Of the more than 3 million small businesses in California, the Bay Area’s Equator Coffees and Teas has been named the state’s 2016 Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Association.
In an announcement this week, the SBA praised the company — incidentally, a 2012 Roast magazine Roaster of the Year — not only for its dedication to quality and to sustainability locally and in its commitment to coffee supply partners, but also to social responsibility.
“An LGBT-owned business founded twenty years ago by Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, Equator Coffees and Teas is involved with their product at every step of the lifecycle from farming to roasting, and from wholesale to retail,” the SBA San Francisco District Office said in an announcement of the award, which will be presented during a Washington D.C. ceremony May 1-2.
