Introducing: Relationship Reserve

We always have coffees that shine on a cupping table. When we come across an offering that is a little more than just a great tasting coffee, we jump at the opportunity to vet it to be included in our new coffee series;

 

1. Relationships. It has to be part of the criteria, right? Relationship Reserve! There are a couple of relationships we already have set up that will continue to be part of this series: Our friends from Catracha Coffee in Santa Elena Honduras, where Tyler Fivecoat (Owner and Head Roaster) visited in January of 2018, Long Miles Coffee Project in Kayanza Burundi whom we have partnered with since 2015, and La Reb, an organization in Colombia where we source delicious Colombian coffee year round.

2. Excellence in Quality. This is where we put the coffee to the test and see if it meets our quality standards. We roast several batches from the lot, cup them a few times over the span of two weeks, then we give it a score after each cupping. This tells us how good the coffee can taste and how it can stand the test of time and maintain its flavor profile over those two weeks. If it impresses our quality control team, then we move it along to the next and final step.

3. Sustainability. (BUZZWORD) Our goal is to be transparent here. Sustainability can mean a lot of things and can be conveyed in an appealing way to convince the consumer that this is a coffee they can purchase in good conscience. Unfortunately, people use this as a marketing tactic too often in our industry. There are a ton of folks that are practicing this in the right way on a day to day basis and they are an inspiration to us.

For us, we consider a couple things in this category:

A. Ongoing Communication with each producer.

B. Producer is practicing farming methods that are good for themselves, the product, and the environment.

C. Must be $2.25 FOB. Fair Trade pricing has remained at $1.60 for the past 6 years. This allows us to offer a more sustainable price so the producer who grew the coffee can be better compensated, as they should be.