Lisa Lawson

MY love affair with coffee began in Australia more than 15 years ago when I got a job packing beans for a guy who was roasting coffee in his mum’s garage. He taught me how to roast coffee beans. Before that I had no idea how complex the different flavours and aromas were.

I came back home to Scotland in 2002 but I wasn’t sure what to do with all this knowledge. I worked in the wine industry for years but coffee was always niggling away in my mind.

Then one day, on a whim, I bought myself a second-hand coffee roaster, putting the deposit on a credit card and pulling together the rest through loans. I started roasting coffee in 2011, selling it mostly to my wine customers and Dear Green, the company I own and run, was born.

The business took off as it was just at the time people were really starting to get interested in different types of coffee. We have a lot to thank the coffee chains for – before they came along we were a tea-drinking nation. They switched us on to coffee but at Dear Green we come at it from a different angle, providing a raw, high-quality product that is in season.

They say when you do something you love you never work a day in your life and I would go along with that. I’ve visited so many fascinating places through working in coffee, including Hawaii, Mexico, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. Earlier this year I was in Kenya.

It’s very important to me to make these visits. The ethics of coffee really matter to me. I couldn’t sell the product if I didn’t see my sources firsthand. It’s important to meet the farmers, but also to build up relationships with exporters and make sure we get the best products from the best places.

I started the Glasgow Coffee Festival in 2014. It’s now in its third year and growing – bringing different coffees, cafes and roasteries together and introducing people to exotic new tastes and aromas. Over two days we also host the UK Brewers Cup and the Scottish heat of the UK Barista Championship, and hold masterclasses, presentations, films and competitions. And the proceeds go to charity, helping us improve the lives of farmers in the third world.

As for making the perfect cup of coffee, I’m pretty geeky. I always use freshly roasted coffee, a new crop that is in season, sourced either by ourselves or another roaster. I’ll always weigh the beans before I grind, and grind to the right setting, depending on how I’m going to brew it. If I’m at home I’ll often brew using an aeropress.

Right now the crops are coming in and lots of great coffees are landing from all over the world. There’s a wonderful Kenyan one I’m really excited about, with really high natural acidity – it tastes almost like lemon juice. Coffee shouldn’t be bitter and bland, it should taste lively and fresh. Brewing skills are also very important, so you’ll want to be thinking about the grind size, the water temperature, the coffee to water ratio, the contact time between the water to coffee. It’s like baking a cake.

Saturday morning at home is my favourite cup but ultimately the perfect cup of coffee is about where I am and who I’m with.

Glasgow Coffee Festival takes place today and tomorrow at the Briggait, 141 Bridgegate, Glasgow. Tickets, priced £14.50 per day, £22.50 for weekend tickets from www.eventbrite.co.uk.