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Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/158781
CAFÉ CROSSROADS continued from page 24 tough being wholesale because you always rely on your business partners to serve your coffee the way you want to have it served, and as we all know, to do a really good job you have to take it really seriously. Q: When you first purchased the farm, you had a mind to craft herbal beers. What drew you to coffee roasting instead? A: The economy was up and down, interest rates were up and down, so I was looking for a business that would be more sustainable throughout. I figured people would drink beer or drink coffee even if they couldn't go to Hawaii on vacation. But beer brewing is really expensive to set up—you need a couple hundred thousand to do it right. I took a ride up [to Portland] and saw the coffee scene up there and thought, "Gee, it's just a matter of time before that gets down to California where we're at." And because of the farm, I wanted to do everything organic and be as friendly as I could to the environment. Q: A: You've been committed to sourcing 100 percent organic coffees from the beginning. What challenges has that created along the way? Is it easier to find organic coffee farms now than it was 20 years ago? Oh yeah. [At first] we had five to seven countries to work with to come up with all the blends. I didn't know it at the time, but we worked really hard on coming up with the ability to have a good product. And nobody cared about organic 20 years ago. We had to sell it as locally roasted, micro-roasted, small batch—just as really good premium coffee because I had to sell it for $1 more per pound in stores. Now everything is organic, though we're kind of running into some issues with rust. We just bought into a coffee farm in Nicaragua, Finca Java, and with our name that ties us into the farm part a little better. I figured if we have our own personal source—a connection from farm to the end product all within one company—it seemed to make good sense. 26 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com