Great quality coffee is simply not easily mastered by anyone whose heart is not in the right place. More than almost any other commodity, coffee suffers dramatically when handled with anything but loving care and a determination to produce the best cup possible. Great quality coffee starts with the principled decision to plant a bourbon Arabica (for example) with it's relatively low yield but great taste rather than a new hybrid with it's larger yield but inferior taste.

Great quality coffee comes from the decision to meticulously grade and sort the harvested beans. Great quality coffee comes from that zealot who started the coffee competition to find and reward the region's best growers. Great quality coffee comes from the government's decision to upgrade its transportation infrastructure so that the beans are transported to the port in 2 days instead of baking in transit over a week (a problem with some Tanzanian coffees, for example).

Great quality coffee is the result of an importer's dedication to cupping every lot before buying it. Great quality coffee is the result of the roaster's insistence on roasting only enough coffee to last a few days at most. Tangentially, great quality coffee is the result of the roaster's decision to limit his market to a size that insures freshness. And this is really just a tiny sampling of all the steps taken from a great coffee tree to an exquisite coffee cup.

As said, finally it is the consumer that makes the last and most important decisions. Buy conveniently from the coffee aisle or make a special purchase? Buy whole bean and grind fresh each time or buy it pre-ground? (We offer ground coffee, but highly recommend investing in a grinder and buying whole bean.) Buy coffee for 2 months or just one? Every decision will have an impact on the final product.

Dirt Cowboy buys its beans from quality driven importers with years of expertise and well-developed relationships in the industry. We roast small batches slowly and carefully and roast just enough to last 2 - 3 days. Serving all our coffees by the cup every day to over 600 customers we also get lots of critical feedback that we use to make improvements and maintain our standards. The rest is in your hands!