For Mark and Shawna Abernethy, waking up and smelling the coffee wasn’t just a figure of speech when they started Markcol, the gourmet coffee company which is conveniently located in welcoming spots just outside the GTA. Both could count on one hand the numbers of cups of coffee they’d had before launching into the world of, what was then, espresso and french vanilla. Nowadays, the company retails more than 300 flavours of single cup gourmet coffee for K-cups and T-disc makers.
“We both started to drink coffee because we had to sample the products, but we also got the opinion of friends and family who were coffee aficionados. They were very impressed,” explains Mark. “I must admit that, when I started to drink coffee, I had to have loads of cream and sugar – it was an acquired taste!” Shawna eased into coffee via a wide selection of flavoured beverages but now both enjoy a cup every morning.
