James Paul Marcotte, the co-founder of City Bean Roasters and longtime Western U.S. sales director for Intelligentsia Coffee, died Feb. 16 at the age of 63.
Marcotte, who received a life-saving lung transplant in 2020 after being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, succumbed to multiple infections, according to a family obituary.
A fixture in the Los Angeles coffee scene for more than three decades, Marcotte has been remembered as a kind and curious coffee professional known for his remarkable palate, generous mentorship and a unique ability to connect people over coffee.
“Eloquent, affable and self-effacing, James was well-respected by industry colleagues for his phenomenal palate and beloved for his exceptional ability to wax poetically about each cup’s artisanal heritage and distinctive flavor profile,” Melissa J. Pugash, the co-founder of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance and longtime friend of the Marcotte family, said in a statement shared with Daily Coffee News. “His influence on the Southern California coffee scene is undeniable.”
Marcotte and Sol Salzer co-founded the City Bean cafe and roastery near the UCLA campus in 1992, creating one of the city’s first small-batch specialty coffee roasteries focused on quality and craft.
Marcotte later went on to lead Western U.S. sales for Swiss Water Decaffeinated, then national sales for Cirqua Customized Water before joining Intelligentsia Coffee to help lead its West Coast expansion in 2005.
Tony “Tonx” Konecny, the founder of YES PLZ Coffee, first met Marcotte 20 years ago then worked closely with him after being recruited to help Intelligentsia expand in L.A.
“James was a huge part of making me feel welcome and showing everyone the ropes, and the best taco spots,” Konecny told Daily Coffee News. “Intelligentsia’s L.A. thing wouldn’t have happened without James… Everyone knew James and everyone loved him.”
Marcotte remained with Intelligentsia until his retirement in 2019, inspiring countless coffee professionals through his own curiosity, his wealth of cultural knowledge and famously keen palate.
“He once cupped a coffee and couldn’t get past the ‘rubbery notes,’” Salzer wrote on Instagram this week. “Nobody else at the table picked up on the rubber, but James insisted. When we checked with the farm… sure enough, they used rubber trees for shading.”
Salzer further described his former business partner as someone who “engaged, cared, gave you his full attention, while dispensing warmth and love.”
In statements shared with DCN, numerous L.A.-based coffee professionals echoed similar sentiments about their relationship with Marcotte.
“James was always a great friend, a trusted advisor giving gut checks and a generous soul who could always make me believe in myself again when everything was upside down,” Konecny said. “Nothing was ever insurmountable to him.”
Marcotte is survived by his wife, Sarah Marcotte, his daughter, Rowan Jean Marcotte, and his brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Maria Marcotte.
“His openness, courage, and curiosity will not soon be forgotten,” the family wrote. “His final words were to remind us that he was an organ donor, because as a recipient he understood the value of that final gift.”
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