We get asked often how we got started roasting coffee and normally we begin that story by talking about how my (Roger) brother sent us a Ziploc baggie full of coffee but the story really starts over a decade before.
Before 1998 Sarah and I didn't drink coffee. I had when I was in high school but it wasn't because it tasted good, it was because it was either that, milk or Kool Aide and I didn't care for the last two very much. I had to load it up with creamer and sugar to get it down. Once I moved out on my own I just didn't bother buying a coffee pot. Sarah never liked coffee so it was even less of an issue for her. We lived that way for years, and were quite content to do so. We both enjoy tea and cocoa so it wasn't like we were at a loss for a hot beverage when the mood struck us.
Fast forward to Sarah graduating from college. We decided to go on a cruise to celebrate and were looking forward to it. Little did we know that one particular port of call would change our lives forever.
The last port of call was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I still remember waking up and looking out the the balcony window and seeing the impossibly beautiful beaches rising from the turquoise waters and crowned by mist covered mountains. It was breathtaking. We had booked a shore excursion that took us to the Dunn River Falls and a few other places in the vicinity (I honestly don't remember every stop that day). One stop was on the side of the mountain and it was just a cabana with a lady inside selling coffee. This was our first introduction to freshly roasted coffee, let alone Jamaican Blue Mountain. Honestly, we were a bit turned off by the constant badgering to try the coffee despite our repeatedly saying that we didn't drink coffee. I don't remember which of us gave in first and agreed to try it but once the first person tried it they convinced the other to try it and man, was that an eye opening experience.
The coffee was bright but not too bright. It had a creamy mouthfeel and the flavor wasn't bitter, quite the contrary. We had no idea up to that point the coffee could taste like that. Needless to say, we bought a couple of 250g bags and when we got home we went and bought a coffee maker so we could brew and enjoy it.
When it was gone, we spent the next few years trying to find a coffee that was even close to that good to no avail. The rest, as they say, is history but since becoming coffee roasters we dreamed of the day we'd be able to afford to offer this amazing coffee to our customers. That day has arrived and we hope that the luck 40 folks who are able to snag a bag enjoy the coffee as much as we do.