Posted on July 25, 2006 - by deCadmus

Wayback: Romancing the Bean

Five years ago today on Bloggle I was expressing my admiration for the ideas of one Lindsey Bolger, the mistress of the roast at a faraway little coffee company…

Once a year Fresh Cup Magazine produces a special issue packed to the gills with articles and resources that highlight one particular segment of the coffee trade. This year it’s the Coffee Almanac 2001, an issue that delves into coffee production, cupping and roasting–issues near and dear to the heart of any coffee roaster, but stuff that’s generally on the other side of the counter from the consumer. Of the articles they’ve made available online, I’m keen on Lindsey Bolger’s “A Cupper’s Covenant.” Lindsey is Batdorf & Bronson’s Master Roaster and green coffee buyer, and what most impresses me is her relationship based approach to developing sustainability. In her position, she’s perfectly capable of simply cornering the market on a given grower’s bean; instead, she advocates methods that ensure a continuing supply. That’s good news for all of us–grower, roaster and consumer, alike.

I wouldn’t have imagined five years ago that I’d regularly share a cupping table with Lindsey… or what a treat it is to do so. Five years on and her vision hasn’t changed.

(P.S. Shame on you Fresh Cup for taking your archives offline. “A Cupper’s Covenant” is as relevant today as it was then… I hope I can dig it up somewhere.)

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