This limited edition (Spring 2020) GEM is a medium roast coffee from the ancient Mayan kingdom of Copan, Honduras. It is a balanced, slightly sweet and somewhat citrusy brew that is especially good made in a drip or filter coffee maker.

We created the Gem as a tribute to my father-in-law, Steve. I am sad to share with you that Steve passed away late in February. He had a long and interesting life - but even at 94 years and 354 days old, I still feel like we lost him way too soon.

Steve was a gem in many ways. And he mined gems, too, at the family amethyst mine outside Thunder Bay.

Steve was born in the Ukraine in 1925 and passed away at the home he built in northern Ontario in 2020. His family immigrated to Canada in the early 1930s, first homesteading in Manitoba before moving to West Loon Lake, Ontario.

As a teen, Steve moved to Toronto and worked at the fancy Royal York Hotel. As soon as he was old enough, he enlisted and served with the Brockville Rifles “D” Company in Jamaica during WWII. After the war, he got a job at the local paper mill where he worked for 42 years, 3 months before retiring as a Wood Room Foreman in 1989.

Steve married Valma and they raised a family, Joe and Susan. They were married for 57 years.

Steve enjoyed his retirement, filling it with gardening, his cats, and birdwatching. He loved fishing with friends and his nephew, Mike, on lakes both small and great. He built bird and bat houses for the Ministry of Natural Resources and volunteered at the Red Rock Fish and Game Club. He crafted amethyst into jewelry and clocks. He always puttered. There was never enough time to watch TV until he discovered YouTube. xo and rest in peace…

RECOMMENDED BREWING METHODS:

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