Clément Bozec and his father, Jean-Noël Bozec, representing the third and second generations of Brûlerie du Léon in Brest, France. LE LAB – royalty-free photos. Courtesy photo.
Yvette Bozec is more than just a matriarch; she is a French coffee roasting pioneer.
With her grandson Clément Bozec now steering the ship as directeur général at Brûlerie du Léon, the coffee company Yvette created in the city of Brest in the 1970s, Yvette’s legacy undeniably lives on following her retirement five years ago.
Yvette Bozec. Courtesy photo.
The Birth of Brûlerie du Léon
Having successfully farmed cereals, corn and even the famous artichokes of the Léon region of Finistere, Bretagne (Brittany), Yvette Bozec sought a change in 1970. Following her visionary spirit, she bought a small coffee-roasting shop in downtown Brest.
“At the time, I was one of the only women to run a business and have a truck; I drove; I ran my store,” Yvette recently told Daily Coffee News. “Back then, we roasted directly in front of the customer.”
The history of the roasting business can be traced further back, to 1897, when the Le Pichon family was roasting as part of a larger grocery business in Brest. In addition to purchasing Cafés Le Pichon, Yvette and her son Jean-Noël purchased the roasteries Cafés Marc and Le Coat in the 1970s.
LE LAB – royalty-free photos. Courtesy photo.
The linchpin for Brûlerie du Léon was a storefront procured at 88 Rue Jean Jaures in Brest in 1978. In addition to its ideal central location, the building survived the throttling of World War II, resonating with Yvette for its strength and proven fortitude.
Today, approaching 50 years later, the Jean Jaures building still acts as the Brûlerie du Léon headquarters, even if there are parts of the ceiling that dip.
Brûlerie du Léon Today
Touring Brûlerie du Léon at Jean Jaures firsthand and seeing what the enterprise is today, the overwhelming impression is not of dusty history or harrowing survival. Feeling of the present age, the roastery stretches into multiple rooms of grinders and espresso machines, plus new packaging and labeling machinery.
Daily Coffee News photo by Emily Sujka.
Coffee sacks from every corner of the world stamped with the name of French importer Belco surround a crowning 150-kilo-capacity Samiac roasting machine, with a flue extending up over Brest’s downtown like a church steeple. Or maybe it’s more like a mast of a ship that Yvette created, unsinkable through the ebbs and flows of the global coffee industry.
A particularly memorable moment in the company’s history was when Yvette roasted and shipped out literally tons of coffee per day, by herself.
Daily Coffee News photo by Emily Sujka.
“One of the highlights of this period was a record roast of 36 tons of coffee in a single month, driven by a price hike,” Clemént said. “That month is remembered as the beginning of the first negative effects of globalization, marking a slowdown for the craft industry in France. This episode underscored the challenges facing traditional crafts in an increasingly globalized market.”
Certainly the global coffee landscape has altered dramatically over the past half a century, yet unchanged through that time has been the Bozecs’ family values of quality, terroir and artisanal processing. Neither Yvette nor her generational successors have sacrificed these values in favor of growth. However, the coffees have changed with the times.
Daily Coffee News photo by Emily Sujka.
“Before the 1980s, my grandmother’s roast consisted of 80% robusta, which was standard in France at the time due to the higher cost of arabica and the large robusta production in the former French colonies,” said Clément.
It was during Clemént’s father’s time that varieties like arabica became readily available. These days, robusta makes up only about 10% of their coffees.
Daily Coffee News photo by Emily Sujka.
The company has most recently evolved with the launch of Les Cafés Bozec, a direct-to-consumer brand, including two coffee shops and forthcoming consumer-focused coffee workshops. Clément said the initiative is a natural extension of the company’s long-running wholesale business.
Said Clemént, “Since its creation, Brûlerie du Léon has anchored its expertise in the world of cafés, hotels and restaurants, building up a unique DNA in the coffee business in Brittany.”
The coffee company is broadening its influence even more with the launch of an online shop, showcasing the methods and flavors that have sustained Brûlerie du Léon through the generations to a global audience.
At Brûlerie du Léon Ateliers des Capucins in Brest, France. LE LAB – royalty-free photos. Courtesy photo.
With these new initiatives, Clemént said the coffee program will continue to be guided by the strategy “doing less, doing better.”
It’s a philosophy that conjures the spirit of the company’s foremother, Yvette, who spent countless days dropping batch after batch of meticulously roasted coffees, for the betterment of coffee and its drinkers in Brest and beyond.
Said Yvette, “I’m very proud of my son and my grandchildren.”
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Emily Sujka
Emily Sujka has been writing about coffee for over eight years. Informed by her background as a SCA-certified coffee roaster and trained barista, she writes gleefully about coffee and cafes from all over the world. Her work can be found in various publications, on her blog cafeanywhere.net, and on instagram @cafeanywhere_. She is currently based in Lyon, France.
