.....It's been hectic these last few months - cracked my ribs in June, sold my house in August, resigned from a 27-year roasting career, Alfred Peet (who I had the privilege of working for for most of 4 years and confidant of 23 years) passed on, helped start a new and very different type of coffee and tea company...

I'm now involved in all aspects of the business which is exhilarating and taxing at the same time. I'd like to thank my two partners in this venture - Michael Brown and Bryce Inouye. Without them this would not be.[...]
Michael, for his far beyond "driven", 24/7-8 days a week approach to this endeavor. His freekin' phone calls every 5 minutes and being able to handle my answer, "WHAAAT!"
Bryce, for his incredible talent of taking something I say and creating exactly what I was conceptualizing but could never come up with alone. Like "I want it this color, name vertical, simple but classy." Wasn't long before Bryce created the logo we have today - at first glance I could not believe my eyes.
It was exactly as I thought it should be and we hope you like it. Bryce and Renee Brown are also responsible for the beautiful website. Thanks!

I'd also like to thank my significant other, Dora Fong, for believing in my vision even though she knows the time and effort it will take for me to be a partner in this enterprise. Renee Brown for her non-stop insight on all of the above. Her, "It's not in the write nor the re-write, but in the re-re-write". Alex Brown for throwing balls at his dad's head while he's trying to communicate another solution to me. Lauren Cueto (Dora's daughter) for fixing all those labels we screwed up. Matthew Cueto (Dora's son), for his piano playing at 7:00am. Jeannine Kaiser for her open and honest advice on all matters.
Last, but not least, I'd like to thank my former employer for all those wonderful years I will never ever forget. It was just time to be my own man. Nic, Paul, Steve, Alan, Eliseo, Michael, Rick, Robert......the guys who always showed up way too early ready to roast.
Victor, Marlo OG, "Where's Tito?" Ron...the guys that showed up early ready to pack....
Jerry Baldwin, Jim Reynolds, Doug Welsh, Gordon Bowker, Pat O' Dea, Jim Grimes, Shirin Moayad, Neil, Raymond......the people that ran the show.
There are so many others...Thank you all! I wish you the best!

Orders are now steadily coming in and it's great to be behind the roaster again. We are approaching our goal for December. The Holiday Blend is better than I imagined. I am now free, experimenting with many different styles and levels of roasting and blending that I haven't had a chance to explore in the past; with very interesting/tasty results which I am sure you'll agree when you taste the coffee. I'm also happy to be back tasting, selecting and blending teas as well. There are more choices of suppliers for tea and herbs than I ever thought possible. I hope the choices for tea we've made will satisfy you for now, many more to come.....