Zakir Twaddle

[Shamsuddin Jim Norton]

Zakir Tracy Twaddle

has been a lover of good coffee since the early 1970s. Raised in Missouri, he lived in the Bay area in California for several years. It was there that he developed a refined appreciation for gourmet coffees. Zakir

Zakir began experimenting with several methods of roasting small quantities of coffee beans for his own use in the 1980s. Friends so appreciated the quality of his home-roasted coffee that they urged him to start his own company.

After settling in rural Boone County, near Columbia, Missouri, to raise a family, he started seriously researching the industry. While investigating patents for small coffee roasters intended for consumer use, he developed invaluable contacts in the roasting business.

Several local restaurant owners agreed to purchase his coffee, providing the impetus to launch his own roasting business in 1996.