As Vice President & Chief of Procurement for InterAmerican Coffee's US operations, John Mason oversees the Trading Desk, Coffee Purchasing and Cupping & Quality Control activities for the group.

John travels extensively to coffee producing regions, farms, mills and processing plants to source the best available coffees, including single origin, estate-grown and premium quality coffees. Born in Brazil and raised in South America, he is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. During his 15 years in the global coffee trade he has worked to build close relationships in major coffee producing countries throughout Central and South America, Africa, Indonesia, and the Caribbean. His quest for top quality coffees has taken him to Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Tanzania and Venezuela. As an integral component of the company's buying practices and stringent quality control programs, he regularly meets with growers, producers, processors and sellers to maintain relationships and to understand the ever-changing climate in coffee production. He looks to ensure the quality, integrity and source of the coffees from farm to roaster, and the implementation of the best practices in their nurseries, on their farms and in their processing plants. He oversees InterAmerican's cupping labs, visually inspecting beans and tasting samples daily to ensure that the coffees reflect the company's stringent quality standards in every cup.
Prior to entering the coffee sector in 1994, John worked as a management consultant and regional analyst for the US Southern Command in Panama with Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Previously, he was a paralegal for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in NYC and an adjunct professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina. He earned his BA from Oberlin College and did his graduate work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. John currently lives in the Houston area with his wife and two children.

John has been an active member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the Roasters Guild since its inception and was invited to be a judge at the 2005 Sintercafé coffee competition in Costa Rica. An avid tennis player, John enjoys whitewater kayaking, hiking and trekking. His favorite adventure was climbing to the top of Angel Falls in Venezuela.

John is based in InterAmerican's Houston office and can be reached by telephone at 800-346-2810 or by email at johnm@iaccoffee.com.