Salt Spring Coffee

30 Years Later: The One Thing I'm Most Proud Of....

People sometimes ask me what I'm most proud of from thirty years in the coffee business.

Not the roaster we bought. Not the awards we've won. Not the growth or scale.

It's this: we've stayed true to who we are.

We've supported hundreds of coffee farmers in the same relationships, for decades. We started with certified organic and fair trade; now we're trailblazing regenerative farming practices. We've made decisions that cost us money because they aligned with our values.

And our customers know that. That's why they've stayed with us.

Our daughter Metta grew up in this business. She's seen what it means to build something rooted in certified organic, fair-trade, and regenerative farming practices, and today she's still involved, carrying forward what we started. That's the kind of legacy that matters.

But here's the real truth: none of this happens without our team. Our roasters, our team members, our community they're the ones who make this real every single day. They believe in what we believe, and they show up for it.

Here's what I've learned: in a world where every company claims to care about values, the ones that actually live their values with their whole team and family build something that lasts and inspires the next generation.

We used coffee as a tool for a bigger message: care for people, care for the planet, build with purpose.

That's not a marketing tagline for us. That's who we are.

If you're building something, here's my advice: decide what you actually believe in. Find people who believe it too and bring your family along for the journey. Then don't compromise on it. Not for growth. Not for convenience. Not for anything.

The staying power comes from the values and the people, including the next generation, who live them with you. Everything else is noise.

What are you building that's bigger than just business?

Like if you believe values, team, and family are everything. Comment with what you're building."

-Mickey McLeod

Why We Left Salt Spring Island (And Why It Didn't Break Us)

2010 was one of the hardest years of our thirty-year journey.

The local government on Salt Spring Island wasn't supportive of business. They didn't share our vision. And we had a choice: compromise, or move.

We moved.

It broke our hearts to leave the island we loved. But it didn't break our values.

See, here's what I learned: values aren't just nice words for your mission statement. They're the decision-making framework for everything, including the hard stuff.

From day one, Robbyn and I built Salt Spring Coffee on four things: 🌱 People (fair wages, long-term relationships with farmers) 🌍 Planet (organic, now regenerative farming practices) 🎯 Purpose (using coffee to tell a story about what matters) Profit (no margin no mission)

When the island stopped supporting that vision, we had to go. But we brought those values with us.

And it turned out that standing by your values even when it costs you is exactly what builds lasting business.

What values are you not willing to compromise on?

Like if you've made a hard decision to stay true to your values. Comment below."
-Mickey McLeod

April 1996. Ganges, Salt Spring Island. We opened the doors of Salt Spring Roasting Company.

We bought the roaster in the fall of '95. Signed the lease in January. And four months later, we were serving fresh-roasted coffee to our island community.

One early lesson: don't assume people know what you're doing.

We called ourselves "Salt Spring Roasting Company" thinking people would obviously know we were roasting coffee. Turns out, Salt Spring Island is famous for its lamb. So half the people who came in thought we were roasting lamb. 😅

A few years later, we became Salt Spring Coffee Company. Problem solved.

But here's what didn't change from day one: our values.

We chose organic. We chose fair trade. We chose to build long-term relationships with farmers instead of chasing the lowest price. We chose to use coffee as a tool for messaging about people, planet, and purpose.

Thirty years later, every single one of those choices is still paying off.

What's a "first lesson" that taught you more than you expected?

Like if your first business decision taught you something unexpected."

-Mickey McLeod

Great coffee starts long before it reaches your cup. It starts with the farmers, communities, and ecosystems that grow our beans. Coffee grown under a natural tree canopy supports biodiversity and protects the habitats many species depend on. This Environment Week, enjoy $3 off our Regenerative Organic® Village Trade 400g bags— automatically applied at checkout.

Coffee — Grown Regeneratively

You may already know that Salt Spring Coffee is a fully organic coffee roaster. Since 2024, we've also been roasting Regenerative Organic Certified® coffee. While these terms are often used together, they each play a different role in how coffee is grown and how farms are cared for.While organic coffee is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, regenerative organic farming goes a step further. It's about improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, and farming in a way that helps restore the land over time.

One of the most important ways many of our coffee producers do this is through shade-growing. Rather than clearing forests to grow coffee in full sun, coffee plants are grown beneath a canopy of trees. This creates habitat for birds and other wildlife, helps protect the soil, and allows coffee to mature at its natural pace.

“Before Google, There Was Coffee and Tea Magazine (And A Lot of Road Trips)”⁠ ⁠

This was the mid-1990s. No internet. No Google. No shortcuts.⁠ ⁠ Robbyn and I subscribed to Coffee and Tea magazine from New York. We read every issue cover to cover. We made pilgrimages down the California coast, visiting every small roaster we could find — Santa Cruz to San Francisco.⁠ ⁠ What we discovered was revolutionary: small-batch roasting wasn’t just possible. It was becoming a thing. These roasters were creating an experience, building community, and delivering the ultimate in freshness.⁠ ⁠ We looked at each other and said: “This is what we want to do on Salt Spring Island.”⁠ ⁠
Then we went to Coffee Fest in Seattle.. Met Helen Russell from Equator Coffee, bought a Petroncini roaster that she was representing. Heard where to buy green coffee and met Alex Mason from Royal Coffee in Oakland (still connected 30 years later) With a roaster and green coffee we were on out way to being in the roasting business. ⁠

The best business research I ever did didn’t come from the internet — it came from showing up, asking questions, and learning from people who were doing it right.⁠ ⁠ What’s the best business research you’ve ever done?⁠ ⁠ Like if you’re old school about learning. Comment with your story.”⁠ ⁠

-Mickey McLeod.

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"One Book. One Kitchen Roaster. One Crazy Idea.

Christmas 1994. Robbyn's mother's house in Eugene, Oregon. I picked up Kenneth Davids' book on home coffee roasting.

There was a section listing small roasters you could actually buy. One was in Corvallis, Oregon — 30 minutes away.

We stopped by Michelle Sivits' place on our drive home. Bought a converted popcorn popper roaster. Bought some green beans. And headed back to Salt Spring Island with no idea what we were doing.

That spring, roasting our first batch in our kitchen, something became clear: our community needed this. Real, fresh-roasted coffee.
So we did what any sane person would do: we decided to start a business.

(Spoiler: it worked. Thirty years later, we're still here.)

What's the craziest business idea you've ever turned into reality?"

-Mickey McLeod

Like if you've ever said 'I'm just going to do it.' Comment below.

Hints of milk chocolate, nuts, & citrus

Blue Heron — An All-Time Favourite

With summer around the corner, what better way to enjoy the sunshine than with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. For a limited time, enjoy 20% off our Blue Heron 400g and 2lb bags, automatically applied at checkout.

"Caffe Trieste Changed My Life (And My Wife's Too)"⁠
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Most people don't remember the exact moment their life changed direction.⁠
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I remember walking into Caffe Trieste in San Francisco's Little Italy with Robbyn. The smell. The care. The way they talked about coffee like it was sacred.⁠
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It wasn't about the taste (though it was incredible). It was about the intention behind it.⁠
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For the next two decades, Robbyn and I became obsessed with finding that same quality, that same intention. We became early members of Horizon Food Co-Op, and it was there we discovered George Lindquist — roasting exceptional organic Mexican coffee ahead of his time. Every co-op delivery brought his coffee into our home and with it a growing belief: quality matters. Values matter. People matter.⁠
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In 1994, that obsession led us to pick up a book that changed everything.⁠
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What's a moment that completely redirected your life?⁠
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"Like if you have a coffee story. Comment if you want to hear what happened next."
-Mickey McLeod

"I Met My Wife on an Island in 1973. That Chance Meeting Changed Everything..

I wasn't planning to become a coffee entrepreneur.

In 1973, I was a country boy living on Texada Island, BC. Then Robbyn came through on a road trip with friends. I followed her to San Francisco, walked into a tiny café called Caffe Trieste in North Beach, and tasted real coffee for the first time.

That wasn't just coffee. It was an awakening.

Thirty years later, I'm still chasing that same feeling — and I want to tell you the whole story.

Stay tuned.

Follow to see how that coffee moment led to a 30-year mission."

-Mickey McLeod

The storytellers, heart, and history holders of Salt Spring Coffee.

A father and daughter, shaped by 30 years of coffee, community, and connection — continuing to share the story behind the beans, the people, and the care that built this company. ☕ 🤎