When it came to coffee I have to say I though Starbucks was high end. I never grew up around fancy coffees and never new where the beans came from. Personally I just enjoyed the drink and what I thought was a superb cup of coffee. In my later years of high school I began drinking black coffee after a friend of my parents introduced me to an Ethiopian blend I had never tried before. He had fancy machines and gadgets and took quite a while to make one small batch of joe. Why? I thought what does all this have to do with the taste of the coffee? It was not until I tried it when I simply knew it was the best I’ve ever had. The aromas and taste on my tongue were extraordinary. Before that day my black coffee always tasted burnt and bland but after trying my first high end coffee I knew I would never go back to my Starbucks coffee bean past. After that day I’ve had a passion for tasting great coffees from LA, Orange County, to now Olympia I am yet to find one that will beat the taste of that Ethiopian masterpiece.

Marcus Flores

Coffee is a large cultural commodity which matters to a large majority of Americans who share a personal relationship with Coffee. However, the dynamics and discourses of Coffee production is largely invisible to the people who consume it on a regular basis. Olympia, and the Puget Sound region in particular has helped create a space that keeps true to local culture surrounding the consumption of coffee whilst promoting through positive marketing techniques awareness of the moral responsibilities of coffee houses in non producing countries. Places such as Caffe Vita, or Olympia Coffee Roasters have visually lead this mentality through product and access to knowledge for consumers. The experimental endeavors such as meticulous water filtration or various extraction methods have altered and formed new modes of appreciating coffee flavor, and the levels of effects it brings.