There are moments in our lives when the universe is showing us the way. Sometimes, the signs are subtle and could almost be overlooked. At other times, they are stark and force you to acknowledge them. The other day, I experienced a rather interesting example of the universe talking to me. I had recently started reading the Sci-Fi epic Dune by Frank Herbert in anticipation of the Dune sequel hitting the cinemas next year and I had already picked Dune Coffee as one of our two Global roasters for January when the highest bidder for my Amsterdam apartment turned out to be a girl called Dune. (My partner Michal and I bought our first flat together and I sold my current flat to part-finance the new one). There I had the word Dune make an appearance in my life in three different contexts. What are the chances?

When Julia and Todd Mayer, owners of Dune Coffee in Santa Barbara were made redundant from their last jobs during the financial crisis of 2009, they were applying to every opening they could find but without any success. Julia even moved back in with her parents while on the hunt until one day a friend forwarded them the lease for their first café with the question, ‘if not now, then when?’ They simply had to jump at this opportunity.

Julia had always wanted to run her own coffee shop and having already spent several years in the coffee industry, she was quite familiar with the way of things. After making a few calls, her friends at Verve Coffee lent them an espresso machine and things really took off from there. In just three years, between 2009 to 2012, they managed to grow Dune Coffee to such a point that they started souring and roasting their own coffee and in the following years, opened three additional cafés in the Santa Barbara area.

I find these kinds of stories really inspirational and this is part of what drew me to Dune Coffee in the first place. I like picking fiercly independent coffee roasters who are doing something really important for their local communities which are still run by their founders as partners for our Coffeevine boxes and to introduce them to our customer base around the world.

For their Coffeevine debut in January, Dune Coffee will be roasting for us a delicious natural anaerobic processed coffee from Gerson Mora, a young producer who is based in Nariño, Colombia. Gerson primarily works with the Caturra variety, which is common in Colombia but thanks to his innovative processing methods, he’s able to create really distinct and unique cup profiles that lend this hard working coffee varietal completely new characteristics.

Expect a fresh and vibrant cup with notes of guava, plum and dark chocolate.

To receive this outstanding coffee and its companions for the January 2024 Coffeevine box with Global roasters, visit the Global Coffeevine box product page or buy the Total package that also includes our European roasters selection for January. Pre-orders close on 15.01.2024 / Ships globally on 22.01.2024