a growing passion. After months of trial and error (and countless cups), I finally discovered the Misty Valley Yirgacheffe. Its vibrant notes of pastry dough, blueberry, and milk chocolate instantly transported me back to those meaningful mornings in New Zealand.
For nearly two years, we roasted coffee using a popcorn machine and experimenting with beans. As our knowledge and appreciation grew, we began sharing our favorite roasts—fruity Ethiopians, nutty Brazilians, and more—with friends and family. We often joked—only half-seriously—about turning it into a family business.
In the summer of 2020, I was visiting my good friends, Hope and Justin Schneir, eager to share that I was applying to nursing schools. As we sat around their picnic table enjoying the simple things in life, Justin surprised me by encouraging a different path. He grabbed a piece of chalk, sketched out a simple business plan on their chalkboard, and told me I had to choose a name and apply for a business license—before applying to nursing school.
And just like that, the business was born—and I never ended up applying to nursing school after all.
TOH: I love it! The name "Verso L’alto" comes from Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. What does that phrase mean to you personally, and why did you choose it for your company?
Flanders: When I began searching for a name for the coffee business, I knew I wanted something that carried a deeper spiritual meaning. Verso L’alto, meaning “to the heights,” is a phrase made famous by Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, an avid mountaineer who lived a life marked by joy, service, and quiet holiness. I can’t say I had a strong personal devotion to Pier Giorgio when I started the business, but he had always been a quiet presence in my life—an understated influence that seemed to grow over time. In many ways, I feel the name chose me. It captured something I couldn’t quite articulate at first: a desire to live with intention, to seek what is good and beautiful, and to share that spirit with others.
For me, Verso L’alto is about more than a love for the mountains or the outdoors—it’s a quiet, persistent call to reach higher. It’s about seeking beauty in the everyday, and finding purpose in small moments. Coffee has always been one of those grounding daily rituals for me—a time to pause and enjoy a simple thing. We see the coffee moment as a small but intentional pause that sets the rhythm of the day. Rarely just a moment, it can be as brief as the time it takes to savor a single cup, or stretch into hours of lively conversation shared over many pots. Naming the company Verso L’alto felt like the most natural way to bring together that simple ritual with a deeper desire to live intentionally.
TOH: Beautiful. Starting a business takes courage. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced early on, and how did you navigate them?
Flanders: Coffee roasting is both a technical skill and an art form. In today’s fast-paced world, the concept of learning a trade—of dedicating time to develop expertise through steady, intentional practice—can feel increasingly rare. We’re often taught to expect quick results and instant gratification, but I’ve always believed that there’s something deeply valuable in the process of mastering a craft over time. The beauty of roasting coffee lies in the patience and monotonous attention to detail it requires. I was fortunate to be mentored by Eddie Sasson, the owner and roaster of Soul Grind Coffee in Pacifica, CA. He took me under his wing when no one else would, and trained me as an apprentice. I truly feel blessed to be part of a community that values craftsmanship and the art of work. There’s a quiet beauty in this kind of work—the kind that reveals itself through patience and the almost meditative repetition it demands. It’s in the steady rhythm, the commitment to doing the same thing again and again, not out of boredom, but out of love for the process and respect for the craft.
Chesterton once wrote in Orthodoxy:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
TOH: Do you see coffee and business as a vehicle for evangelization and building community among Catholics and beyond?
Flanders: Growing up in a small town gave us the gift of experiencing small business at its best. It was normal to know who owned the local pharmacy, to buy flowers from the same family-run stand year after year, and to have a personal relationship with your doctor. It wasn’t until we settled in the Bay Area that we realized just how unique and formative that experience had been. Life in a small town gave us a deep appreciation for the local community and taught us the joy—and importance—of supporting and building small businesses rooted in real relationships. At the heart of our business is our family culture. We were raised to value the outdoors, take pride in working with our hands, and find beauty in everyday simplicity. Community has always been important to us—built slowly through hard work and offering something of quality and substance to those we love. Coffee is our way of doing just that.
TOH: What have been the standout moments—testimonies, encounters, or milestones so far?
Flanders: Some of the most meaningful moments in this journey have come through the unexpected notes and emails I’ve received from customers. People have told me that, for the first time, they’re slowing down in the morning—taking a moment to pray, to sit in silence, or just to enjoy their coffee without rushing. That shift in perspective, that pause for presence and beauty, means so much. It’s an incredible honor to know that something we’ve created is helping people be more intentional and find joy in that small, meaningful moment.
One seminarian we met at SEEK wrote to tell us how he and his best friend at the seminary pray together a couple of mornings each week, enjoying the different coffees from our sample pack. That sharing in community life, that pause for presence and beauty, means so much to me.
TOH: What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting a business?
Flanders: Be patient with how long it takes to start from the ground up. For me, it began as a hobby that has grown beyond what I ever imagined. Each year, it has expanded organically, and I feel incredibly blessed to do what I love everyday. We officially launched the business in December 2020—nearly five years ago. Throughout this time, I've maintained another job to support the dream of growing the coffee business into a full-time endeavor. It's been years of pouring my heart and soul into my work, watching it slowly transform into a family business and hoping that one day my work and hobbies will be weaved together seamlessly.
TOH: Pottery seems to be a meaningful part of your life. Could you share how you first became interested in working with clay, and what inspires the pieces you create today?
Flanders: While I had always enjoyed hand-building with clay since childhood, I had never had the opportunity to throw on a wheel. After completing a four-week class in 2022, I joined a studio in Santa Barbara and worked-traded in exchange for a membership. During this time, I had the privilege of learning from a vibrant community of artists and ceramicists who were generous in sharing their knowledge and love of the art. Over the past four years, I've spent countless hours in the clay studio just playing and creating with clay. I love working with my hands, and there's something profoundly beautiful about molding clay into a tangible expression of an idea. I find a sense of fulfillment in creating pieces that not only serve a function but also bring beauty into everyday life. The two most popular pieces I’ve created are the Botanic Mug and the Mountain Mug - both inspired by nature!
A Customer shared a touching story: “Hey! I just opened one of many marketing emails I receive from your company... Truthfully, I’ve never purchased a thing, I simply enjoy browsing your beautiful work. The art itself is the free gift I enjoy in those emails! Anyway, today, my heart saw that botanical mug and I just knew it was for my mother. I just KNEW in my heart. Soul to soul, your work spoke to me! It conveyed all that my mother gives up to be with me and my little family each day we need her. It moved me emotionally. I knew she had to have it. Thank you for creating the perfect gift for me to share with my mother the beautiful world God has created for all of us. Thank you again and a very blessed Easter Season to you!”
TOH: Looking ahead, what’s your vision for the future of Verso L’alto, and how can the wider Catholic community support that vision?
Flanders: Our vision for Verso L’alto is to grow into a thriving, family-run roasting business that can fully support us and, God willing, bring our extended family back together. My sister Madeline and her husband David currently roast under the Verso L’alto name in Southern Australia, supporting their family of eight. One of our greatest hopes is that they’ll be able to return to the U.S. and join us in growing the business side by side.
In the short term, our biggest goal is to grow our base of monthly subscribers. Subscriptions are truly the lifeblood of what we do—they provide stability and allow us to plan, grow, and invest in the future. Meeting our monthly costs through subscriber support would be a major milestone.
From there, we hope to deepen our mission by sourcing more of our coffee directly from small farmers around the world. We want to offer not just a beautiful product, but meaningful relationships—connecting customers with the people and stories behind each cup. As a Catholic business, we believe that ethical sourcing and fair trade practices are a vital part of living out our values.
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