FROM THE EDITOR
Shanna Germain
I’VE OFTEN HEARD the specialty coffee industry
referred to as a “family.” Sometimes this
term comes up when people are talking about the way
someone stepped in and helped their business. Other
times, it comes up when people new to the industry
mention how nice and welcoming everyone is. When squabbles
break out over the proper technique or science versus
art, that’s when it seems most like family,
as everyone chooses sides and starts pushing. Of course,
by the end of the day, after the bloody lips and the
name-calling, everyone’s seated back around
the food, telling the stories about how so-and-so
finally admitted he was wrong or how maybe that other
roaster had a point.
If it’s true that the coffee industry is a family,
then it’s easy to imagine our conferences and
retreats as family reunions: the Roaster clan arriving
with their green beans and turntables, the Barista
family pulling up with their tampers and milk pitchers,
the industry newbies standing around the food, as
gangly and uncertain as teenagers. And over in the
corner, the grandfathers, playing horseshoes and marveling
at how big the family has grown since they founded
it way back when.
In recent years, we’ve lost a few of those grandfathers,
the amazing and pioneering men who built the specialty
coffee family with their foresight, hard work and
dedication. Last year, we mourned the passing of Ward
Barbie, founder of Fresh Cup, as well as Dave Charleville,
founder of Chauvin Coffee.
And, most recently, we are feeling the loss of Alfred
Peet, the founder of Peet’s Coffee & Tea,
who passed away in late August. Peet, considered a
pioneer in the specialty coffee industry, opened his
first establishment in Berkeley back in 1966. In 1971,
when the first Starbucks store opened in Seattle,
they used coffee roasted by Peet’s. He is remembered
as someone who wanted to buy the best beans and serve
the best coffee—a philosophy that has now become
an industry standard.
The coffee family has grown—a lot—but
that doesn’t mean we feel the absence of these
founders any less. In fact, we feel it more, as we
come to understand just how strong of a foundation
they created in order for us to become such a large,
strong, successful family. We are lucky to have so
many founders—grandfathers, if you will—who
continue to stay involved with the industry. Many
of them are the ones I seek out for advice and encouragement
when I’m struggling with an article, or when
I want to gain a better understanding of the family
history. And they’re always happy to sit down
and share their knowledge and passion.
I know that I, like so many others, am proud to be
part of this family and will not forget those who
have gone before us to plant the early seeds of this
coffee family tree and help it flower.
Keep the flame burning,
Shanna
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