Dale Donchey

Coffee, like wine, comes in varying degrees of quality and flavor. Coffee aficionados like Dale Donchey use what's called a cupping spoon to identify and score coffee. Rather than sticking his nose into a steaming hot mug like a wine sommelier would, Donchey uses this spoon to assess the liquid. His silver plated spoon from the 1920s has a special place in Donchey's heart: "This is my first and only cupping spoon. It's traveled a lot of miles with me, helped me taste a lot of both good and bad coffees, and is one of my favorite learning tools."

Coffee is Donchey's livelihood, but he sees it as something far greater than that. With every cup he serves, he sees himself as the last link in the long chain of producing and serving products from all over the world. "I can honestly say I have no idea what I would do if it ever went away."