Dave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC, after bouncing through a few careers that never quite fit. He got his start in coffee at Starbucks while studying for his real estate license, spent three years as a realtor, tried paramedic training, and worked in craft beer before landing back in coffee. When he decided to make coffee his career, he taught himself to roast using YouTube tutorials, starting with a popcorn maker and eventually building a drum roaster out of his BBQ and a stainless steel drum with a modified rotisserie. That original drum still lives in the Bright Lab at the roastery.
Bright Jenny's sourcing philosophy is straightforward: quality starts at the farm, and the roaster's job is to get out of the way of a good bean. Dave buys as directly as possible and pays a premium to make sure producers are getting a fair return, reasoning that better-paid farmers can invest in better coffee. The relationship with Santa Clara is the clearest example of that approach in action, a single estate they've been buying from since the beginning, year after year.
Bright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke & Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: "yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts."
- Dean, Director of Coffee
