George Howell Coffee

"The ultimate aesthete"

Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast (Basic Books, 1999)
George Howell Coffee

George Howell…one of the coffee world’s most knowledgeable and passionate spokesmen. I know of no one who has done more to improve the quality of American coffee, and no one has taught me more, both directly and by example.

Coffee Basics by Kevin Knox (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997).
George Howell Coffee

[George Howell] made The Coffee Connection one of, if not the premier, specialty coffee retailer of North America.”

Bill McAlpin, Hacienda La Minita, upon presenting the Specialty Coffee Association of America Lifetime Achievement Award to George Howell in 1996.
George Howell Coffee

"The Coffee Connection was different from the competition we faced elsewhere. The sale [in 1994]… gave Starbucks immediate access to a core of well-informed coffee drinkers."

Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz (Hyperion, 1997) on the sale of The Coffee Connection in Boston to Starbucks.
George Howell Coffee

“Howell became legendary for doing anything to find clean, beautifully processed beans.”

The Joy of Coffee by Corby Kummer, senior editor of The Atlantic Monthly (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995).
George Howell Coffee

“Mr. Howell (is) a walking encyclopedia of coffee.”

Florence Fabricant, food columnist for The New York Times, 1993.