Jay Ruskey Shows Off Eclectic Property, Pours Top-Shelf Coffee for Guests

About 20 years ago, Jay Ruskey planted a coffee tree at his Good Land Organics avocado ranch on the western edge of Goleta, where the foothills glide into the Gaviota Coast. The beans grew, and they were good, so he kept planting and spreading the word, becoming the first commercial coffee grower in the continental United States. Today, under the banner of Frinj Coffee — which he incorporated in 2017, taking the name in part from a 2014 Independent article about his farm and others — Ruskey works with 80 coffee farms from San Diego to San Luis Obispo and is turning this landscaping lark into a legitimate industry.