The lifecycle of coffee

All of the coffee we source and roast has a backstory. While it’s a common fact that coffee starts out as a fruit, every single bean goes through a journey that begins with a small flower on a coffee tree. It only blooms for a few days, and could be mistaken for Jasmine, but eventually turns into a ripe coffee cherry. Over a year passes from the time that flower blooms, until it ends up in a cup ready to be enjoyed, but in between it passes through many skilled and dedicated hands, who act as guides to make sure it reaches its full potential.

Much like wine, Specialty coffee is an artisanal crop where the “terroir”, or combination of soil, climate, topography, and best farming practices imparts unique taste characteristics to the beans. We prefer Higher altitude grown coffee, which slows down the growth, and increases the density of the beans, which results in the development of more complex sugars, and elaborate flavors. Although Coffee is mainly grown in countries near the equator, Harvest seasons rotate throughout the year, due in part to the opposite seasons of each hemisphere, and the timing of their rainy seasons.  The harvesting occurs during the dry season (winter), and like any fruit, the coffee cherry should be ripe before picking it.