A bright spot came about over the holiday week, which is always a strange time of year. We have ramped up so hard for the holidays, then business kind of disappears as everyone is sucked in by the family and extracurricular activities which the time of year represent. You get to have a chance to clean up, organize and tie lose ends that need attention. I was in the midst of just one of those tasks when I heard the door open and was transported half way around the world…..

In came a vibrant gentleman with a steely yet inquisitive look. He immediately gave me his card while speaking in an odd accent I was not prepared for. As I took a moment to digest this abrupt circumstance it all started to sink in….

His name was Sasa, he was from Canberra, Australia and that he represented ONA Coffee (follow his link to learn more). He was telling me he was in town for a couple of days visiting friends, that he was then leaving for Cuba and proceeding back home after that. He had already spent too much time away from his coffee and that he was a bit taken aback by the poor coffee culture he had encountered in our part of the world. This led him to search for specialty coffee and that in all of his local searches we kept popping up, so he took the advice on our web store and came to visit.

My first thought was to extend him a welcome, to excuse the mess but I was working on my little snowblower project, but could I offer to pull him a shot. He accepted grateful for something freshly roasted. Little did I know at the time as I pulled him a shot into an ecotainer, instead of a china cup, that I was pulling a shot for a well known and respected roaster, but also the dual ACT Champion in his home state (thanks to the WBC person who pointed out his correct award status, and sorry to offend the current WBC champ). Now back to the point , thank god and my roastmaster, that the coffee in the office is always fresh, so I pulled him a short double of our signature espresso with it’s typical fine crema and proceeded to offer him a tour.

We spoke about magnitude, it seems that ONA is probably 10 times our size in terms of roast capacity and volume. We talked about latte art and baristas and what our location had to offer in this. We chatted about coffee and different origins and roasts. We determined that although in general our cultures have a different appreciation for styles of coffee, we had also many similarities in how we roast. Now this is fun stuff because it is not so often we meet people that have the same insight in to a particular topic.

I showed him our operation, and as we walked around his hands dipped into the various sacks of green coffee. As he quaffed the aroma of the fresh beans, he was picking out origins by smell alone. Although this alone is an exceptional talent, the fact was dwarfed by seeing him transported to each place when he described the scent he was perceiving. He said he missed the smell and feel of the coffee….once again, great stuff for a slow mid-week afternoon.

We then wrapped up, with brief descriptions of what we do, how we do and why we do what we do. That we would cross emails and such. And in a blink of an eye he was gone!

Sasa, thanks for making last Thursday one of those anecdotal coffee moments, that only roasters get to have, all because of the coffee….

So after a conversation with A, he pointed out something which needed attention. After commenting on the web presence, the design components and possible changes, I asked about adding a new web feature. He clarified for me that we should probably use what we already have before creating something new I wont use. Point taken.

The challenge is to learn to be a better blogger, to express my point of view on a regular basis about what we do, how we do, why we do what we do so that people will follow and also share the amazing world that coffee brings to our door every day.

Challenge accepted, will see how we grade it at the end of 2010….hmm, that rhymes!

I have been doing lots of coffee reading lately, got a couple of great titles for the holidays, The Devil’s Cup by Stewart Lee Allen and Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast. It always amazes me when I run across new meaning to old words. A few of the words I have been schooled about so far:

bunn - the original Ethiopian name for the coffee plant of which the original consumption was of chewing the leaves and beans

qishr - a sweet beverage made from the lightly roasted hulls of the coffee cherry, now more commonly known as kisher

kapuziner - a strongly brewed coffee, not espresso, with a dome of schlagober (whipped cream or milk). When the two blend together, they create the exact color of the robes worn by the Capuchin order of Monks of the catholic church. Created in Vienna, the gateway of coffee into European society. Not to be confused with the Italian cappuccino, named for the same order but made with espresso.

muck-fuck - okay, so the real spelling is mocha-faux and it means fake mocha. This beverage was made from burnt bread, caramelized carrots, chicory among other non-specific substances. It came into vogue when Frederick the Great persecuted people who roasted coffee with his coffee sniffer soldiers in the 1770s Germany.

french roast - “when the bean is burnt beyond recognition, thus enhancing carbon and oil content. Carbon absorbs gastric acids, facilitating traffic flow (be creative here, gastric flow); fats and oils are known laxatives.”  Now I can confirm why I do not like the super dark coffee roasts…..

I will add more as they show up….

For all you home roasters, out of towners, or lovers of mail - EcoCofeeStore.com is now open!  We have launched an online store that specializes in green or unroasted beans.  We sell everything that we keep here in the roastery, and will ship it anywhere from Parsboro, Nova Scotia, to Burlington, Ontario to Tofino, British Colombia.   Head on over now! www.ecocoffeestore.com

We are proud to announce that we have been authorized by the Rainforest Alliance to sell coffees which are RFA certified. The adjacent paragraph best describes why we feel this is important in the words of the Rainforest Alliance themselves.

” Rainforest Alliance Certified seal is a guarantee that coffee is grown on farms where forests are protected, rivers, soils and wildlife conserved; workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, properly equipped and given access to education and medical care. These farms are on a path toward true sustainability. Forested coffee farms are critically important to serve as migration stopovers for birds traveling from as far away as Canada and Alaska. In areas where deforestation is rampant, these coffee farms may be the only habitat available to provide shelter and food for wary birds.”

The first two coffees we were able to procure are from Central America, one from Costa Rica and the other from Nicaragua. Get down to our store and have a taste, they are extremely flavourful and will be featured throughout November as the special of the month.

Eco-Coffee HQ

I had a chance to take flight in a beautiful balloon…now I understand those “up, up and away…” lyrics much better, corny as they are…..From way up on high, I could see the little place called Eco-Coffee Corporation, as a mere spot on the map, and it made me realize how things can take perspective.

We are a small company, with big ideas and even bigger dreams. We aim to keep our customers happy, by providing them the best of quality along with the our finest service, and with them we will continue to soar…!!

Thanks for coming along on our ride!!!

In the middle of summer, without much fanfare, a great new coffee location comes on board to service all those on the South side of Cambridge. The Coffee Peddler has a great selection of some of our best coffees, they prepare it in both a drip style or with their espresso machine as well. They offer an ample selection of teas along with their fresh baked goods. As they are still in stealth mode, learning the coffee ropes, feel free to pop in and let them know their secret is now out.

Congratulations on all the fine effort, and welcome to the Eco-Coffee family!

Sometimes recognition comes from the least expected sources…..here’s to the KID in all of us !!!

Continue reading The Unexpected

Summer is here in full swing, and everyone at our roasting facility is …well ROASTING! Here are a few of our favourite summer chill out recipes, using what we have around here in the office.

Continue reading Beat the heat!