Well, since my father and I were named after him you would think I would know – but I don’t.  If you were to believe my grandmother, he was the most handsome, kind, compassionate, hardworking and loving man that she had ever met.  Her summer romance with this stranger had all the makings of the “How we met” stories that are retold with reverence at a golden anniversary party.  To hear her tell it, there were never two people more in love.

But, in that day and age and in her society, they did not tolerate their growing love – you see he was African and she was Caucasian.  Their relationship ended as quickly as it had started as, one early morning, she was forced into her uncle’s truck by her father and brothers and driven further away from her home than she had ever been;  kept in seclusion for almost a year.   When she returned home her love had disappeared and she began her life anew as an outcast.  As life eventually went on so did she as a wife, mother and grandmother but she always remembered the power that passion could have in your life.

Fast forward, some eighty years ahead and the smell of fresh roasted spiced coffee swirling around a hut in the middle of Ethiopia.   We sit with my two newly adopted daughters and their birth mother and I give my oath to be a father, friend and caretaker of tradition and history.  We sit, together, on blades of long grass and yellow flowers and partake in the ancient tradition of drinking coffee together, as friends, community and family and it was then, when coffee became a part of our life, we realized that with whom you drink is as important as what you drink.

Friends are always welcome to come have a cup – and if you have the time we may even put down some tall grass, yellow flowers and spend the afternoon doing one of the most important things in life.

Who is Freeman?

What's so special about our coffee?

  You.   That’s what is so special about our coffee.   We recognize that coffee needs to fit into your world, your life.   You don’t wake up in the morning dreaming about discussing the effect different microclimates have on cherry flavour on hybrid beans grown in highland tropical Asian biomes with strangers on the bus.  You want a coffee that you can drink without worry about it making your feel ill.   You want a coffee that isn’t going to taste like burnt walnuts.  We recognise that you want a coffee that fits, seamlessly, into your day giving you its best, first sip to last so you can give yours.  

Our commitment is to making the finest coffee.    Our roasting method aims to keep acidity and bitterness as low as possible while protecting the flavour of your coffee, and not just the first few sips but through the entire mug.  We are the fourth wave of coffee – recognizing that without you, coffee doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.