by A Karno

We’re a family where a perfect cup of coffee is almost sacred. The espresso machine not a bronze bust of Beethoven, is the centerpiece of our dining room. An antique wooden coffee grinder holds a place of honor in our home. Truthfully, I’d rather the car break down than the filtration system that provides us with purified water to make my morning cup. If I can get a really great cup of coffee first thing in the morning, I can face anything.

My husband is more qualified than anyone I know to deliver this necessity of life. Since I married master coffee roaster Richard Karno, life has been unpredictable, but the coffee has remained consistently fabulous.

I am used to having the very best brew, from only the finest beans. We travel quite a bit and we always used to take our own coffee. Settling for that swill they call ‘coffee’ in a hotel lobby was unthinkable; make that undrinkable, for the queen of cups.

My husband went to great lengths making water hot enough to fully release the flavor from the freshly ground beans we’d pack in airtight containers. You see, oxygen is the culprit. Like wine, extended exposure to air will denigrate the aroma and flavor of the grounds. Sounds like a lot of work, right?

All those filters, grinders and whole beans were such a hassle, so my husband set out to create an organic extract that would make life a little easier. After all, he was the one getting up a half hour earlier to indulge me.

In 1998, Richard bought a custom made extracting machine. After seven years of blending different beans at varying roast levels he finally hit on the recipe that was to become Java Juice®. With even more experimenting, he discovered a secret way to package the elixir in tiny unbreakable pouches that we could travel with and have excellent organic coffee – anywhere, any time.

Java Juice is so fast and easy; all he has to do is add water! It turns out we weren’t the only ones with this dilemma…and the rest as they say is history.

Now Richard even gets to sleep in a little longer when we travel. And I don’t have to wait any longer than the time it takes to heat water to get my morning brew. It’s good to be queen.