FAQs

What’s the best way to brew & store coffee?

We package our roasted coffee into bags with one-way valves to allow for the CO2 released after roasting to escape the package while not allowing oxygen or light (the main enemies of freshness!) into the bags. We rotate our inventories of roasted coffee to ensure we sell coffees that have been roasted longest first.

Generally, the best ratio for brewing is 1-2 Tbsp of freshly ground coffee (~10g) to 6 oz. (180ml) of clean, fresh-tasting water (not distilled or softened water). Adjust the amount of coffee to your desired brew. And adjust the grind you use accordingly as well. We recommend storing your beans in an airtight opaque container at home to preserve freshness. 

What is coffee’s journey from the fields where it grows, to my cup?

It’s a long road to your cup; one influenced by the climate and touched by many hands along the way. Altitudes above 5000 feet produce the best coffees due to cooler temperatures and lower oxygen levels that support the slower development of dense coffee beans; these lower temperatures also keep many pests and diseases that would otherwise impact the coffee at bay. A coffee shrub begins to produce coffee cherry fruits 3-5 years from planting depending on plant variety and conditions. These cherries are harvested by hand in most cases ensuring only perfectly ripe cherries are picked and taken for processing to remove the fruit skins and pulp to expose the green beans inside, which are protected by a layer of parchment. After drying, this parchment is removed before the coffee is subject to more processing to sort out different qualities. The green coffee beans are exported to the US, roasted using expensive machines, and finally packaged to preserve the shelf life of the roasted coffee. We roast to order and are always mindful to not build a large inventory of roasted coffee to support the freshest beans possible.

How does the coffee industry work generally–what’s the overview?

The global coffee industry is a massive market with significant economic impact, driven by both at-home and away-from-home consumption. This out of home consumption is largely of specialty coffee and ready-to-drink options, which are increasingly available in convenience and groceries stores. The U.S. is a major market for coffee with billions in annual sales now and still has a pretty steep projected growth rate.

The coffee industry is rife with large multinational corporations, where most players offer similar products primarily leveraging brand equity to differentiate. The industry is dominated globally by very few massive holding companies that have consolidated many brands under their umbrellas thus minimizing competition and imposing price pressures leveraging their purchasing power. Technological innovations and advancements in brewing and consumer experience are a constant in the industry.

Broadly speaking, discussions around and tactics to engage in more sustainable and ethical sourcing are coming to the forefront acknowledging vulnerabilities in the supply chain borne mostly of commodity market volatility and increasing production challenges brought on by the changing climate, which is increasing efforts and costs to produce significantly. How coffee is usually priced is important to note; traditionally coffee prices are set based on two key components: the commodity price from the Intercontinental Commodity Exchange and a differential intended to convey a coffee’s perceived value. Higher quality coffees generally command a positive differential while lower qualities fetch a negative differential, or discount to the prevailing commodity price. Both of these components tend to be volatile and respond as much to global supply and demand and climate conditions as they do to local conditions where coffees are produced. Often, a more stable way to set price is to agree upon an outright price that covers production economics along with sufficient profit to support people whose livelihoods depend on coffee and getting it to market.

Historically, green (unroasted) coffee beans were sourced utilizing mostly anonymous methods that kept realities of coffee production conditions and related economics of an estimated 25 million coffee producers hidden from coffee roasting companies themselves, and certainly from consumers. These opaque value chains (still working in the same ways today) leverage a highly extractive model where price discovery comes from the commodity price that looks at global supply and demand rather than local conditions. This means that producers in Guatemala, for example, are impacted by prices that are largely defined by what is happening in larger producing countries like Brazil. The result is often a price that does not cover production costs (some statistics suggest this is the case more than 80% of the time historically) jeopardizing the ability to make a living from coffee production in many countries where it is grown.

The traditional opacity in the coffee supply chain has played the important role of offering the “flexibility” that anonymity usually indicates where green coffee buyers can easily abandon suppliers with whom they do not have relationships when challenging conditions arise. We shy away from this as it is much better for both us and the producers to work together to weather tough market conditions, building relationships around trust and a mutual desire to improve the coffee supply chain. It is hard to be a fair weather (only) friend once we know and care about supply partners and that is how we want it. We think our coffee producing partners deserve to be considered and we feel accountable to them because they often become our friends. These friendships develop as we work with the same partners year over year building on our discussions each time we meet, learning more about one another’s needs and priorities in the adventure of life. These long term relationships also ensure we cultivate an always deepening understanding of the complexities of producing coffee; and we are always happy to share with producers the challenges of running a coffee company! We are also able, thanks to these relationships, to feel confident that we are paying prices to producers that cover their production costs instead of just using the commodity market to define the price.

What are some common coffee terms to know?

(We are updating this glossary as we hear from customers the questions they have; if you come across a coffee term you don’t know, drop us a line and we will add it to the list!):

Arabica: One of the two main commercially produced species of coffee. Coffea arabica is grown at higher altitudes, has lower levels of caffeine and chlorogenic acids, and higher levels of lipids and sugars, which in sum result in (most of the time) higher quality cup than its cousin, Robusta. Arabica varieties are also more susceptible to disease and pests and require higher altitudes for optimal quality thus increasing costs to produce.

Blend: A mixture of two or more coffees and/or roast profiles. Often different coffees combined create flavors that did not show in either of the components offering a unique experience in the cup. Blends are not necessarily lower quality as some would believe—they often are a great way for roasters to show their creativity.

Commodity Market Pricing: Traditionally coffee prices are set considering two key components: the commodity price from the Intercontinental Commodity Exchange and a differential intended to convey a coffee’s perceived value. Higher quality coffees generally command a positive differential while lower qualities fetch a negative differential, or discount to the prevailing commodity price. Both of these components tend to be volatile and respond as much to global supply and demand and climate conditions as they do to local conditions where coffees are produced. Often, a more stable way to set price is to agree upon an outright price that covers production economics along with sufficient profit to support people whose livelihoods depend on coffee and getting it to market.

Cupping: A method of brewing used in the analysis of coffee quality. Cupping requires specific protocols for water quality and temperature, roast degree, grind size, and extraction time. Coffee professionals around the globe adhere to similar standards to ensure consistent cup quality evaluations.

Direct Trade: A way of sourcing that involves ongoing and direct relationships with key actors in the supply chain—notably the producers themselves. These partnerships can result in long term and mutually beneficial business between a roaster and the producer.

Fixed or Outright Price: An alternative to using the commodity price + a quality differential to define the value of a coffee. Usually, but not always, these prices factor in production economics ensuring producers are profitable.

Espresso: Coffee brewed through an espresso machine (finely ground, under high pressure.) It is not a type of roast or a type of bean but refers instead to the method of preparation. Often it is also the name of a blend, like ours!

Green Coffee Bean: More accurately, the coffee seed, or endosperm, found at the center of the coffee cherry or fruit. So called because prior to roasting, these hard, dense seeds are greenish in color. The roasting process transforms the beans, caramelizing sugars, and changing cell structures so the coffee can be ground and brewed.

Natural/Dry Process: Also referred to as "natural process." Indicates coffee was dried with the cherry left on the seed. The dried cherry is then hulled off to expose the green beans inside. This process usually yields a fruity flavor and a heavy body in the cup.

Parchment: A protective papery layer that surrounds the coffee seeds, or green beans, after the fruit is removed. Parchment is removed during the hulling process at the dry mill prior to export.

Past Crop: Coffee picked and harvested prior to the arrival of the most recent crop. I.e. from the previous harvest to the one currently being shipped.

Roast Date: The date on which the coffee was roasted.

Roast Level: The degree of darkness to which the coffee was roasted. Some people prefer one end of the roast degree spectrum or the other.

Robusta: Coffea canephora, a strain of the coffee plant that has twice the caffeine of arabica, 60% less lipids, and half the sugars. Robusta grows at lower elevations and is resistant to more pests and diseases than Arabica. The flavors of Robusta coffees are often harsher and less clean, although recent an ongoing work in the industry has identified higher quality robusta coffees.

Single Origin: A coffee offered from a single producing country or source instead of a combination of more than one coffee.

Washed/Wet Process: Also called washed coffee. A coffee processing method by which the pit/bean of the cherry is extracted from the pulpy fruit using a depulper, fermented to loosen the fruit, then washed in tanks of water, sorted by density, and dried. Washed coffees are generally brighter and have clearer flavor notes in the cup.