Robert Hensley has enjoyed a diverse career in the coffee industry from retail to equipment manufacturing, farming and imports, roasting and more. Robert is a two time gold winner of the American Tasting Institute for best espresso pods against a field of 18 world wide producers. He has also consulted with a number of clients in helping to improve their blends and roasting profiles. He has taught coffee buying, roaster technology, equipment operation, quality management, and coffee cupping and analysis to clients and students worldwide.
Robert received his early professional coffee training with Alfred Peet at Peet’s Coffee and Tea from 1984 -1988. Robert soon joined the coffee equipment manufacturer Probat USA in 1988 to help build and demonstrate equipment, and train coffee clients throughout North America. Robert worked worldwide with clients from Japan, Central America, Europe and Africa.
Robert soon founded the Coffee Training Institute, where he continued to provide a wide range of training and consulting services for Probat and other clients. In 1994 he ventured into green coffee importing working directly with growers and exporters from Kenya, Ethiopia, Panama, Nicaragua, and Papua New Guinea, as well as various other origins.
Robert has presented numerous seminars and speeches for industry organizations such as, the National Coffee Association, the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the Pacific Coast Coffee Association, the Hawaiian Coffee Association, and the Coffee Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. Robert joined the Sodoi team with, “a sense of the culmination of a shared vision that business could be a vehicle for inspiring others.”