New Roots Coffee

Fair Trade is just the Start

2009-10-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Fair Trade - the absolute minimum necessary to get people to stop questioning how you source, or pushing you to do better. Not enough.

http://www.jimseven.com

This is a great quote from a recent blog post by World Barista Cup Winner, James Hoffmann.

I get a lot of people who, wanting to do the right thing, ask is my coffee is Fair Trade. The answer is complicated and there are no easy answers. Some of our coffees are certified Fair Trade, so you can be assured that FLO, the global fair trade certification body has verified that at least the Fair Trade Minimum has been paid for the coffee. But wouldn't the coffee farmers be better off if they got more or even much more then this minimum for the coffees they grow? Higher Quality=Higher Prices.

Recently we began to buy a lovely green coffee from the east African country of Burundi. This coffee is not certified to be Fair Trade, but much more then the minimum was paid for the coffee. So, is this coffee technically Fair Trade, no, but is it more then fairly traded, yes! Any kind of certification demands fees, inspections and infrastructure that are not cheap. For small estates, developing countries and new coffee roasters these things are be a major hurdle.

Ask questions about the coffee you get from your coffee roaster. Fair Trade Certification is not enough. There are no easy answers.

What is Fair Trade Coffee Anyway?

2009-10-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Fair Trade: What Price for Good Coffee?

This was a great article written a week or two ago on Fair Trade Coffee in Time. It dealt with whether coffee farmers are really getting what Fair Trade certification has promised them. This article does a fine job of touching on the complexities of making sure coffee farmers are fairly compensated.

Certification has its cost. There are many small coffee roasters and small coffee farms that cannot afford the certification fees, but still want to make sure everyone a getting a wage for their contribution in the seed to cup coffee food chain.

Have had Fair Trade certification for a year but decided we could not afford to pay the fee anymore. We still buy Fairly Traded coffee but we just don't get the fancy sticker to put on our bags anymore. We also proudly roast coffees from countries like Congo and Burundi where there is not Fair Trade certification but they need our premium dollar for their premium product.

Unfortunately we do not live in a black and white world. Take time to get your coffee from a roaster that goes beyond stating that a coffee is Fair Trade. Demand more information because Fair Trade is not always enough. Who grew your coffee?

Make a Latte at Home for Cheap!

2009-04-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.gotmilk.com/#/news-and-events/66/

Great link by the California Milk Processor Board on how to make a latte at home for around $.35!

Where do you get your coffee from?

2009-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have had lots of people ask where I get my coffee from. As a wholesale coffee roaster, we get our coffee from a green coffee importer. They import the green coffee from 20+ countries, of the 40+ countries coffee comes from. They usually buy the coffee in shipping containers of 200+ bags.

We buy it in burlap sacks of 132 or 152 lbs. They coffee comes to our roasting facility on shipping pallet through a freight carrier on a semi truck and trailer. Hopefully someday we will able to travel to the farms where our coffee is grown to get the full "seed to cup" story first hand.

2009-01-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

The Story of
New Roots Coffee Company

How is the world did you get into
the coffee roasting business?

This is one of the first questions that people ask us when we tell them what New Roots Coffee Company is. I thought I would tell you the abridged story of how I came to be roasting coffee in Northern Wisconsin.

About a year before we would get married Katie and I 'went out for coffee' together for the first time. It was a tiny storefront coffee shop/café with loads of hippy college students, bare brick walls, worn hardwood floors, a single bathroom in the basement and great local artwork on the walls. The place was Coffee News Cafe and it is still located on Grand Avenue just west of Snelling Avenue in St Paul, MN. It was here that both of us shared that we would love to own a coffee shop someday. That was late 1999.

After five years in my (Joseph's) first career, I got burnt out. Then, I worked construction for two years and decided that it didn't fuel my passion. I saw a coffee shop for sale and investigated purchasing it. After deciding that taking over someone else's business wasn't for me, I looked at starting a coffee business from scratch. I discovered that there was not a single wholesale specialty coffee roaster within one hour of Wausau,WI, so I wrote a detailed business plan and finagled the financing to do things right.

We remodeled half of the basement of our home and shoehorned a used 1400lb. Probat L12 coffee roaster down the stairs.
Getting the coffee roaster through the door and down the stairs

We ordered bags of green coffee from Colombia, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Rwanda and Sumatra through Cafe Imports in St. Paul, MN totaling 834 lbs. On November 13th, 2007 New Roots Coffee Company LLC was officially in business.

Joseph using his farm-boy skidsteer skills to unload the green coffee from the semi.

I had the honor of being trained by coffee legend, Victor Allen Mondry, who dropped out of medical school in 1979 to start a little shop in Madison called Victor Allen's. Victor is still my mentor and friend and recently told me, "I'm proud of you." which did my soul well. Victor also helps me source some of the coffees that I have offer.

Sample roasting at Victor's old cupping lab in Paoli, WI

Along they way we became members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and attended their annual convention in Long Beach, CA. We were blown away by being in the midst of coffee farmers, baristas, roasters and other professionals from over 30 countries. Through SCAA we have received extensive hands-on training in coffee cupping, roasting, brewing and espresso.

We became a Fair Trade Certified licensed coffee roaster and have done everything we can to be a business that is socially and environmentally responsible and that makes the world a better place to live in. We believe in roasting coffee that helps coffee farmers make a reasonable living, is grown sustainably and is exceptional in your cup so everyone wins.

We got into coffee roasting because we have a passion for coffee. We will never have a huge selection, but you can be assured that the coffee that we offer will be carefully selected for its outstanding aroma, taste and body.

Acidity in Specialty Coffee

2009-01-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Acidity is generally considered to be a desirable aspect in specialty coffee. It give our senses the wonderful notes of lemon, grapefruit and orange. It can also make a coffee taste "winey" which is something I really love in coffee.

Much of the acidity in coffee comes in the form of chlorogenic acids, which are powerful anitioxidants with proven health benefits. Coffee also contains phosphic acids which can contribute to a cup of coffee feeling sweet. These are commonly found in coffees from East Africa like our Ethiopias, Rwanda, and Congo.

When I roast a coffee as a light roast, like our Guatemala or Ethiopia, it will usually have a higher perceived acidity then our darker roast coffees like our Sumatra, Peru or Midnight Blend.

Just to make things interesting our new Snowshoe Winter Blend is a blend of light roast and dark roast coffees. It makes for a wonderfully unique coffee to spice up the bland midwinter months. Email me to order a bag or look for it at newrootscoffee.com soon!

Coffee and Other Vices

2008-11-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I saw a great article in Newsweek on how people in the face of bad economic times, people are still going to bars, smoking and hitting strip clubs like they always have. It seems that these things insulate us and comfort us. I wonder if coffee is the same. Do people whose pocket books are smaller and who feel a bit depressed drink less coffee? I think not. Interesting. Isn't coffee great! It is the ultimate affordable luxury.

Choosing a roast that fits your tastes.

2008-10-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

Coffee Tip # 3

Coffee beans are unlocked by the roasting process. As green coffee is roasted it goes from being a hard little light green bean with little taste to how it tastes when you brew up a cup of your favorite New Roots coffee, aw...(wait for it)...some!

Our coffee tip this week is a quick guide to coffee roasts.

Light Roast

After coffee reaches the "first crack" in the roasting process at about 380 degrees F, it begins to develop as a light roast coffee. This is generally considered the lightest coffee most people would want to drink.

Light Roast Characteristics

High Acidity, medium body, low sweetness and maximum amount of origin characteristics.
This means that when you brew a cup of our light roast Ethiopia Yergecheffe you get a full dose of the citrus, floral and melon notes that make a great referred sing.

Medium Roast

Medium Roast coffee can also be referred to as a full city roast. This is the point around when the coffee reaches "second crack" and "pops" a second time. This is the lowest level that is usually used for an espresso blend.

Medium Roast Characteristics

Fully developed aroma and complexity, medium acidity and increased sweetness
Our Sawtooth Autumn Blend, Colombia Decaf and Rwanda are medium roasts.

Dark Roast

Little coffees from the green mermaid place (*bucks) fall below this roast level. My mentor, Victor Allen Mondry, got me hooked on light and medium roast, but we do offer a few dark roast coffees. At this roast level, the beans have a shiny surface and can have oil droplets on the outside of the bean.

Dark Roast Characteristics

Low acidity, full aroma, full body, full sweetness and the minimum amount of origin characteristics
Our Midnight Blend, Peru and Sumatra at dark roast coffees, with the Sumatra being the darkest.

Beyond

After this you reach super dark roast territory which includes French and Italian Roasts. We don't offer any beans this dark because at this point all of the origins just seem to taste the same. It's just not our style, because all of the hard work we did sourcing exceptional beans kind of goes of the chimney.

Enjoy your Autumn,

Joseph Zimmermann
New Roots Coffee Company

Choosing a coffee that fits your tastes- part 1

2008-10-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Choosing a good coffee that you will like can be very daunting. Just a few years ago I would just randomly pick a bag off the shelf and unfortunately I had a hard time telling the difference from one to the next. When I decided to start roasting coffee, I was my basic goal that no one would be indifferent about the coffees that I roast. I carefully choose the coffees that I roast so that each of them have a very unique flavor and aroma profile. We don't expect anyone to be in love with all our coffees but we believe that almost everyone will be able to find the one the best fits them.

Coffees is grown in more then 40 countries around the world. The following is a breakdown of the world's main coffee growing regions.

Americas
This group includes that coffees grown in Central and South America as well as Hawaii. Coffees from Guatemala, Colombia and Costa Rica are know for the punch of bright acidity that they bring to the cup. Our Guatemala Huehuetenango and Colombia Decaf are great examples of these coffees.

Coffees from Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua are generally more mellow and nice breakfast coffees. The also make sweet and chocolaty dark-roast coffees. Our Mexico Decaf and Peru are smooth dark roasts.

Africa and Surrounding Countries
Coffees from this growing region really shine in the cup with their unmistakable wine and fruit note following full acidity. This includes the coffees of Ethiopia (Harrar, Sidamo and Yergecheffe), Yeman, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda. Our bestselling Ethiopia Yergacheffe with its delightful citrus, floral and melon notes, and our winey Rwanda are some of the region best coffees.

Indonesia and surrounding Pacific Islands
The jungle coffees of the third growing region have whole flavor profiles of their own. They can have rich deep acidity and funky earth tones that can occasionally be a bit musty (in good way). They can include coffees grown in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea, India and Timor. Our Sumatra Mandheling and Papua New Guinea AA showcase some the this regions best.

Next week we will look at some more aspects of choosing a coffee that is right for you.

Real Coffee Tip #1

2008-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Keeping Coffee Fresh

Coffee peaks out in its flavor and aroma about 24-48 hours after it's roasted. This is why many roasters will let the beans rest for awhile after they are roasted. During this time the beans are releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide. If you look on the bag of a good coffee roaster you will find a small dime-sized valve on the back of the back. This is a one-way valve that allows carbon dioxide to escape from the bag, while keeping oxygen out. Oxygen is coffee's enemy, making is stale and stripping it of its flavor.

The best way to enjoy coffee is to get it within a few days of roasting. Ideally you should enjoy you beans within a week of opening the bag. If you can't use it up in a week, put it in a sealed bag and place it in the freezer. Then pull the beans out and grind what you need putting the rest back in the freezer. Never put your coffee in the refrigerator or it may take on the flavor of last nights leftover meatloaf. Coffee beans love to absorb odors.

If you don't have a grinder consider getting one. It's a little extra work but you will be amazed at the difference in taste and aroma. You can pick up a simple propeller grinder for about $20 or consider investing in a good burr grinder for $60-100. I will have more about grinding in future Coffee Tip emails.
Enjoy your Autumn,

Joseph Zimmermann
New Roots Coffee Company

Coffee Tip #1

2008-10-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Fresh Roasted Coffee from Starbucks?

2008-04-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Fresh is apprently the new word at Starbucks. I went to a local Starbuck yesterday, was dazzled to see these bags of coffee for sale by the name of Pike Place Roast in market style bags with a spot of the barista to write in when they were "hand scooped" into the bag. Then I noticed the old black and white Starbucks logo that says Fresh Roasted Coffee in the cups and a few other locations. (Sorry that the photo is backwards.)

As turned around to wait for my drink, I say huge 5 pound bags of the Pike Place Roast with the roasted on date hand written: March, 22 2008 and a place for where it was roasted by Starbucks written in: York, PA. I was taken a back of how similar they looked to my bags with the roasted on date, almost like Starbucks ripped off my idea. Whatever. Only when I deliver my coffee they hit stores that same day I roasted them and not billed as fresh roasted when the coffee has still not been brewed two and a half weeks after it was roasted. Coffee reaches its peak flavor about 24-48 hours after it has been roasted. Not only that, but this "fresh roasted" coffee was roasted 953 miles away. Is that fresh roasted?

Support your local coffee roaster, they are the real deal. And always inquire to find out when your coffee was roasted.

Life is to short to drink bad coffee!

2008-02-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

Since this is my first blog entry, I will attempt to make it short and sweet. Here is the question.

Why should I spend $10-$18+ on a pound of coffee when the the grocery store sells it for a fraction of the cost?

Well, with coffee you usually get what you pay for... Usually that is.

Don't assume it is good coffee just beacuse it...

-is sold whole bean (you can sell bad coffee in whole bean)
-says Columbia or Kona on the bag (It may be a blend of coffee that contains only 1-5% of the Columbia or Kona)
-has boutique-style packaging (while packaging is important, it doesn't mean that coffee is worth the price)
-says Arabica on the bag (Even through Arabica is better then low-grade Robusta beans, only 5% of Arabica is specialty grade, commanding a high price.)

-is flavored ( Usually flavored coffee uses really low quality beans. Good quality coffees should have their own unique flavor, just like wine so you don't need flavoring)

To start getting more from your coffee check out coffeereview.com or coffeegeek.com. Or you can check out our web site at newrootscoffee.com

I welcome your feedback on what you might want to chat about in future blogs.