Our mission statement isn’t just words on a page. Tony’s employees are constantly living it, doing it and being it. Here are a few recent examples. In February, Andrew Bowman, our lead roaster, earned his Q Grade certification from the Coffee Quality Institute. Andrew flew to Southern California to attend an intensive two-day prep class

There are cosmic forces at work. How else can I explain that in this, Tony’s 40th year of operation, we should see the coffee market rise to levels not seen since the 1970s? No doubt all of us in the coffee industry have been feeling a little whiplash lately. Less than a year ago I

I’m so excited to share our big news with you! This past August, Tony’s has partnered up with Primo Espresso Company. For over 15 years, Primo has been doing business in the Bay Area — selling and servicing espresso machines and coffee brewers and distributing coffee and coffee related products. Like Tony’s, Primo is a

In April, I had the pleasure of participating in the Second Annual SCAA Executive Symposium and attending the 22nd Annual SCAA Expo. For those few days, Anaheim truly was the happiest place on earth…and the most caffeinated. Once again I was reminded of why I’m blessed to be working in specialty coffee. Overwhelmingly, the people

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has. —Margaret Mead A couple days before Christmas, my family had the pleasure of seeing our nephew Devon in Curtain Call Performing Arts’ presentation of A Christmas Carol. Devon was terrific as a

Q: What are the three most important things in choosing coffee? A: Quality, Quality, and Quality. What better example than the treasures coming out of Ethiopia’s storied coffee growing regions of Harrar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe. For decades, Ethiopian growers and producers have responded to increasing awareness of and demand for unique flavors and clean quality

President’s Message I’m recently back from the SCAA Annual Symposium and Expo in Atlanta. In light of the prolonged economic downturn, I was expecting to find a smaller, toned-down convention this year. And, for sure, there was talk of business being down, unemployed folks exploring new opportunities, and a number of seminars on how to

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I take Cervantes’ quote and its more familiar shortened version—“the proof’s in the pudding”—to mean that in order to truly test something, you must experience it. Never truer then when it comes to evaluating coffee quality. So what is the best way to “experience” coffee? Over

“An Inconvenient Tooth (Tusk)” In keeping with our elephant theme, I’d like to take the opportunity to address a question that I’ve heard countless times over the years. In one form or another it boils down to: “What’s up with the elephant?” I offer five explanations. Feel free to adopt the ones that work best