David Pohl
David Pohl
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Helen Russell is Co-founder and CEO of Equator Coffees & Teas® in San Rafael, CA. Under her direction, Equator has earned a reputation as a quality-oriented, customer-focused business that takes the lead on issues of social and environmental responsibility.

Helen is responsible for company strategy and growth. She has defined competitive advantage to include social responsibility and sustainable choices. She strives to deliver innovations in procuring, roasting, brewing, and sales and business practices. These initiatives tangibly support the company’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility and they also enhance the bottom line.

Equator is an artisan wholesale coffee roaster, known for its commitment to quality coffees and sustainable practices. In 2010, Equator was named “Roaster of the Year” by Roast Magazine, the industry’s leading journal. Equator sells to independent bakeries and cafes throughout California and the U.S., as well as leading fine dining restaurants including The French Laundry, Jardiniere, and Per Se in New York.

Blog Entries by David Pohl

Political Instability, Climate Change and High Coffee Prices

Posted February 22, 2011 | 12:20:09 (EST)

Coffee, like a lot of commodities, is getting expensive. Political instability, such as we are seeing today in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as climate change around the world, are conspiring to push prices up for everything from corn to coffee. Since June the cost of raw green Arabica coffee...

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Ethiopian Coffee Trends for 2011

Posted January 18, 2011 | 09:09:01 (EST)

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and you can still find it growing wild in the forests of Kaffa. On a December trip to Ethiopia I tasted a Kaffa "forest" coffee - mother nature's bounty - it had tremendous body and was decidedly floral. Yes, I thought, this...

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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Cookstoves in the Coffee Industry

Posted December 1, 2010 | 14:53:37 (EST)

As a coffee roaster, I work day in, day out in an environment that, if I weren't using a sophisticated machine, would be very smoky. Happily for me, I use the roaster's equivalent of a sexy green Tesla Roadster 2.5. Equator's Loring Smart roaster is a...

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"The End of Coffee As We Know It"

Posted October 5, 2010 | 14:59:46 (EST)

Coffee pundits are fretting about a coffee "shortage", which has led to a 35% price spike over the past four months on the NY ICE Coffee Futures Exchange. We're hearing dire predictions of doom and gloom, an "end to coffee as we know it." Leave it to mainstream media and...

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