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food, wine, beer, etc., so the "high-end" focus was natural. I had worked for large banks, the largest private commodity company in the world, and had zero desire to work for a big company again. Nothing wrong about it—[it] was just not for me any longer. I remember the day that I said to Andrew, "Let's focus and be like a high-end wine shop and not a commodity company." To which Andrew said, "What if nobody comes?" It's many moons later and we're still here, so it worked, I think. Another thought at the time was, "I think we'll be paying $3 to $5 a pound for a lot of our coffees." This has come true, too. I think the C market was around 70 cents-per-pound at the time, and $2.20 was an amazing amount of money to pay for a coffee. SA: What's changed over the years as the industry has changed around you, in terms of auctions, direct sourcing, the sustainabili- ty concept going mainstream, etc.? JL: I don't know if we changed, per se, I mean, there's been change, but we had the same vision and desire for coffee. We've always wanted to discover and develop the best coffees and to reward farmers for doing it. I feel like we've grown, with the same goal, as the trends that you mention. [Cup of Excellence] and auctions, finding undiscovered coffees and paying farmers for it. Green buyers going to origin—yeah, we do it already, have been for a long time. Sustainability? We were carbon neutral back in 2008 (though [we need] to tune it up, as we've grown in size—that's on the agenda). I think we were the second company to be Fair Trade–certified, back in 1998 before I was even around, and came up with Beanologies (online downloadable info on coffee) as one of the first, if not the first. It's all the same desire. Find and discover the best coffees globally, get it in and sell to roasters, providing as much info as we can. SA: Let's talk about the Café Imports trips to source for barista champions. This will be the fifth year you've done it, which is hard to believe! How did this idea to take the six Regional Barista Champions, the United States Barista Champion, and the World Barista Champion to different origin countries every year come about, and what did you hope to accomplish with it? JL: I think it is part of the plan and desire to share coffee knowledge. Baristas have always been important to us, as they, as you know, are the most direct contact with the coffee drinker. I think the idea was Andrew's originally. One of those, "Hey, doesn't it sound great to take top baristas to origin?" And I likely said, "Yes, it does." SA: Personally, what's your life like? JL: I've been married, gulp, 23 years. We have guys in the office who are 25, thus, I'm old! Can't get around that! Kirsten is a Ph.D. in health economics, and worked for many years for the Mayo Clinic doing research and consulting. She has a consulting company now, and like us at Café Imports, cares about health care, not just mak- ing a buck. My kiddies—one of them, technically, is not a kid at 21, though he is to me. Alex is studying medieval history at school and working in the [Café Imports] lab for a second summer. My daughter, Sophia, is 14 and does a lot of 14-year-old stuff. SA: How do you guys prepare coffee at home? JL: Ninety-nine percent of the time, espresso-based drinks. Espresso para mi and capps to lattes for Kirsten. I occasionally Americano it, using gold filter post espresso pull, and rarely get out pourovers or drip. I get my drip/pourover/Chemex at work. Kirsten switches to tea when I'm gone, as she's apparently afraid of a plumbed-in Speedster at home. SA: Travel has played a really important role in your life, right? How did that begin and how does it continue now for you, as well as for Café Imports? JL: My inspiration for travel was just travel itself. [As a college stu- Jason spends much of his time traveling through East Africa, South and Central America, and Indonesia visiting the producers with whom Café Imports has long-standing relationships and active projects. In the photo above, le, Jason happily poses for a picture with his friend and collaborator Miru Zelelu, on a recent trip to Ethiopia. "He's one of the farmer-specific guys—small farmers, but for Ethiopia, big enough to sell coffee to us and keep separate," Jason says of Melu, whose coffee has placed and won in the Good Food Awards a few times. Melu and his family used the premium they received from Café Imports in 2014 to run electricity from the main road to their house. At right: Jason brought his 14-year-old daughter, Sophia, on a buying trip to Costa Rica not long ago, aer which they spent a few days relaxing at the beach. 86 barista magazine