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Welcome to Hopson Coffee
Company - we're glad you stopped by. We, Bill &
Gayla Giffen, began this company out of our enjoyment
of coffee. Ten years ago we were intoduced to the finest
Americano money could buy. We stumbled upon this coffee
shop, Camp
4 Coffee, in Crested Butte, Colorado. We
spotted a sign on the side of a small, run down building.
There was little room inside for two people to stand
sideways. We ordered coffee, but to our suprise didn't
get coffee poured out of a coffee pot, as expected.
The gentleman behind the counter fixed Gayla and I a
fresh shot Americano (espresso coffee with hot water.)
WOW! It was that goooood! Needless to say, we had our
mark by which to compare all other espresso drinks.
We still vist Camp
4 Coffee when in the area and it is still
some of the very best. Our hope is that you will enjoy
our final product as much as we have enjoyed learning
about the coffee process.
Coffee
is a fascinating agricultural product, with a fascinating
history. In terms of importing, it is the second most
imported product (oil being first.) Obviously, coffee
is big business, and almost everyone drinks it. For
the last few years, I've referred to coffeee as "liquid
gold," not only because of its import status, but
because when you get a really great shot of espresso,
it has a luster and shine like gold.
I
hope that you will find quiet moments to really enjoy
and savor our "cotton-pickin' good" coffee.
As you read our history, and feel the Hopson Plantation
way of life, I hope you can close your eyes and have
a Scarlett O'Hara moment of enjoying life in the moment.
And, if you're life is crazy and rushed and you just
need that zap of caffeine to get you going, well, it'll
work for that, too!
Since
we are Giffen's, where does the name 'Hopson Coffee
Company' come from? Glad you asked! Hopson comes from
Bill's mother's side of the family. In fact, the Hopson
Planting Co. in Clarksdale, Mississippi (in the Delta)
began operating in 1852. It is notable as being instrumental
in the development of the first International Harvester,
a completely mechanized cotton picker.
Since
1927, International Harvester, along with brothers Richard
(Bill's grandfather) and Howell Hopson, had been experimenting
with cotton picking equipment on the plantation. In
the fall of 1944, on a section of the Hopson Plantation
land called C-3, eight bright red cotton pickers demonstrated
picking cotton for a crowd of 2500 to 3000 onlookers.
People came from all around the world to see the machines
pick an astonishing 62 bales in one day. It was known
that a good field hand could pick 20lbs. in an hour,
but the picker could handle 1000 lbs. in the hour -
20 bales of cotton! Each machine could do the work of
50 people. Today, the only known original cotton picker
from our plantation can be seen at the Smithsonian Institute
in Washington, D.C.
Because
of that proud agricultural background, I am pleased
to present another Hopson product, Hopson Coffee. The
finest Arabica beans from around the world are shipped
directly to us and custom roasted for that special coffee
flavor. Just as Bill's grandfather and his brother took
pride in developing the cotton picker, we take pride
in developing the best roast for your coffee. I trust
you will find that it is indeed,
"The best cotton-pickin' good coffee around!"
If
you are interested in seeing life from the birthplace
of the Blues, you can visit Clarksdale and see the Hopson
Commissary, stay at the ShackUp
Inn or the Cotton
Gin Inn, dine at Morgan
Freeman's Ground Zero Club, and visit the
Delta
Blues Museum. And of course, while you're
there, enjoy Hopson Coffee, "The
best cotton-pickin' good coffee around!"
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