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VISITING
ROY AND MOOSE
by Diane Parsons
Decent
Coffee is buying fresh roasted organic whole bean from Pistol
& Burnes these days. Ever curious, I decided to pay a visit
to the Pistol & Burnes outlet in Delta, British Columbia
to meet the Roastmaster, Roy Hardy. |
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Roy, affable and gregarious, is quick to turn coffee-prophet
for a willing ear. As soon as I arrived I was offered a
delicious cup of java and invited into Roy's office for
a chat. At one point Roy jumped up to open the door and
admit an old, blond, slow-moving dog named Moose. She has
cancer, he explained and gave the dog a hearty greeting.
Throughout our conversation Roy pet the dog every time she
put her nose on his lap. It seems that once Roy gets started
on the subject of coffee, Moose is one of only a few things
that can divert him.
Like most small business owners trying to make it in an
industry controlled by the 'big boys', Pistol & Burnes couldn't
survive without Roy's determination, boundless energy and
passion for good coffee. He is committed to a concept that
he calls "Farmer First" which is, essentially, a three-prong
approach to building relationships with the farmers who
provide Roy his 'green' (the raw beans that arrive in burlap
sacks ready to be roasted at the roastery in Delta).
The three lines of the approach include:
1. economic profitability: i.e. paying the farmer a fair
price for his product;
2. social reform: encouraging programs that help the farming
community including the provision of education and fresh
water; and,
3. environmental concern: encouraging, for example, composting;
drying muselage in the sun rather than in kilns (which require
burning wood from surrounding forests); planting flowers
that attract beneficial insects; planting mango trees which
provide a second income and attract the birds that eat the
harmful insects.
When a farmer says that he is developing his farm for his
grandchildren Roy perks up like the foam on a double latte.
These are the farmers with whom Roy wants to develop long
term economic relationships and each year he travels to
a different country to meet current and potential growers.
He knows that business is best conducted face to face. And
he knows that it is only by walking through the coffee fields
and seeing the operations first hand that he can confidently
guarantee that his products embrace the concepts of Farmer
First Coffee.
For
more information and loads of really great pictures, check
out Roy's website at pistolandburnes.com.
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