Remembering the Ruskeys – California Coffee Farming Pioneers
The coffee industry was absolutely floored by the recent passing of Jay and Kristen Ruskey, owners of Good Land Organics and co-founders of Frinj Coffee in Goleta, California, early this month. Articles across the web already tout the Ruskeys’ achievements, so I wanted to add to their archive reflections from coffee professionals who saw the Ruskeys as so much more than pioneers of Californian coffee. Here are their words:
William Ristenpart, UC Davis Professor of Chemical Engineering and Founding Director of the UC Davis Coffee Center
“Jay was not only a visionary and a pioneer, he was also a fantastic educator. We loved bringing students down from UC Davis to visit Jay’s farm so they could learn directly from him about how coffee is grown and processed.
It’s heartbreaking, not only for those of us lucky enough to have benefited from Jay’s teaching, but also for future generations of students who won’t have that opportunity.”