RUST BELT ROASTERS MAR. 2022
RUST BELT ROASTERS BOX…
… showcases three roasters from Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo. The “Rust Belt” refers to the industrial heartland of America that peaked in production around 1953. Today, these former centers of industry have experienced an exciting resurgence and are becoming hubs of innovation and urban revitalization.
Image: KLVN COFFEE LAB
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From the Roaster:
“We’ve always felt that good coffees possess a finer quality than mere mind-melting taste, that they are the latest rare and transient phase in a good system; that as such, and through which they provide an access point into that system and the opportunity to participate within and become a part of that ecstatic process.” -
From the Roaster:
The La Encenada comes from the collective production of eleven small producers located in San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango.
Harvest starts relatively late due to the altitude, so the peak picking season goes from the beginning of March until the end of April. There are two rounds of picking and coffee is handpicked and sorted by members of the family, who also oversee their own wet mill processing and drying on their own patios.Bella Vista first sourced these coffees with the help of Byron Benavente (a long-time Bella Vista colleague), who helps them outsource coffee from this area of Huehuetenango. Through Byron, the trio of families have also received assistance in improving their agricultural management and processing their wet mill using Bella Vista-inspired methods.
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TASTING NOTES
Apricot, Strawberry Shortcake, WatermelonORIGIN
San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango
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From the Roaster: “Phoenix Coffee is the only employee-owned cooperative coffee company in Ohio and one of Cleveland’s premier specialty coffee roasters with five coffee shops around the city and a wholesale coffee roasting and commissary bakery downtown.
Our idea isn’t a radical one: we want to create safe, sustainable, livable middle class jobs. We want to be part of our communities and contribute to those communities not only through our company’s presence but by being members: buying homes, starting families, and living our values.”
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From the Roaster:
From the Roaster: “Phoenix Coffee is the only employee-owned cooperative coffee company in Ohio and one of Cleveland’s premier specialty coffee roasters with five coffee shops around the city and a wholesale coffee roasting and commissary bakery downtown.Our idea isn’t a radical one: we want to create safe, sustainable, livable middle class jobs. We want to be part of our communities and contribute to those communities not only through our company’s presence but by being members: buying homes, starting families, and living our values.”
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TASTING NOTES
Tropical, Butterscotch, StarfruitORIGIN
Honduras
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From the Roaster:
Tipico Coffee was founded by Jesse Crouse with the opening of our first award winning café in 2015. Pete Herman joined Tipico in 2017 as co-owner with the opening of our roasting facility on Buffalo’s West Side. Their shared values as business owners are reflected in Tipico’s commitment to its team of employees, vendors, its community, and to the sourcing of its high quality, delicious coffees.Tipico’s coffee program reflects a decade of building relationships with industry experts and world class farmers, and its efforts toward creating the most transparent supply chain possible. Our meticulous roasting protocols, and knowing exactly who we are buying coffee from, allow us to create coffees that highlight their inherent traits, and to deliver a product that stands above all the rest.
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From the Roaster:
Pulcal is a relationship coffee from Antigua, Guatemala. Maria Zelaya has been producing some of the world’s best coffee for over 50 years.On our past visits with Maria, what stands out the most is her drive and curiosity. She has raised prize cattle since she was just in her teens, and was taking home top honors starting with her first ever cow, Primarosa. On top of cattle, she has a perfectly heirloom rose garden on the grounds of the estate at the mill.
She grows beautiful coffee with the help of her nephew Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora, who oversees the farm and its manager. History, tradition, and absolutely exquisite coffees. That’s hard to beat.
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TASTING NOTES
Juicy Plum, Marzipan, DelicateORIGIN
Guatemala