100% Arabica Bean

1LB (16OZ) Bag

100% ROAST TO ORDER: Coffee is NOT roasted until the order is placed. We do NOT keep bags on the shelf going stale. Orders placed MON-FRI will ship out the following Monday (please allow 3-5 days for roasting after an order is placed).

Medium Roast Colombia, Light Roast Costa Rica Bean Coffee. 

From LCDR William L. Estes, USN (Ret.) in a letter to Pat Francis

Naval aviation officially began 08 May 1911 with the first order of a “Flying Machine” from the Wright Brothers. This purchase also included aeronautical training of naval personnel who would become the first naval flying instructors who would be the founders in spearheading Naval aviation as we know it today.

To train these future naval aeronautical aviators in the Wright Brother’s flying machine, Rockwell Field (the first Army airfield in the United States, located on the north island of the island chain in San Diego), was selected and jointly shared with the Navy as the most suitable airfield site. In October 1935, Rockwell Field was transferred to the Navy by presidential executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The last Army units departed in 1939. “North Island” emerged as Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California.

Six commission officers were selected from the surface fleet as the first student Naval aviation aviator trainees to be trained by these naval flight instructors.

These pioneer aviator trainees coming from the surface fleet wore uniform low quarter, square toed, black rough out leather shoes which served best on the coal burning ships commonly consumed by soot from the ships stacks.

Arriving for duty at the North Island Air Field for training flights, the six students experienced a foreign environment of dust on the soft surface air field.  They found themselves being constantly required to remove the dust from their black shoes which was irritating causing them to look for alternatives to this nuisance.

In the midst of their training while often times funding their own petrol expenses, the six discussed alternatives to their problem deciding that brown shoes might serve best to solve their problem with seniors who were putting what they felt was too much into uniform appearance. With that, all six decided that brown high top shoes with brown leggings was their solution. On a Saturday morning, the six located a cobbler shop on 32^nd Street in San Diego, California whom they commissioned to produce same at a time and price they could live with.

Upon taking custody of their prize a short time later, the test of practical use of their new Brown Shoes and acceptance from their senior cadre members became a function of time.

Within a few days, the practicality of the Shoes of Brown proved to be an acceptable solution to the student aviators. The six then met to discuss how to bring about change of the uniform regulation to include the Brown Shoes and high top leggings as distinctive part of the aviators permanent uniform.

With some discussion on how to approach their proposal, they concluded that a petition to bring about change for a distinctive aviators uniform would best serve their plight.

On 13 November 1913, the Navy Bureau signed approval to the uniform regulations to include The Shoes of Brown with Brown high top leggings as part of the permanent uniform for Naval Aerial Aviators.

This change carried itself through World War II to 1944 while logistically, the brown shoes were not in production due to priority war efforts. At the end of the war in 1945, production of brown shoes was again continued and issued until July 1976.

Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., USN, was a two term CNO from 01 Jul 1970 to 01 Jul 1974. An Admiral from the surface navy (Black Shoe) had a desire for significant change within the Navy and its policies. One of his initiatives was to end an era of Naval Aviation with the removal of the Brown Shoes from the Navy.

At 0000, 01 July 1976, the CNO, by instruction to Naval Uniform Department, ended an era in the tradition of naval aviation distinction and pride. “A Naval Aviation tradition came to an end when Brown Shoes were stricken from the Officer’s and Chief’s uniforms. 

In September 1979, a petition which read: “RESURRECTION OF THE BROWN SHOES – WHEREAS, In the course of history of Naval Aviation, the “SHOES OF BROWN”, first adopted in November 1913, have held a position of revered, cherished esteem in the hearts of all those associated with Naval Air, second only to the “WINGS OF GOLD”, and – WHEREAS, in the course of human events it becomes necessary to recognize an overwhelming desire to return the esprit of heritage amongst the cadre of AIRDALES, now – THEREFORE, let the feelings be known that we the undersigned, all duly designated NAVAL AVIATORS, NAVAL FLIGHT OFFICERS, FLIGHT SURGEONS and FLIGHT PHYSIOLOGIST, do hereby affix our signatures and designators to this petition calling for the immediate change to the Naval Uniform Regulations which would allow the “SHOES OF BROWN” to once again take their rightful position below the “WINGS OF GOLD. “

On the morning of 12 Sep 85, SECNAV, The Honorable John F. Lehman, Jr. (a Tailhooker himself) resurrected the Brown Shoes back to the “AIRDALES” of U. S. Naval Aviation. SECNAV Lehman was going to announce that month, the return of the Brown Shoes at the 1985 TAILHOOK Convention.

Every bag of Brown Shoe Blend is Navy Inspired Sailor Roasted & Chief Approved.