An interview with Jessica and Richard Keeling of Three Hills Coffee, at their coffee school and roastery near Gordon. Coffee isn’t exactly a local product, but here - as across the world - it has become integral in our daily routine. Many of us can’t countenance getting through a day of work, or even getting out of bed, without it. And in our rural region where the drink-drive limit is zero, meeting for a coffee in one of our many independent coffee shops is fast becoming the most common way to gather with friends. Nowadays we expect barista-made real coffee as standard, but it hasn’t always been so easy to get a good espresso in the Scottish Borders. In this episode I look at how drinking coffee has become part of Borders food culture, and meet with two entrepreneurs seeking to further improve our espresso-sipping experience. The Keelings have been sourcing green beans direct from producers, roasting them, and serving up cups of coffee in the Borders for 8 years. More recently, they’ve realised how important it is for their whole business to offer coffee barista training. They’ve set up one of Scotland’s only coffee schools in the central Borders, to help more people understand how to get the best out of their beans. We discuss coffee-drinking history, the importance of honouring the product by overseeing the process from farm to cup, latte art, how to hone your senses, and the delightfully complex, geeky world of making a decent coffee.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  In this episode we mention: * Three Hills Coffee * https://www.threehillscoffee.com/ * Specialty Coffee Association * https://sca.coffee/ * Learn more about AST (Authorised Specialty Coffee Training) here:  * https://education.sca.coffee/trainers-how-it-works * Coffee Tasting Notes * https://sca.coffee/research/coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Thank you to the Borders Food Forum for their continued support. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foodscapepodcast.substack.com