My passion for coffee began in 1994 when visiting a San Francisco cafe. I heard what sounded like a rock tumbler and discovered it was a coffee roaster. I realized then that coffee didn't have to be flat and bitter, as coffee roasting was a true art form.

Blind from birth, my visual impairment kept me from finding an apprenticeship in the coffee business. So I attended the San Francisco Coffee Training Institute and began my journey in the land of gourmet coffee roasting.