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 | The Story of Brown & Co. Fresh Roasted CoffeesI'm the son of a soldier. My father, Virgil Brown, was a field commissioned Lieutenant in World War Two, with the 278th Infantry Division, that cut a path to Hitler's door, and liberated concentration camps as they went. He hated war and the army, and what he saw of mankind in those years colored his outlook on life. When he returned, he was educated on the GI bill, and chose to become a Social Worker, to do his part to help the people of the world. After getting his Masters degree in that field he spent 44 years doing just that. We lost our hero 6 years ago, but his beautiful bride of 56 years, Evelyn, lives peacefully and happily on Vancouver Island with my sister and her family. As a family, we always seem to be on an adventure of some kind or another! When I was a kid, way back in the 1960’s, my father, weary from all the political upheaval and the Vietnam War, decided to pack us all up and move way out to the country. He found a run-down 400-acre dairy farm in the Okanogan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, and we began a new period in our lives as farmers. As city slickers, we were unprepared for the level of hard physical labor involved in running a farming operation. Before long though, it became clear that the life of a farmer seemed a lot closer to what we were put on this Earth for. As stewards of the land, it felt good to walk the fields, drive the tractors, and care for the animals. Sadly it was a short period in our lives, because of the economic situation for small farmers. before long we had to leave the country life behind, with heavy hearts, and my parent's life savings up in smoke. The real victory of that period of my life was a sense of connection to the earth that I got herding cows in the sunny fields of that beautiful valley. Our fences were so bad that I had to hang out with the cows all day and lay in the grass reading. (No wonder I'm a vegetarian, cows are very sweet creatures by the way...) What I wouldnt give to do that again. Okay, now you know my main goal in life, to somehow get back to that! Fast forward to present times. Guess what? Small farmers are still in peril, and more so than ever in coffee growing regions. The advent of multi-national corporations wielding enormous economic clout, has forced millions of small independent farmers from their lands. Coffee, the second largest commodity traded worldwide (after oil), has reached a crisis stage economically where workers are concerned. I was inspired to learn about Fair Trade coffees and the very real possibility that this could be new style of global trading, what has been called the first form of "democratized globalization". People in small town USA actually having an effect on people as far away as New Guinea or Peru, simply by making a choice to buy a product that provides a sustainable living wage for the folks on the other end of that coffee, tea, or chocolate dollar. After many years of playing music for a living I had a chance encounter with a guy named Gary Smith at a tavern in the Madison Park neighborhood of Seattle called The Attic. I was asked by a friend to help with the door, you know, checking ID's and all of that, and Gary's band showed up but their lead guitar player didnt. So, after a brief check of their songlist I volunteered to play lead guitar for them and after collecting my guitar and amp from home, I did just that. The night went very well and for the next decade or so I was the "new" guitar player. Eventually I stopped playing with them to pursue my dream of creating an album of original songs, which took me forever to do, but thats another story! I got it done, used my middle name because there are TOO MANY NEAL'S in the music biz, so the album is called Virgil Brown, Smoke Rings. (Check it out, and sorry for the sidetrack!) Well, it so happens that Gary Smith had started a little company called Mukilteo Coffee, and met and fell in love with his wife Beth at the same time. Luckily, Gary offered me some part-time work making coffee, way back in the olden days of 1986! I went on to run two espresso carts of my own(brrrr!) and later, in 1995 first hoisted the cup and wings logo over my shop in downtown Seattle, called Gee Whiz. It's location was under the Monorail on 5th Avenue, and was open a little more than ten years before the lease ran out. Right around the turn of the century, I began to learn about coffee on a deeper level with a company called Zoka. An old friend of mine, Tim McCormack, started the company with an old acquaintence of his, Jeff Babcock. Tim is such a legendary figure in the Seattle coffee story, having been the first head roaster at a little company with a mermaid on its logo. He's one of the true gentleman of coffee, and it was great to watch him roast and cup the coffees. His passionate and eloquent description of the misty mountainsides of Guatemala, one morning over a cup of his fine coffee, inspired in me a passion for coffee that continues to this day. We had some good times and good fortune at Zoka during my tenure there as wholesale and marketing director. Our good friend, the now world renouned Dismas Smith, won the North American Barista Championship, and in so doing set in motion a new set of events, including one of my brainchilds "The Zoka Way" a one-hour "how-to" barista training DVD that is still sold nationally. Soon after, as a spring-board to my formation of BrownsCoffee.com, I spent a fair amount of time as a media consultant for other coffee companies, creating, producing and directing instructional DVD’s, such as "Cupping 101" for the Roasterie in Kansas City, a great company with a great vision, and the best and most methodical coffee evaluators I've ever met. Three cheers for Danny and Normy! (In a side note, my old friend Tim has gone full circle after working with Dismas Smith again at "Borogove Coffee" and now works with Gary and Beth Smith of the Mukilteo Coffee Company, now on beautiful Whidbey Island, its a small world after all). My path eventually led me to becoming a roaster. By hanging out with the right people, it just got into my blood I guess. I've been roasting for five years now at the General Store in North Seattle, and its been alot of blood sweat and tears along the way. The best part has been the ability to spend more time with my kids. The old General Store has spent several incarnations completely strewn with toys and train sets and legos from one end to the other! AWESOME! Luckily, in the years since I started the company, Fair Trade products have truly gained ground with consumers. My mom and pops, Evelyn and Virgil led by example, unaware of the long-term effects of their actions, they showed me first hand that it just feels good to ‘do good’ and helping other people is the finest way. I stand in the shadow of their giving abilities, and though I know I'll never come close to helping as many people as they did, I feel very good about roasting only 100% Fair Trade coffees that are grown without chemicals or pesticides. For me, it's the right thing to do, and it has far reaching effects on the lives of others. The great thing is, everyone is welcome to join in the journey, with nothing more than a cup of Fair Trade coffee as the price of admission! Sincerely, |
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