Beautifully engraved specimen certificate from the Diedrich Coffee, Inc. . This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette of the company's logo. This item has the printed signatures of the Company's President/CEO and Secretary/Vice-Chairman. The company began operations in California in 1972 by importing and roasting coffee grown on the Diedrich coffee plantation operated in the Antigua region of Guatemala since 1912. Unfortunately, the plantation was seized from the family in 1982. Carl Diedrich (1916-2001), passed on the coffee growing and nurturing skills he learned from his parents to his son Martin. Martin, who was raised in Guatemala on the coffee plantation, founded the Diedrich Coffee coffeehouses. He is currently in charge of every aspect of selecting, importing, roasting and preparing Diedrich Coffee products, now imported from every major growing region in the world. The dedication to high quality is not just a company policy, but a family tradition and heritage. Diedrich Coffee roasts each of its varieties and blends of coffee beans differently. The methods and degree of roasting temperature and time have been developed over generations to bring out the best qualities in the beans from each of the growing regions of the world. The roasting methods are different for high-grown Arabica coffee than for the more prolific and less flavorful robusta varieties which comprise supermarket coffee. This led Carl Diedrich to develop a new roasting machine in the 1960's that could develop the right combination of heat and time to maximize the flavor in the flavor in the denser beans. The new roaster that Carl invented is now manufactured by his son, Steve, in Idaho and is sold throughout the world as one of the preeminent small batch roasters. Within the industry, the Diedrich name represents broadly-based expertise in every facet of coffee.