Erna Knutsen - the legend of the American coffee industry

Erna Knutsen is one of the legends of the American coffee industry. Her biography is a vivid demonstration of what one person who is in love with coffee can do, even in such a large and culturally various country as the US.

Erna was born in the Arctic Circle, in Norway. After the First World War, the northern countries - Finland, Norway and others - were in deep economic depression. Emigration, mainly to the United States and Canada, took the scale of the national disaster. This period in the life of the European north is described in many literary works, including the famous writer Marti Larni in the novel "The Beautiful Pig". Northern women are especial people. Without saying anything about them, it will be difficult to understand what Erna was. The harsh conditions of life brought up in Scandinavian women such special qualities as masculinity, enterprise and responsibility for the family. Their attractive appearance and stressed modesty often hide a strong, sometimes hard, character. Erna’s mother with her daughters moved to the United States in the early 1930’s. The family settled in New York - the main refuge of emigrants. Erna was then five years old. It is unknown what Erna’s mother did during these difficult years of the crisis, but she was able to educate the children. It took Erna a lot of time to find her place in life and understand her calling. She was married three times. To raise a daughter, she had to work on World Street as a model. Moving in 1968 from New York to California, in her fifties, Erna (then Gerriere) got a secretary job for Bert Fulmer in the corporation THE B.C. IRELAND COFFEE COMPANY INC. The firm was located in San Francisco and was engaged in the import of coffee and spices. As Erna Knutsen later recalled: «We sold the largest amount of robusta, more than any other American importer. The product was frankly speaking of low quality. It was only necessary to smell and it became clear that it is spoilt.» Then the American coffee importers fought for every cent, supplying the market with low-grade, often falsified, raw materials. Selected coffee seeds were sent to Europe, Japan and the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, coffee was a scarce product, but in terms of quality - perfect. Many countries producing elite coffee at that time had a communist orientation, and coffee for them was the only currency they could pay for arms supplies and the assistance that the USSR provided.

In the early 1980s, with the blessing of the boss, Erna started her small business, selling incomplete lots of 250 bags, as well as making small wholesale deliveries to the shops that flourished on the California coast. She tried to sell only high-quality goods at high price, choosing it from what the company acquired. Deficiency of high-grade coffee in the USA increased.

Many small rosters and ordinary consumers, familiar with the normal product, found a friend in the person of Mrs. Knutsen. Among them there were Paul Katz, George Howell and many others who saw the pperspective in a quality grain. In addition to the main duties, Erna was engaged in the processing of correspondence for the president of the company. This extra work helped her understand the principles of the coffee business and its structure. Seeing the growing demand for various grades of conditioned green coffee, wishing to expand her knowledge, Erna managed to persuade the boss, and in 1973 she became the first female taster in the US. One can only imagine how difficult it was for her in this small aggressive male company. "They openly mocked me," Erna recalled. However, she managed to withstand and persuade her clients with her professionalism and attitude.

Ms. Erna Knutsen traveled a lot of countries and established a strong trusting relationship with coffee producers and exporters all over the world. In 1985, she founded her own company, Knutsen Coffees LTD, in which she was a full-fledged mistress and could fully realize her accumulated knowledge and experience. Business brought more and more profit. The number of orders has grown. Currently, her company has an annual income of $ 2.5-5 million, with just 4 employed people.

Erna, being an elderly woman, did not quit her business and did not shut herself up on her business. She continued to work actively in various organizations related to coffee, promoting her basic idea that real coffee should be qualitative. Erna Knutsen was one of the founders of the SCAA, was on the board of directors of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association. She spoke at international symposia. She trained the secrets of coffee roasting and trade to many specialists in. SCAA awarded Erna the first prize "For a lifetime contribution to the development of the American coffee industry" for the priceless gift- an epithet specialty.

The uneasy story of Erna Knutsen, the searcher of "green jewelry", can be a useful example for all who are engaged in an exciting commercially profitable coffee business.

Source: Vladimir Shamaev, www.coffeezoom.com.ua