Breaking for public consumption today, Peter Giuliano has officially stepped down from his position as Director of Coffee at Counter Culture Coffee. Mr. Giuliano has worked with the Durham, North Carolina specialty coffee roaster and wholesaler since 2000, during which time he's helped build a transparent supply chain of delicious coffees and educated countless coffee types, your Sprudge.com editors included. He's a legendary green buyer, an immensely gifted teacher, and most of all, our friend, which makes this news feel both difficult and joyous.

As perhaps could be expected, Mr. Giuliano's departure from Counter Culture does not mean he's disappearing or taking a break; he'll be moving immediately into a new role, as Director of the SCAA Symposium, stepping in for one of the Symposium's main advocates and architects, Tracy Ging.

Sprudge.com reached out to Counter Culture Coffee co-founder Brett Smith, who offered us a few kind words on Mr. Giuliano:

“Working with Peter over the past 12 years has been amazing. We were fortunate to have him as a member of the Counter Culture team and now the coffee industry is fortunate to have Peter working with the Symposium. On a personal note, working closely with Peter over the last has decade has been extraordinary. He pushed me to be a better leader and a better coffee person. Peter is, and will always be a personal friend and part of the Counter Culture family.”

There are so many wonderful Peter G. stories, and while this is most definitely not a eulogy, it feels natural to use this time to look back on your favorite moments with Peter over the years. As has become cultural custom, please tweet your messages to @petergiuliano – we'll be following along on Twitter. Also keep an eye on Mr. Giuliano's blog, Dymaxion.

In preparing this feature, we had a chance to sit down with Peter G. and ask him a half-dozen or so questions on his legacy, his future, and his memories at Counter Culture. That interview is available at length here.

We'll take a moment to say personally: Thank you, Peter, and good luck with your next step.