Eco-Clothing And Coffee At The United By Blue Flagship In Philadelphia

I had just given notice at my day job when United By Blue, a Philly-based eco-clothier, invited me to a preview of their new flagship store in Philly’s Old City neighborhood. With just three weeks left of financial security, I had no real plan for my next move, and the opportunity to see an ambitious 3,300-square-foot concept clothing store/cafe come alive during soft opening seemed a good place to find myself. They sold me on an adventure. They’d bus me from New York  to Philly and put me up for the night. There would be drinks and food in the evening on Thursday, when they’d tell me all about their ocean conservation initiatives. Most tantalizing was the promise of a campfire-inspired breakfast on Friday morning.

I filled in the rest of the blanks. When I arrived, I would find strangers who would immediately seem like lifelong friends. We would swaddle each other in flannel and share our dreams of roaming a greener urban jungle while outfitted in sustainable clothing. After telling ghost stories over evening coffee, we’d mummify ourselves in sleeping bags and wake up the next morning for our “campfire-inspired breakfast.” There’d be a fire pit. An actual fire pit inside this store that would somehow not violate the fire code. Over locally sourced eggs and bacon, we’d make a plan to save the ocean and then we’d all do ayahuasca and throw up the fears that we brought into the store the previous evening. There was no way I was leaving this clothing store without certainty about my life’s path.

On the bus ride down, I received word that the “campfire-inspired breakfast” had been cancelled due to unexpected problems getting the kitchen ready. Ever optimistic in spite of the extinguishing of my Friday morning enlightenment, I put all my hopes on becoming one eco-savior entity with the other attendees of the Thursday event. I checked into my hotel, which I figured was a contingency for those not dedicated enough to the cause to get into those sleeping bags at the end of the night, and walked a few blocks over to the site where I would shed the skin of my previous life and emerge eco-conscious and lighter than air.

When I stepped inside to find my new friends, I discovered only polite strangers. They were warm, for sure, but not ready to bump chests with me and intertwine our hearts in a shared mission. The store had attractive displays of flannel shirts, tents, and industrial coolers that would survive the apocalypse. I also counted no fewer than six campfire-safe enamel coffee mugs sprinkled throughout with messages telling me to take a road trip and leave the world better. One told me “The Mountains Are Calling,” and, surrounded by reclaimed wood and many pairs of soft looking, but durable hemp socks, I believed the cup. I had to.

There were no psychedelics present, but there was whiskey, and maybe if I drank enough and ate enough of the pulled pork and catfish sliders going around, I’d get to where I wanted to be emotionally and spiritually. While I was trying to find myself, I found Lisa Brayda, the manager of the store’s coffee shop, the occasion for my dispatch from points north, located just feet away from the flannel. She made me a lovely shot of ReAnimator’s Keystone Blend from a Synesso Hydra, and told me about her hopes for the shop’s coffee program. She extolled the virtues of a well-executed FETCO drip coffee while expressing a desire to build a solid brew-by-cup offering. She was most excited about seeing people drink coffee at the communal table that sat directly in front of the coffee bar. Here was a coffee nerd who wanted to be accessible to any outdoorsperson who wandered over for that “campfire-inspired breakfast” I would never have.

I liked Lisa. She stood before me knowing what she wanted out of life and her career for the time being and didn’t need my imagined kumbaya soul awakening to reach her conclusions. She’d teach people how to serve coffee, foster a sense of community, and occasionally ring up a $300 Yeti cooler. Other team members from United By Blue put forth polished messaging about their commitment to picking up a pound of trash for every product sold across the nation. Their mission was clear, so how come mine wasn’t?

With some sliders, whiskey, and coffee swirling around my yet undiscovered spirit, I moved to go find an actual meal somewhere out in the world and was directed to pick up a swag bag on the way out. I checked the bag’s contents just outside and discovered those impossibly soft hemp socks and the mug that told me, “The Mountains Are Calling.” Was this mug telling me that my journey wasn’t over, but just beginning? I pulled out my brand new unsustainably produced iPhone X, held it up close to me, and said, “Hey, Siri, find me a fire pit.”

United by Blue is located at 205 Race Street, Philadelphia. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Eric J. Grimm (@ericjgrimm) writes about pop culture and coffee for Sprudge Media Network, and lives in Manhattan. Read more Eric J. Grimm on Sprudge.

Photographs courtesy of United by Blue.

The post Eco-Clothing And Coffee At The United By Blue Flagship In Philadelphia appeared first on Sprudge.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 http://sprudge.com/united-by-blue-philly-128106.html

Why Specialty Coffee Needs to Befriend The Capsule Consumer

The word “convenience” rarely comes to mind when you think of third wave coffee. “Origin,” “roast profile,” “extraction,” “sustainability” – these are the things you’re more likely to think of.

And so capsule coffee, which normally also has a high environmental impact, is often treated with disdain by the third wave.

But as more and more consumers turn to user-friendly pods, specialty coffee and capsule technology may need to find a way to overcome this difference. Refusing to do so could represent missed market opportunities.

You might also like What Is Third Wave Coffee & How Is It Different to Specialty?

Used coffee capsules.

Understanding The Coffee Capsule Consumer

In 2017, The National Coffee Association USA (NCA) announced that just under 30% of adult past-day coffee drinkers make coffee with a single-serve brewer. But don’t start celebrating yet: while you might think that this includes single-cup V60s, Kalita Waves, and other pour overs, the NCA actually treats drip brewers as a separate category.

“Single-serve brewers,” in this context, typically refers to capsules and pods. We’re talking Keurig, Nespresso, and so on.

That same study demonstrates that it’s become popular at home, in the workplace, and even in hotel rooms.

So, what’s behind the rise of capsule coffee? Well, according to a 2017 Statista survey of adults in the US, UK, and Germany:

• “Ease of coffee preparation” is the most important reason in the UK and the US, and the second-most important reason in Germany
• “Taste of the coffee” comes first in Germany and second elsewhere
• “Quality” and “value for money” share third and fourth place

In other words, you’re looking at a consumer who wants delicious coffee – and sees paying a price premium for it as representing good value for money. Does that really sound so different to a specialty coffee lover?

Specialty coffee enthusiasts usually seek high-quality, delicious coffee. You’ll see them sipping on espressos or slowly drinking filter coffees, paying attention to how the origin and brew method affect the aroma and flavor. These customers are happy to pay more for better-quality beans.

The only difference is that one of these two groups also values convenience. And while drip coffee remains the most popular way to brew (NCA 2017), single-serve isn’t far behind.

So now my question is: could specialty coffee interact with those single-serve consumers who like to buy coffee pods? And how would we all benefit from this?

A variety of different coffee capsules.

The Coffee Pod Revolution

What would a specialty coffee capsule look like? Actually, we already know.

The single-serve pod had a rocky introduction to the third wave. High costs, an inability to be recycled, and an association with stale commodity coffee led to many rolled eyes and angry petitions.

But pods have matured, just like instant and even whole bean coffee. Today, you can find recyclable coffee capsules (although it’s worth considering that manufacturing them still has an environmental impact). Those capsules may even contain Panama Geisha or Cup of Excellence coffee.

Specialty coffee has found its place in the pod revolution. And in doing so, it’s made high-quality and sustainably sourced coffee accessible for a larger percentage of the population.

There’s just one question that remains:

Redemption Roasters specialty coffee pods, which include blends and single origins.  Credit: Redemption Roasters

Should You Be Manufacturing & Selling Pods?

There’s no doubt that coffee capsules are a part of the modern coffee landscape. But are they right for your business?

To answer that, you need to first know your clients. Do they use single-serve brewers? Would they use one if specialty capsules were available? How would this fit into their daily coffee routine?

But be wary of over-generalizing. We can’t assume all specialty coffee consumers own a pour over device at home. In the same way, we can’t assume single-serve consumers only drink single-serve coffee. Would they drink or, in the case of wholesale, purchase and resell it frequently enough for it to be worth your investment?

The third wave and single-serve capsules don’t have to be enemies; in fact, there’s room for specialty capsule lovers in the coffee world. However, it’s up to us to research the opportunities and decide if we want to make room for this market segment.

Enjoyed this? Check out What Is Third Wave Coffee & How Is It Different to Specialty?

Written by Monica Contreras.

All views within this opinion piece belong to the guest writer and do not reflect Perfect Daily Grind’s stance. Perfect Daily Grind believes in furthering debate over topical issues within the industry, and so seeks to represent the views of all sides.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Why Specialty Coffee Needs to Befriend The Capsule Consumer appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2018/05/why-specialty-coffee-needs-to-befriend-the-capsule-consumers/

In Chiapas, Frontera Cafe Keeps Some Of Mexico’s Quality Coffee At Home

Nestled high in the misty central highlands of Chiapas, San Cristobal de las Casas is a feast for the eyes. The red-tiled buildings of its historic center are laid out in a classic colonial grid, radiating out from the town’s central plaza, the Zocalo. Tourists rove the adjacent streets, making their way past street sellers and buskers. There’s a chill in the air. In contrast to many of the more-touristed parts of Mexico, Sancris, as the locals call it, can get downright cold, a nasty surprise for tourists expecting Coronas and palm trees. 

These days, Sancris has a bit of a hippie vibe going on. The backpacking crowd here trends older, and dreadlocked. Once outside the impeccably clean, UNESCO-protected city center, wheatpastes and other street art gradually emerge along walls and side streets. The town now boasts more than one green juice bar. It was along one of these decorated lanes that Paul Perezgrovas, owner and proprietor of Frontera Cafe, grew up.

Frontera Cafe occupies the northeastern corner of a square-shaped building at the northern end of Avenida Belisario Dominguez. It’s a beautiful building. Meter-thick whitewashed walls draped in charmingly warped tiles surround a courtyard built around an ancient well. Small flowerpots and garden patches add color. An awning around the interior edge of the courtyard is supported by beautifully carved wooden pillars, all original.

When I visit the cafe one frosty morning, Perezgrovas explains to me how the building was built as a stable more than 300 years ago, pointing out details as he goes: ancient straps of donkey skin holding the roof’s venerable timber beams together, the uneven flagstones underneath the retrofitted wooden floors. “When I saw this building was available, I knew I had to do something with it,” Perezgrovas explains.

Three years ago, Perezgrovas returned to his native Sancris after 15 years living abroad and working as a coffee buyer with Root Capital, Cafe Direct, and others. But after all that time, he was tired. Tired of flying all over the place in search of the newest coffee. As he prepared a pour-over for me, he explained he was ready to reconnect with San Cristobal again, and hoped to bring a little bit of what he had learned in his years away back to the city.

Photo courtesy of Frontera Cafe

Perezgrovas’ method is intensely terroir-forward: when ordering, you select a specific coffee and your brewing method of choice, choosing between the usual suspects: French press, AeroPress, and Chemex. On my visit I select one called Reserva del Triunfo, grown in the hills near Jaltenango, Chiapas, in the southern part of the state. The pour-over was bracing, sweet-scented, and nutty. Each coffee is served with a small card with quick facts about the coffee you’re drinking, detailing information about the coffee’s producer, altitude, process, and variety.

A perennial tragedy of many coffee-producing regions is that the best coffees tend to be exported, leaving the locals with whatever is left. Perezgrovas was never comfortable with this paradigm and set out to change it. To that end, almost all the coffees on offer at Frontera are grown in Chiapas by growers that Perezgrovas knows personally (one selection, Finca Las Nieves, is grown by a friend in the neighboring state of Oaxaca). He visits the farms directly and roasts all the beans here in San Cristobal. It’s important to Perezgrovas that he maintains a personal connection with his suppliers.

Photo courtesy of Frontera Cafe

As I sipped my second cup, another pour-over, this time a buttery light roast called Tacana Sierra Madre, Perezgrovas talked about future goals. He’s working to expand Frontera’s reach. Recently, he started supplying coffee to a few cafes in Mexico City and heavily-touristed Puerto Escondido. He has his sights set on Oaxaca City as a next venue for expansion. But he maintains that it’s important not to lose sight of the details.

“In the end, Frontera Cafe is about community,” he says. Taking in the quietly buzzing courtyard, I’m inclined to agree. Children play around the area’s central well, young people tap at phones or laptops and talk quietly. A music event was scheduled for later the same evening, hosted by one of Frontera’s neighboring shops. Each of the doors on the courtyard leads to a different local business: a craft beer bar, a small-label designer, an art gallery, a bar specializing in mezcal as well as the local Chiapan firewater, Pox. “There’s no way Frontera could occupy all this space on its own,” he says, gesturing at the assemblage, “plus, it feels good to have neighbors.”

Frontera Cafe is located at Avenida Belisario Domínguez 35, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Conor O’Rourke is a freelance journalist based in Berlin. His work has appeared in publications such as ExBerliner, Matador, The Hustle, and many more. Read more Conor O’Rourke on Sprudge.

The post In Chiapas, Frontera Cafe Keeps Some Of Mexico’s Quality Coffee At Home appeared first on Sprudge.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 http://sprudge.com/frontera-cafe-chiapas-131902.html

Mexican Coffee A Step Beyond At Atla In New York City

When you’re making Mexican food as high-caliber and inventive as award-winning chefs Enrique Olvera and Daniela Soto-Innes in New York City (and soon Los Angeles), it’s essential that anything served alongside be equally well thought-out. This high standard is the fire behind the encyclopedic mezcal list at Atla, Olvera’s second and more casual NYC restaurant after Cosme, and—as Atla is a true day-to-night joint—it burns at the heart of one of the city’s most unique coffee programs as well.

From the fishbowl of windows surrounding Atla’s sunny NoHo corner to its intimate, downtown-crowded tables and vine-climbed walls, the energy at Atla is convivial, organic. Sure, it’s got the slate-grey tones and clean lines of Cosme, but it’s also open at 9:00am daily, ready to serve chilaquiles, chia bowls, and yes, even, ahem, guacamole toast. And it all goes down with a full line of Mexican—in both preparation and provenance—coffees, to boot.

Yana Volfson

Coffee here, like Atla’s other beverage programs, is guided assertively by beverage director Yana Volfson. Volfson comes from the wine and spirits world, but she also comes from the Bronx, and immediately knew that practical but delicious coffee would be a necessary focal point of Atla’s drinks program. The restaurant selected Mexico City’s Buna for their coffee roaster of record, working closely with Buna owner Lalo Perez, and bringing in barista Andrew Yee—who cut his NYC coffee teeth at Joe Coffee—to help tailor a coffee setup that would shape the restaurant’s daylight hours.

Coffee at Atla is meant to have “an extroverted tone,” Volfson tells me over a signature coffee drink called the Pollenizer, a cacao-infused cold brew coffee cut with coconut water and honey. The drink was part of a short-run menu in celebration of a Buna collaboration with coffee magazine Drift at Atla this April, an event which further highlighted Atla’s commitment to bringing Mexican coffee to the fore.

“We wanted to use Atla as a place to start talking about coffee and about what we’re designing as a Latin American, Mexican-driven program,” explains Volfson. In putting Atla’s two-group La Marzocco Linea directly behind the bar, coffee became not only a feature of the restaurant’s service—not relegated to a behind-the-scenes part of the restaurant—but also part of the bar program, she says.

“Without question, you wake up in the morning and coffee is part of many people’s daytime rituals if not all-day rituals,” says Volfson. “For us, [coffee] was always going to be a day into night conversation. But I think we took that conversation a little bit further given we’re also a full-time bar. There’s also a conversation to be had about coffee and mezcal, which I think are wonderful pairings.”

You’ll find coffee on the cocktail list, indeed, in a Oaxacan Coffee cocktail with Koch Olla de Barro mezcal, piloncillo sugar, and fleur de cacao cream. But for more traditional coffee service, Atla offers espresso, hot, iced, or con leche spiced cafe de olla—or a traditional café con leche with either cow’s milk or rotating in-house milks, like coconut, cashew, or pecan.

Photo courtesy Atla.

“We sat down to figure out where we were at with coffee culture,” says Volfson, “to determine what would give a barista the confidence to say they know what’s going to taste good. And that seemed to fall more into the element of milk. We started to talk about what a cafe con leche is, given that there’s not much of a difference left between what one would call a cappuccino and what one would call a latte in terms of the NYC experience,” she pauses. “You’re always going for this elevated signature,” says Volfson. The team at Atla was inspired to differentiate its coffee service through these own unique house milks, and Buna’s coffees—which are otherwise unavailable in NYC.

And Buna’s ethos fits perfectly with what Olvera and his team are trying to accomplish in the north, says Volfson.

“Lalo’s brand is really beautiful because for them, biodiversity and cross-farming is something that’s really important, both for the sustainability of the small families that they work with as well as the actual soil of nutrients and of the crop,” says Volfson.

“When it comes to the mezcal that we’re looking for, it’s brands that are sustainable and understanding of a relationship between nature and production, as well as this element of milpa—which is—if we’re going to support small businesses and small farms we need to make sure we’re not just taking from them, but are supporting them in ways that they can sustain for themselves,” Volfson says, adding that Perez works with hundreds of smallholder families in Mexico to source Buna’s coffee—many of whom own less than one hectare of land.

“We’re trying to bring these conversations to the forefront,” says Volfson, adding that pop-up collaborations like the Atla x Buna x Drift Mag event “forces people to ask questions and creates a conversation.”

“I don’t think [only] within the topic of coffee, the topic of cocktails, the topic of wine,” says Volfson. “I think we’re talking about a bigger conversation overall. We’re talking about sustainable farming, small production, the understanding of being a responsible consumer, and the understanding of demand in a supply chain that we completely affect. We’re not in any denial about that,” she says.

“I think we’re just trying to showcase things that are delicious and make us happy and invite us every once in awhile into a conversation that might change us when we leave,” she pauses. “I think that’s what Atla is about, it’s about being able to give people good things so that they come back and ask us what is it about that that made it so special.”

Atla is located at 372 Lafayette Street, New York. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Liz Clayton is the associate editor at Sprudge Media Network. Her world coffee guide with Avidan Ross, Where to Drink Coffee, is out now on Phaidon Press. Read more Liz Clayton on Sprudge.

The post Mexican Coffee A Step Beyond At Atla In New York City appeared first on Sprudge.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 http://sprudge.com/mexican-coffee-a-step-beyond-at-atla-nyc-132209.html

Coffee Industry Looks to Brazil as It Hosts 4 World Championships

2018 will be a good year for Brazil: the SCA just announced that the country will host the World Brewer’s Cup Championship (WBrC) and World Cup Taster’s Championship (WCTC), in addition to the World Latte Art Championship and World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship.

The WBrC and WCTC were originally planned to take place in Dubai, along with the World Roasting Championship. However, all three of them will be moved as the SCA instead launches a new annual trade show: World of Coffee Dubai. An SCA press release states:

“Hosting a World of Coffee show in Dubai, a common gateway to the Middle East and Africa, represents an exciting opportunity to engage a market that ranges from coffee producing countries like Kenya and Yemen, to the many Arab cities where coffee serves as a key social drink, evident in the presence of a dallah coffee brewer on the dirham coin in UAE.”

But what does it actually mean for the coffee industry? And why should we be celebrating Brazil’s selection as host?

You might also like World Brewers Cup Champion Tetsu Kasuya on Winning, Coffee, & Brazil

Kyle Rampage and Breg Wu behind the bar at Cafebras Coffee Lab in Cerrado, Brazil. Credit: Angie Molina

Brazilian Coffee Blends Production & Consumption

World coffee competitions are an example of the specialty coffee industry at its best. We’re talking skilled baristas and roasters serving exceptional coffee with the latest equipment. What’s more, competitors normally use the competition as a platform on which to share the story behind the coffee: why it tastes so incredible, how it was farmed and processed, and what it means for the communities growing it.

And Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer by volume, is an ideal space for this discussion. It doesn’t just produce roughly one-third of the world’s coffee (the world’s second-largest producer, Vietnam, produces less coffee than the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais). It also has a thriving specialty café culture, with coffee houses, roasteries, and passionate consumers.

Henry Wilson, CEO of Perfect Daily Grind, says, “It’s exciting to see producing countries take centre stage for world coffee events. These countries have the ability to drive the industry forward, with innovations both in production and consumption. It’s only fitting that our conversations about coffee also take place there.”

Maria Claudia Lucindo Porto, head of International Relations at Minasul Cooperative, adds, “We are extremely happy and proud to have the events take place in Brazil this year. For us, it is a great honor to have coffee professionals from all over the world visit. Knowing that we will have the opportunity to deepen their connections with origin and producers already marks this as a successful event.”

You might also like: Is Brazil The Future of Specialty Coffee?

 Natural processed coffee being dried at a farm in the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Credit: Ivan Laranjeira Petrich

The Competition Details

Coffee champions from over 40 countries will be competing in the four events. The World Brewers Cup requires competitors to manually brew coffee. The World Cup Tasters Championship asks them to evaluate coffees in blind cuppings. The World Latte Art Championship tests their latte art skills. And finally, the fun World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship allows competitors to get creative as they create their own coffee-based cocktails.

All the events will held during Brazil’s International Coffee Week (ICW), which is the country’s largest coffee expo. This year, it will take place on the 7th–9th of November, 2018. Producers, roasters, buyers, and more will find themselves catered for, with a wide range of lectures, cupping sessions, and green coffee competitions. In 2018, there will 25 simultaneous events focused on “Market & Consumption”, “Knowledge & Innovation”, and “Business & Entrepreneurship”.

Barista behind the bar at Takkø Café in São Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Ana Valencia 

It’s just over six months until the Brazil hosts four of the six world coffee championships, and we’re already counting down the time.

As Danilo Lodi, World Coffee Events representative and certified Judge, tells us, “I’ve dreamt of World Coffee Competitions in Brazil since I started working with coffee. It’s going to be great to receive the community from all over the globe and show them how amazing and diverse Brazilian coffees are – see you all in November!”

Enjoyed this? Check out What’s The Future of Brazilian Coffee? Recapping ICW 2017

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Coffee Industry Looks to Brazil as It Hosts 4 World Championships appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2018/05/coffee-industry-looks-to-brazil-as-it-hosts-4-world-championships/

3 Things You Need to Consider When Designing Your Coffee Menu

Your coffee menu is more than just a list of items that you sell. It’s the tangible representation of your approach to specialty coffee. It’s your brand. It’s the reason your customers keep coming back to you.

Or it’s the reason they don’t.

Whether you’re a coffee roaster or a café owner, there are certain factors you need to consider when designing your menu: seasonality, market trends, diversity, customers’ palates, pricing and profit margins…

Let me talk you through the three most important points: flavor, cost, and seasonality. These will help you design a menu that attracts customers and supports the growth of your business.

You might also like A Coffee Roaster’s Guide to Creating Coffee Blends

Roasted coffee samples, ready for purchasing decisions to be made. Credit: Sam Kayser for Lone Oak Coffee Co.

1. Flavor

When considering what coffees to carry, you need to think about your customers’ wants as well as your personal preferences.

Take Ethiopian coffees: their bright acidity and sometimes intense berry flavors can excite specialty coffee lovers and introduce newcomers to the wonders of coffee. However, not everyone loves them.

As a roaster or café owner, if your menu consists of mostly sparkling African coffees, you could alienate an entire section of your local coffee-drinking community. You need diversity. You need to also have offerings suitable for those who don’t like, or aren’t yet ready for, beverages with  so much brightness.

You might also like: Why Are Some Coffees More Acidic Than Others? A Brew & Roast Guide

Different roast levels, different coffee profiles, different consumer experiences. Credit: Sam Kayser for Lone Oak Coffee Co.

Because if not, those who prefer flavors on the opposite end of the taste spectrum, say a low-acid, nutty, and more caramelized beverage, may buy their coffee elsewhere.

It may be beneficial to carry a few coffees from each producing continent or major region. In this way, you can showcase the great variety of flavors possible in specialty coffee. A full-bodied, chocolaty, Brazilian may be more approachable for a new specialty coffee drinker. A clean, floral Central American or Colombian could offer the sweet flavor and creamy mouthfeel many customers desire. A fruit-forward African will dazzle with acidity and be the exotic taste someone craves.

Make sure you roll with the whole flavor wheel. Serve coffees that everyone can can joy and appreciate.

Roasted coffee offerings from Mexico, Colombia, and Ethiopia. Credit: Sam Kayser for Lone Oak Coffee Co.

2. Cost

How much are your customers willing to spend? Only offering expensive coffees may limit how many customers you can gain or how much mark-up you can charge.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have exclusive coffees that are from expensive regions, experimentally processed, or micro or nano lots. But it’s worth also carrying a couple of less expensive yet still good-quality and sustainable coffees.

Roasters, you can often purchase these from the same specialty importer. They will serve as potential alternatives for smaller shops or restaurants.

And café owners, doing this will enable you to better mark up the beverage as well  as offering accessible, affordable brews. Remember, a US $5 or $6 pour over will be outside of many people’s budgets.

Abbie Whitehurst is the owner of King Street Coffee in Leesburg, Virginia. She tells me, “The Kenyan AA we bought from our local roaster was an amazing coffee. However, the wholesale cost was very expensive. We couldn’t afford to brew it by the cup and customers weren’t buying it at such a high price. We had to source a different coffee from another roaster that was more cost-effective, but just as intriguing to patrons.”

Freshly roasted coffee in the roastery at Lone Oak Coffee Co. Credit: Alex Mangione

3. Seasonality

You need to plan ahead (especially if you’re a roaster). Most coffee-producing countries have one annual harvest, meaning their crops will only be available at certain times of the year. Once the beans run out, you’ll have to wait until the following year for more of your favorite origen.

Of course, large roasters may be able to keep a good supply of beans stored in their green warehouse, meaning seasonality isn’t necessarily as daunting for them. But for most smaller roasting companies, it’s something to consider when choosing coffees for your wholesale menu.

Green coffee cherries on a Costa Rican farm; they will take months to ripen. Credit: Sam Kayser for Lone Oak Coffee Co.

As a wholesale roaster, I prepare for coffees to go out of season by picking out potential alternatives for those customers who routinely buy them. I suggest you do the same.

When the Mexico Chiapas is getting to the last few bags at the importer’s warehouse, for example, request samples of potentially similar-tasting coffees. Sample roast them to see which ones are comparable in flavor.

Before the customer is taken off guard by the absence of their frequently bought coffee, have them try the new sample. Reassure them that, even though it is a different origin, the flavor has been dialed in to taste very close to the one they have been serving.

And if coffee is a component of a blend? Slowly begin adjusting the ratios and making the transition so that  it’s less noticeable for the end consumer.

Coffee shop owners should be aware of this eventuality as well. Make sure you know in advance if your prized single origins will no longer be available – and what you can offer instead.

Parchment coffee rests in a warehouse in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Credit: Sam Kayser for Lone Oak Coffee Co.

Menus can attract a wide range of customers or just a few select ones. They can be approachable or niche. And how you build yours will ultimately determine your success – or lack of it.

When choosing your offerings, consider the demographic of customers in your area. Find  out what they can afford, what tastes they lean towards, and how you can cater to all local coffee drinkers.

Because the more diverse your menu is, the more people with whom you can share your approach to coffee, and the better the coffee industry becomes.

Enjoyed this? Check out A Coffee Roaster’s Guide to Creating Coffee Blends

Written by Sam Kayser, Roaster of Lone Oak Coffee Co.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post 3 Things You Need to Consider When Designing Your Coffee Menu appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2018/05/3-things-you-need-to-consider-when-designing-your-coffee-menu/

3 Things a Coffee Farmer Would Like You to Do

Coffee is not just coffee.

Our favorite beverage can be our morning pick-me-up, a precious moment to ourselves after work, a long chat with an old friend or the backdrop of a first date. But it’s also far more all this.

Because coffee provides an income for more than 25 million smallholder producers – yet even Fairtrade farmers often cannot make a viable living from it.

Fortunately, as consumers, we can make small and easy decisions that support a more sustainable coffee industry, if we just have the right information. My business partner and I spoke to Carlos Montero of Don Eli Coffee, a farm and micro mill in Costa Rica, to ask how he thinks we can do this.

Carlos has a nine-hectare farm nestled in the mountains of Tarrazú, Costa Rica with coffee fields sitting up to 1,900 meters above sea level. He grows Caturra, Catuai, Typica, Bourbon, Catimor and Geisha coffee, while his son, Jacob, processes all beans on their micro-mill. They specialize in washed, honey, natural, and anaerobic methods.

Read on to discover the three things Carlos told us that he would like consumers to do.

You might also like What Are The Main Challenges Faced by Coffee Producers?

Carlos Montero of Don Eli Coffee with Anna Helmke and Daniela Auñón of Gaia Coffee Co. on Carlos’ farm in Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

1. Know Where Your Coffee Comes From

Asking about your coffee is one of the easiest ways to make a positive impact. The desire to know where your coffee comes from and how it was produced puts pressure on both coffee shops and traders. It encourages them to work more closely with producers, shortening the supply chain and building relationships that benefit everyone. And it also encourages them to work with producers who use fair and sustainable business practices, both toward their crops and workers.

Carlos believes that when businesses “search for higher-quality coffee from sustainable farms, honest, hardworking farmers get the chance to grow.”

Carlos Montero describes the unique microclimate of Tarrazú, Costa Rica, where his farm, Don Eli, sits. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

As consumers, we have the economic ability to shift the power into the hands of farmers – farmers who pour their heart and soul into their crops. Or we can contribute to the issues of poor wages, poor labor conditions for workers, and unethical farming practices. Making that difference is up to us.

My business partner and I aren’t just coffee consumers. We’re also specialty coffee sourcers. We remember sampling coffees in Costa Rica and being impressed by one from the Central Valley. Before entering into a business relationship with the farmer, we arranged a farm visit to connect with him and learn more about his practices.

However, what we discovered there dissuaded us from buying from him. It became clear that, while he had excellent coffee, the working conditions for his laborers (and his wife!) didn’t meet our standards. We were told that his pickers lived in a squalid house, had to work seven days a week, and that “if [they] were to bring [him] any green cherries, they would be immediately fired.”

If we made a decision based on taste and cupping scores alone, we would probably have selected his green coffee for our company. However, making decisions purely based on product quality can lead to supporting unethical practices and oppressive systems, where workers are treated poorly.

And as consumers, if you ask where your coffee comes from, you force coffee shops and importers to find out about this. You hold the power in this supply chain. If you demonstrate that something matters to you, it matters to everyone.

Geisha coffee cherries ready for harvesting on Carlos Montero’s farm in Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

2. Understand The Realities of Production

How much do you know about where your coffee comes from? It’s a fascinating journey from seed to cup – and when we say seed, we’re being literal. “Coffee bean” is a misnomer: our favorite beverage actually comes from the seeds of fruit called “cherries.”

Working on the fields, learning different harvesting and processing methods, smelling the blooming flowers, interacting with the pickers and their families, and of course, sharing a cup of coffee with the farmers – this allows us to understand the reality of coffee production and everything that it takes to produce exceptional coffee.

People are becoming more interested in knowing exactly who produces the coffee they drink and how they do it. This trend has inspired Carlos and us to collaborate in hosting coffee tours and educational programs. These are led by Carlos himself on his farm.

Carlos explains that he wants “people to be able to learn the right way to grow coffee in the fields and have a better understanding of how things are in reality.” His eventual goal is to have “different mentors who talk about planting techniques, different soils, harvesting, and processing methods.”

Carlos Montero teaches OceanCollege students about coffee production on his farm in Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Credit: OceanCollege

Of course, we can’t all head to a coffee farm to learn directly with the producer. But we can take an interest in where our coffee comes from. There are so many ways to learn more about coffee production, from following producers on Instagram to simply asking our barista more about the honey processed El Salvador or natural Burundi they’re serving.

We can understand how unpredictable weather and climate change can hurt producers, as well as trade deals between our countries. We can view falling coffee prices, not as a sign that our coffee is about to get cheaper, but that producers will be paid less.

Anna Helmke inspects the quality of natural processed coffee as it dries on raised beds on Carlos’ farm. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

3. Speak With Your Wallet

Coffee farmers work all year for the harvest season. During this time, they must make enough of a profit to provide for themselves, their families, and their workers for the following year (with the exception of the small number of countries with two annual harvests).

This is a struggle that Carlos lives with. “Getting our coffee sold is a huge burden in every farmer’s daily life,” he explains.

The problem with receiving only one payment a year is that, by the time the following harvest season arrives, many farmers are already struggling financially. When this happens, many have no other choice than to turn to banks for loans simply to afford to harvest their coffee and pay their pickers. This can then create a cycle of financial dependency on banks, as the income from the coffee goes toward loan repayments rather than investing in the year ahead.

Carlos has “already noticed many farmers around having to sell their farms because they can’t feed their families.” He tells us that he can’t help but feel that “most farmers around will go under eventually.”

But as Joseph Behm of Behmor says, “everything collapses if the farmer cannot live… if we take too much, then eventually there won’t be anything to take.”

Jacob Montero, Carlos’ son, works on processing coffee with an experimental anaerobic process on the Don Eli micro mill. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

As consumers, we all need to take a certain level of responsibility toward the farmers who produce our coffee. Consider a mere $0.20 increase per pound – this could be transformative for farmers. Also, much of this additional profit would be reinvested back into the coffee.

When Carlos began working in specialty coffee six years ago and his price per pound increased, not only did his life improve, but so did the lives of his pickers. This inspired them to put more effort into their work, leading to higher-quality coffee, while also giving them a job that they could rely on year after year.

For example, Javier, a picker on Carlos’ farm, has returned with his family for the harvest season for over eight years in a row. During this time, he has noticed many changes for the better in their lives. They now receive health insurance from the Costa Rican government, the children can attend school, and he has even noticed his family becoming “healthier and happier every year.”

Gabriel Bejarano, Javier Bejarano, Maria Bejarano and Bombillo the dog, a family of coffee pickers who return to Carlos’ farm every year for harvest season. Credit: Gaia Coffee Co.

Whether you purchase coffee by the cup at a local café, by the bag at the grocery store, or beans by the 69-kilo sack, your choices impact the lives of countless people in the coffee industry. Remember, the power is in our hands to create a future that involves fair wages, sustainable practices, and traceability.

Enjoyed this? Check out What Are The Main Challenges Faced by Coffee Producers?

Written by Daniela Auñón & Anna Helmke, Co-Founders of Gaia Coffee Co.

Perfect Daily Grind is not affiliated with any of the individuals or bodies mentioned in this article and cannot directly endorse them.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post 3 Things a Coffee Farmer Would Like You to Do appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8200593 https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2018/05/3-things-a-coffee-farmer-would-like-you-to-do/