Inspiration brews — at the Equator

The way the owners of Equator Coffees & Teas choose to conduct their business is as important to them as how many pounds of coffee they sell.Small businesses don’t always start in a garage, as urban legend would have you believe. But Helen Russell’s and Brooke McDonnell’s did.In 1995, the couple set up shop in their San Francisco-area home after witnessing firsthand the specialty coffee boom going on in Seattle. Their initial plan was to open a coffee bar, but Russell and McDonnell quickly realized the product they were selling via coffee vendors didn’t match their expectations of sustainability, quality, and social responsibility. So they went into the coffee roasting business themselves, and Equator Coffees & Teas was born.READ MORE