Why the Roasters Pick.

One question we get asked a lot is whether or not you (the customer) choose which roaster ships you the coffee. The answer is no and it’s not because we are jerks or we don’t know how to make that work. The real answer is that we are incredibly focused on experience, getting you the best coffee and promoting various roasters of direct trade coffee.

Why do labels matter?

There is officially no “Direct Trade” label. This bugs some people but in the long run it might be one of the reasons why direct trade works. To delve deeper, since this topic isn’t widely researched in direct trade, we will understand the issue as it relates to the “organic” label.

The Less Sexy Side of Coffee

We are going to have to put coffee’s natural sexiness aside for this post but, the post remains along the lines of questions we’ve been talking a lot about lately like, why do you drink coffee, and what is your coffee ritual. We’ve gotten a few answers but one that seems to be sticking out with us and one that has gotten us talking has been from people who didn’t post comments or tweet us but from a couple people who emailed us. These discreet folks said the reason they drink coffee is that it keeps them regular.

How to tell if it's fresh?

This is easy to understand for fresh fruits and veggies but we often do not have the same thoughts about coffee. Fresh coffee tastes better and the customers can tell. Keeping in mind the fruit and veggie idea, coffee is not much different although the degradation process begins at a different point.

What is your ritual? [Question]

Wake up, set water to boil, grind coffee, put grounds in the Hario and start pouring and breathing in the smell of the bloom. This is the moment in my morning that I look forward to before I go to bed but it has nothing to do with caffeine or flavor. It’s something I’ve gotten used to over the past few years and when I wake up any differently the difference is tangible. Other people hit the Starbucks drive-thru on their way to work or make sure their first meeting is at the local roasters cafe. It’s a method, a routine, a ritual.