Ok so here it goes, this year has been a wild one for sure! Not many people will be sad to say goodbye to 2020 and put this mess behind us. First off, I passionately believe that although many of us including Vournas Coffee have been beat up, w...
As Thanksgiving fast approaches and the Holidays swing into action, most of us are making plans to celebrate Turkey Day. For most this means turkey, the fixings and of course football. But it also gives us the moment to really reflect and be th...
Producing high quality washed and natural process coffee involves a number of variables for the world’s farmers and cooperative growers. Water quality, soil quality, fertilizers, organic certification, sunlight, shade and pest control must al...
Recently I have had a few roasters share that they had NEVER cleaned their roaster. One of them, a new roaster, ended up starting a small fire. Fortunately everything ended up coming out okay, but it was a big lesson learned—and coul...
As Thanksgiving approaches most of us are making our plans to gather with family and friends to celebrate with the traditional fanfare of turkey, cranberries, potatoes and football. At the same time, in light of all the adversity in the world, ...
15 years ago there were almost no small, family-run importers focused on real, high-grade quality, estates or organics. Nor was there any overarching effort to provide small farmers with fair prices and to bring their coffees in on a consistent...
As I prepare to head to Atlanta next week for the SCAA “Big Convention”, I marvel at how lucky I am to be a part of the coffee world. This June I will be celebrating 28 years in coffee as a green coffee trader. Wow! Way back in 1988 as I st...
