Specialty coffee and tea industry veteran Kevin Knox has worked in the specialty coffee industry since 1980 as a hands-on roaster, buyer, taster, trainer, writer and educator for Starbucks Coffee during its first decade of rapid growth, as well as for organic and small farm oriented Allegro Coffee Company (now owned by Whole Foods). Long known as one of the most articulate speakers and writers in the coffee industry, Kevin became the first industry insider to be asked to write a book on coffee, publishing the highly-regarded book Coffee Basics (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997). He and his wife live in Ajijic, Jalisco.