Michael Hebb’s Posts

• Book review: Caffeinated reads

  Javatrekker and God in a Cup on the culture of coffee production 0

  Posted 1 year, 3 months ago

  When I jumped on a plane one year ago and headed off to Guatemala with Seattle-based coffee roaster Caffé Vita, there was little more than the occasional blog post telling "the story behind coffee." The majority of the writing about coffee I could find was focused on the history of the bean-like-seed: stories of cunning Dutch merchants, over-caffeinated whirling dervishes, and besieged Austrians, but nothing talking about the places and people that presently grow the second most valuable crop on the planet.

  

  When Vita and I dropped down in Guatemala City,… Read More

• Bean there, done khat

  Tales from a trek to Ethiopia with a Seattle coffee roaster 2

  Posted 1 year, 5 months ago

  I have spent the past year traveling the globe with Seattle coffee roaster Caffé Vita in their search for coffee, and I have the more enviable and slippery task of seeking out stories. Many Grist readers know that coffee is the second most heavily traded commodity on the planet, but unlike the elephant in the pole position (oil), we hear very little about the realities of the cherry-red fruit on which we are also dependent.

  As long as Grist lets me, I will throw out some thoughts from the coffee road, and the other "tablemaking" adventures in… Read More

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