Here at
the Merry Rose, we fuel our writing with espresso. Our favorite coffee blend is
delightfully titled Earth and Sky. This is a shade-grown, fair-trade, certified
organic coffee developed by the Craven’s Coffee company, located in Spokane,
Washington. Earth and Sky is available in Spokane area grocery stores, such as
Rosauer’s and Super One.
In the
coffee aisle, the Craven’s section includes photos of Simon Thompson as he travels
the world in search of great coffees supported by fair trade, sustainable
growing, and great flavor. This type of dedication inspired the Merry Rose to request this interview. In
between his many trips, Simon kindly answered some of our questions.
Simon, what drew
you to the coffee business?
"I
somewhat stumbled into it, as it seems most Roasters do. I was in the Hotel and
Restaurant business and found myself, through a former co-worker, starting with
Seattle's Best Coffee in 1991. I worked on Vashon Island managing the Roasting
Facility, then moved to Wholesale Division. When the company was transitioned
into another corporation, my wife Becky and myself decided to go out by
ourselves and we moved here to Spokane to start Cravens."
You have
traveled extensively worldwide, including countries like Rwanda which have
experienced political turmoil and violence. What are some of the criteria you
use to decide when the path is safe for coffee and you?
"The
original 2005 trip to Rwanda was prompted by a geo-political interest in what
had transpired there in 1994. I could not get my arms around how such an event
(the genocide of 800,000 people in 90days) occurred...in 1994! When there was
an initiative to look at establishing a Specialty Coffee industry, I became
involved. Colombia is a risk, in the south, and Guatalama has issues. But the
criteria is the quality of the coffee. Despite turmoil there are places where
great coffee is grown (and some where it is not) so we seek the distinctive
regions where the coffee is spectacular."
"Earth and
Sky was a blend developed for the former Cheney Cowles Museum (now the MAC)
when they staged an exhibition of Native American art and culture, called
"From Earth to Sky". The goal of the blend was rich, bold and
organic. We achieved not only that objective but ended up with what has become
our best-selling blend ever. The coffees are all Certified Organic and Fair
Trade Certified, including Guatemala La Laguna, which as a farm has the most
attention to detail I have ever had the pleasure to observe and experience.
Shade-grown
makes a difference, primarily because the more direct to the original strains
of the coffee plant grow better under shade (rather than de-forested full sun).
Also the shade trees provide nitrogen through leaf litter which mulches and
feeds the plants while retaining moisture around the roots. Shade grown coffee
tends to be overall more flavorful coffee."
Many Thanks to Simon for taking time to share his insights!
“Earth and Sky - Certified
Organic
Flavor Profile: Shade-grown,
full-bodied, complex
Primary Origin: Organic Guatemala
La Laguna
Roast: Dark / Italian
This richly flavored blend
captures the essence of three organically shade-grown coffees. Dark roasted and
full-bodied, these small-farm coffees are carefully cultivated under
sustainable crop conditions.”
“Fair Trade helps make organic
growing methods possible. That's good for the farmers, good for developing
economies, good for our planet, and tasty good at your favorite cafe.”
