My Specialty Coffee Story
It was 2014 and I was sitting outside at Panther Coffee’s original location in Wynwood. I was drinking a pourover that blew my mind. It was an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and, well, the rest is history. What followed that day was a lot of coffee ordering from roasters all over the US (and then Scandinavia - thank you Kaffebox!) and trips to every specialty café I could find in my travels. Bags of coffee were followed by gear purchases as I delved into home brewing methods (Clever, Kalita, v60, Blue Bottle drippers, Chemex, even socks!). In 2015, I read about the SCA Expo in Seattle and I decided I could probably learn more in 3 days than I would in a year of what I had been doing. My son decided it would be a great father/son trip (he was right!) and we walked the halls, watched the World Barista Championship, sampled coffee after coffee and had the time of our lives.
The ad for the 2015 SCA Expo in Seattle, WA
What’s not to love about specialty coffee? The focus on relationships, fairness and delicious coffee that tells a story of the care that goes into the cup - all the way from origin and through so many caring hands - is unique to only a few things in life.
From a cupping at Panther Coffee in 2016
After years in the insurance industry, I decided to combine my expertise in managing risk with the gratitude I feel for the world of specialty coffee. I created a series of handouts for cafes and roasters to help them think about issues with risk before they ever have a claim. And I am focused on helping to adequately insure any and all links in the coffee chain - with the ethos that prevails at the Insurance Office of America; one of partnership, advocacy and commitment.
