The Story of Brown & Co. Fresh Roasted Coffees
When I was a kid, way back in the 1960’s, my father, weary from all the political upheaval and the Vietnam War, decided to pack us all up and move out to the country. He found a run-down 400-acre dairy farm in the Okanogan Valley, and we began a new period in our lives as farmers.
As city slickers, we were unprepared for the level of hard physical labor involved in running a farming operation. Before long though, it became clear that the life of a farmer seemed a lot closer to what we were put on this Earth for. As stewards of the land, it felt good to walk the fields, drive the tractors, and care for the animals. Sadly it was a short period in our lives, because of the economic situation for small farmers. Within two years we were back to the city, with heavy hearts, and my fathers life savings up in smoke. It must be said though, that in that two years, we accumulated an enormous peace of mind that for me at least, lasts to this day.
Fast forward to present times. Guess what? Small farmers are still in peril, and more so than ever in coffee growing regions. The advent of multi-national corporations wielding enormous economic clout, has forced millions of small independent farmers from their lands. Coffee, the second largest commodity traded worldwide (after oil), has reached a crisis stage economically where workers are concerned.
My desire to do something that could help, led me to become a Fair Trade Certified coffee roaster.
My experience as a ‘coffee guy’ consists of a wide range of experiences. Starting as a Barista with the Mukilteo Coffee Company in 1987, then as an entrepreneur in 3 different small coffee operations, and followed by a nearly 4-year period as a marketing and sales manager for a local independent coffee roasting company. Recently, I’ve spent a fair amount of time as a media consultant for a number of coffee companies nationally, producing and directing promotional DVD’s and training products. As I interact with a wide range of people in the coffee business it’s becoming increasingly clear that Fair Trade products are gaining ground with consumers. More important than that though, it just feels good to ‘do good’, especially when it coincides with making great coffee! The great thing is, everyone is welcome to join in the journey, with nothing more than a cup of Fair Trade coffee as the price of admission!
Sincerely,
Neal V. Brown
1. Select the coffee or tea variety that you would like to purchase from the menus.
2. Select a bag size and whether you would like whole beans or ground in the pull-down menu or select a Quick Buy button for added savings.
3. If you use the pull down menu, press the Add to Cart button and wait a few seconds. Your shopping cart will appear. Make sure your selections are shown properly. Within your shopping cart you can specify if you would like more that one bag of your selection.
4. When you are finished with your selections, proceed to PayPal from the shopping cart screen to checkout. Your transaction will be completed using the secure PayPal site. (Note: You do not need a PayPal account to use this system, just a major credit card)
5. If you would like to make additional selections before you checkout, you may return to this page and add more items to your shopping cart.
6. If you use a Quick Buy button for any item, you will proceed directly to the PayPal checkout screen to complete your purchase, bypassing the shopping cart.
