Jon Ferguson

Jon Ferguson is approaching nearly two decades of experience across various facets within the coffee industry.  In 2005 he started his career as a barista in Seattle at Zoka Coffee Roasters.  Shortly thereafter, he moved back to his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska to establish Cultiva Coffee Roasting Company where he continued to develop his newfound passion for specialty coffee.  

This venture led the way to the participation in nine Cup of Excellence International Juries and was invited to the Global Coffee Quality Research Initiative congress hosted by the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M in 2010.  He received his first arabica Q Grader License in 2009, and once again in 2015, currently on hiatus with his renewal.  He has participated as a Coffee Corps Volunteer in Tanzania where he attended one of the earlier development stages of robusta Q Grading in 2011.  

His professional career led to several opportunities including a coffee quality role with Dogwood Coffee, a green buyer and roasting Mmanager for The Roasterie KC, a coffee specialist and green buyer for the Arbor Day Foundation, and an international green coffee sales representative for ECOTIERRA.  Since 2020, Ferguson has focused his career on coffee equipment service, sales, and training. 

In 2023, he moved to Siem Reap, Cambodia and began drafting a collection of his experiences with equipment sales and service and has recently published the work online,  Under Pressure: An Owner's Guide to Commercial Espresso Equipment. 

His session at Coffee Fest NYC will introduce the collection of his written work and review some of the most FAQ's he has encountered over the course of his professional career, including the coffee processing equipment commonly found in the coffee field, post-harvest processing, and coffee dry milling stages.  Ferguson believes with a deeper understanding of the equipment which impacts quality along the entire supply chain, business owners and passionate coffee lovers will have a deeper respect for the entire path in which the coffee crossed to be transformed into the beverage we all hold so dearly. 

In his free time, Jon loves playing ultimate frisbee, trail riding on his motorcycle, and writing articles for Barista Magazine and Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.