before
David and I have been life partners for almost 40 years! When we met in our 20’s and followed our default life paths focusing on career: biotechnology for David and information technology for Madeleine.
We both met some success, but we were not fulfilled. We worked all the time. When we purchased a house and found it difficult to maintain the tiny garden with our limited time. So we filled it with low maintenance plants – mostly native perennials. We loved them!
We began to notice many species of bees coming to visit the flowers. When David pointed out that different bees went to different flowers, it was the beginning of viscerally understanding ecology. From that moment we began the transformation of our tiny urban grass patch to a biodiverse tiny forest! We’ve had many unexpected visitors like a mink, a least bittern, a fox, and, in recent years, we have hosted screech owls!
As our awareness grew, a friend asked why all my energy and attention was going to a career while what I claimed to love got so little. That went in deep and began a transformation.
the transformation
We set about shifting our efforts to something that we could give ourselves to fully. Something that would harness our love of flavour, our growing love of the natural world, and something that we could sink our analytical teeth into.
And then the problem of habitat destruction to grow coffee industrially came into view. A biological hotspot turned into an eco-desert, not to make better coffee, but to concentrate the money in coffee in global supply chains.
We tried to purchase Bird Friendly coffee, but were not able to find a source.
So, with very little idea of what we were doing and a lot of hubris, decided to buy roaster and get started. At time of writing, that was about 25 years ago.
now
A richer taste, a richer earth®
In the nearly quarter century that we have wandered this road, we have learned to live life in keeping with our tagline: A richer taste, a richer earth®. We find life better when we focus on the quality of experience rather than accumulating stuff. And we find experiences better when connecting with the intricate web of a richer earth.