Back in the wild-n-wooly late '90s, when we were cutting our teeth in the broadband services industry, we swung by our local Caffe Ladro to pick up our first Americano of the day. Especially during the cool winter days, that delicious brew was an essential element of our early morning bus commute -- a treasured companion that helped keep the damp at bay. It's the kind of nostalgic association that imbues us with a deep and abiding love for this chain of locally-owned Seattle cafes ... so you can imagine how thrilled we were when they started roasting their own coffee and gave us the opportunity to help share their coffee with the rest of the US. There's no better way to learn about Ladro than from their Director of Coffee, Jared Linzmeier, who spent an afternoon with us talking about Ladro and handcrafting who gave us some background on the company and held a handcrafted tasting of each of Ladro's current blends. In this first installment, we learn about Ladro's history, what is involved with a direct sourcing trip to Central America and what Jared loves most about being in the specialty coffee industry.