coffee doesn't grow in Ohio

  We are on the brink of abundance for local food lovers in Cleveland, Ohio.  I know the spring weather wasn't as cooperative as our local farmers would have liked, but the veggies are still growing and we will be knee deep in local flavors for the next few months.

  In the mean time, coffee does not grow in Ohio.  Arabica coffee, the type that specialty coffee drinkers prefer, grows only at altitudes above 3500 ft in climates free of frost: between the tropics of cancer and capricorn.  At the Root cafe, a place that provides a lot of coffee to the west side of Cleveland, this is a big deal.  We cannot source our biggest selling product locally.

  Buying locally keeps our dollars in the community, creating  a strong local economy.  Buying locally ensures that the product takes very little energy in transportation and storage, ensuring a small carbon footprint.  Buying locally connects people to each other, creating the culture and community that defines who we are as a society.  Buying locally connects us to the land we live on.  We buy local when we can.  When we can't, we look for next best practices.  In our search for the answer to best practices in buying coffee, Kim Jenkins of Rising Star Roasters was manifested.

  Last week, a few of us from the Root cafe went to Rising Star to sample coffees and place a conference call with a broker who imports specialty coffee.  We got to ask questions about who grows the coffee, what countries were harvesting now and what would be available in July/August, how they run the farm, how many farms were in a particular coop, and how the workers are treated.  When there was not certification for fair trade, the broker was able to give us specs on the farm to prove its values would be in line with ours.

Just yesterday, Kim came to the Root cafe to place a call with an broker named Ricardo.  He owns an import company that only works with direct trade coffees.  That means that Ricardo has personally met every farmer who grows the beans he buys and ensures that the beans are grown in sustainable ways while the workers are paid fairly.  A business model with intense relationships like this provides quality over quantity.  Ricardo offers coffee from Brazil and Colombia.  One of the Brazillian coffees we are purchasing comes from a farm called Bob-O-Link, where Kim visited just last year with Ricardo.

http://www.bobolinkcoffee.com/OrganicCoffee.asp

The coffee at this farm is grown organically, is migratory bird friendly and delicious!  It is 1/3 of our new Root espresso blend.

  Phoenix Coffee provides varietals that are certified Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance.  Fair Trade guarantees that the coop from which the coffee came is paid a preset price. Rainforest Alliance certifies farms to be environmentally and socially sustainable through a third party certifying agent.

  Origins Beanery offers coffees that are Farm Gate certified.  This means that there was a price negotiated 'at the farm gate', at least 50% but mostly more than 100% above the 'fair trade' standard price.   Farm Gate is a simple principle that allows coffee producers to make premium prices in reward for coffee quality, and to reinvest to improve quality even more in the future.  These coffees are the best quality each origin has to offer.  Some of the coffees have won the cup of excellence in the country of origin and is graded as highest quality according to Specialty Coffee Associations standards.

  So, that's what we are doing to keep our buying habits in line with our values.  We are reaching out and making connections with the people who broker and grow our coffee.  We are working with roasters who can provide traceability back to the farm where the coffee is grown so we can ensure best practices where its grown, since we can't grow it in Ohio.