John Randall

John has been a member of the coffee trade since February 1978 and has sat at the desk of just about every job you can have in the coffee import trade. He’s been building relationships all around the world ever since, it’s what he calls the best part of his job. John was an apprentice early on, learning from seasoned professionals about coffee and what makes it special. In the 80’s when a movement started to identify special coffees and build a trade association, John was on the steering committee which lead to the creation of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and was recognized in 1991 with an award for Outstanding Contributions to the Association.

Professionals sharing their passions and knowledge for coffee is what started John along his path, and what motivates him even today. He joined Armenia Coffee Corp on July 11, 1994 as a green coffee trader (remembering why that date is important to coffee, check out this NY Times article)

It’s been every bit that interesting a ride ever since. John fancies himself a bit of a geek as his 4 phones, 2 tablets and multiple computers will attest, and believes technology and coffee go well together. He believes that working together makes the end result better than the sum of the parts and to that end loves to blend Yirgacheffee, Mandheling and a nice Colombian believing this is as heavenly a blend as there ever was.