Damian Blackburn

Damian Blackburn began working for Bolling Coffee in 2001. He started out in the coffee industry by chance having graduated from the University of Manchester, where Italian friends first introduced him to the joys of real coffee and espresso. He’s never looked back since.

He learnt the art of cupping (the sensory analysis of coffee to determine its qualities and flavours), roasting and blending from Ian and eventually took on the role of Quality Assurance Manager with responsibility for all of the coffees in the roastery. He was also lucky enough to gain first hand knowledge and experience from pioneering speciality coffee experts both in the UK and abroad.

His first visit to origin was to Brasil in 2003, experiencing a whole host of Brasil Speciality Coffee Association (BSCA) farms and estates. He has since visited numerous coffee producing countries, particularly those in Latin America, including Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama. In more recent times he's undertaken sourcing trips to Bolivia and India.

He became a judge in the prestigious Cup of Excellence competitions for the first time in Nicaragua in 2004 and up until now has judged further competitions in Colombia, El Salvador, Bolivia and Honduras, allowing him to meet coffee enthusiasts and growers from around the globe. He's also judged in the Best of Panama competition.

His experiences have influenced his belief that Grumpy Mule should move away from the traditional methods of blending various coffees and instead focus upon offering and promoting unique single origin coffees and spell binding micro-lots. His passion for flavour and aroma is equalled only by his determination to find coffees that are produced with care and respect for the environment and the people who grow them.

Damian is now responsible for the Grumpy Mule brand, ensuring that customers get to taste the most exciting and unique coffees available. Still an avid espresso fan and borderline coffee fanatic, he nonetheless loves nothing more than a simple French press of the week’s stand-out coffee.

You can read his day by day views in the Grumpy Mule blog.