The Move: Part 2

As of yesterday, we are all moved in to the new spot (with the exception of computer and computer desk for the office).

Here are some shots of the uhaul on one of our trips over, us moving about 7000 pounds of coffee in, and the roaster installed in it's new home.

We're hoping to be up and roasting by Thursday night. We'll keep you posted!

Cheers,
Matt

The Move: Part 1

Today we moved the roaster from it's home in the bowels of Winooski, to it's new spot in Burlington. Here are some of the pictures from the move. My favorite is the first one, with Joe faking tears as they cart up the roaster...








More pictures and news soon!!

We're Moving!

Happy 2008 to all of our loyal customers! Freshcoffeenow.com is excited to announce that next Monday we are moving our roasting center to Burlington! For those of you from far away places, Burlington is the town that is next door to Winooski, our current location. It is the largest town in our small state, and it will be a great place for us to operate in. For starters, we have about twice as much room to warehouse coffee. We also wont have to walk down 25 steep stairs when getting coffee to and from our roaster.

For the customer, the biggest difference is that we won't run out of coffee as often (although certain Fair Trade co operatives, and Jamaican coffees will still be hard to find). We also won't be bothered with the restaurant that was above the old roasting facility, allowing us to focus more on coffee, our website and the wholesale business. This should make everything a bit smoother, and our jobs a bit more fun.

Here's some "before" pics of the new space. Look for more pictures next week as we install the roaster and bring over some coffee!

New Coffee Club and Gift Packages Launched!

Good news for the holidays: We’re launching our new coffee clubs and gift packages today! I’m glad to be getting a coffee club up and running, as our customers have been requesting it as a holiday gift idea for a few months now. The Blue Mountain Club will actually reserve our customers Jamaican coffee, which we will hold when we start running low on stock. The Organic/Fair Trade Coffee Club will be a two pound a month club, Joe’s choice, of our favorite organic and Fair Trade coffees.

The gift packages range in price and style; from 4 pounds of organic coffees and a peaberry sampler package, up to a premium gift package that includes several of our high end coffees and premium Bodum coffee grinders. There are also some starter and accessory packages that come with small grinders, storage jars and French presses. Most of the packages come in a nice wicker tray, with a personalized card. If not, they are easily added (in fact you can add a gift basket or card to ANY order you place on the website now!).

Please take a look at the new items (click here) and let me know what you think!

Thanks,
Matt

Joe is Back!

Blasting through the airport I can’t resist squeezing my bag of coffee! Don’t be alarmed! It’s early in the morning and I am itching for a French press of a high quality coffee called Colombia Reserva. I have to wait ‘til I get to my destination, but this rich and scrumptious coffee stirs notes of rich caramel and sweet dark chocolate liquor.


Sitting among others, I watch stressed out moms, aloof dads and their quiet, curious youth; hungry and waiting. They watch the cold through airport windows anticipating a destination away from the comfortable corners of their homes.
I move against my travel bag and squeeze a little air out of the one-way valve, which has become the “aroma hole.” The lofty essence of my coffee permeates the immediate vicinity and I start getting looks and quiet smiles. A random eyebrow lifts from the daily post behind rimmed glasses.
Of course the attention is being given to the pleasant aroma of coffee, and not my good looks. I can’t help imagining how maybe in my own world, a random scent changing the cloudiness of a gloomy hour waiting in the crowd, would be brightened by just a few moments of volatile aromatic accolade.

Love,
Joe

The Blog is Back!

Hello fans of Fresh Coffee! I realized last week that neither Joe nor I had made a post to the blog in over a month, so I decided to post an update on what’s been going on here in Vermont. Rest assured we didn’t forget about you, we have just been busy trying to make changes to our website.

I guess the most important (and evident) thing we’ve been working on is the new website, www.freshcoffeenow.com. With the help of our web development team, EpikOne, we’ve built a new website, which we feel looks a lot better, and is easier to use for both our clients, and Joe and I. The site launched about 6 weeks ago, and has been going through a testing phase. We think we have worked out all the glitches, and recommend that everyone tries the site!

Some other things we’ve been working on are holiday gift options. We’ve always sold gift packages, but this year at the request of some of our customers, we are in the process of adding some new features. The gift packages will now come in nice, round wicker trays, and a gift card, making them a better looking present. Also, we will allow the addition of the wicker tray and gift card to any order, not just a gift package. We will have electronic gift certificates, and two coffee clubs (Jamaican, and the regular Fresh Coffee Club) available as well. We expect all three of these changes to take place on 12/1/8, and are really excited to launch them.

Last but not least, the biggest change for us is that we are preparing to move to a new roasting facility shortly after the new year. We’ve finally outgrown our basement hideout in Winooski, and we’re moving back to Burlington! Our new facility is about four times as big, and will allow us to warehouse more coffees, take deliveries easier and ship packages for handily. Most importantly to Joe and I: we won’t be in a windowless basement!! I’ll post some pictures of the new spot as soon as we begin to fit it up.

Speaking of the basement, it’s time to go back and pack some orders. Please let us know what you think about the new website, and have a great Thanksgiving!

Fair Trade 101

At Fresh Coffee Now we have a serious commitment to Fair Trade practices, and we are slowly moving our website towards offering more and more Fair Trade coffees . As I was describing some of the symbols and terms used on coffee bags in my last blog post, I realized that Fair Trade is so important that it deserves its own page, to help educate our customers so that they can make more informed decisions when purchasing coffee.

What is Fair Trade?

Fair-trade coffee is coffee that is purchased from farmer cooperatives as opposed to large coffee plantations. Farmers are ensured at least $1.26 per pound of coffee – a rate at which a farmer can support a family of five with adequate nutrition, health care, and education. In the current coffee market, because of speculation and flooding of the market by cheap coffee grown on industrial-sized plantations, the price that most farmers receive has fallen below $0.50/lb, which is not enough to cover the cost of production.

Although the outspoken motive of fair-trade is to support individual farmers and communities, also embedded in its philosophy is environmental conservation and sustainable agriculture. Eighty-five percent of fair-trade coffee is organic, in contrast to regular coffee, which uses pesticides and fertilizers, including DDT, that then contaminate local watersheds and can harm the health of workers. Regular coffee is usually grown on large plantations with methods that cause erosion, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.

What are the goals of Fair Trade?

• To improve the livelihoods and well-being of producers by improving market access, strengthening producer organizations, paying a fair price and providing continuity in the trading relationship.
• To promote development opportunities for disadvantaged producers, especially women and indigenous people, and to protect children from exploitation in the production process.
• To raise awareness among consumers about the negative effects on producers of international trade so that they exercise their purchasing power positively.
• To set an example of partnership in trade through dialogue, transparency and respect.
• To campaign for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.
• To protect human rights by promoting social justice, sound environmental practices and economic security.

How does Fair Trade help farmers?

Fair Trade guarantees producers a fair price for their product (at least $1.26 per pound) that enables farmers to cover the costs of production, reinvest in their farms and meet their families basic needs including health care and education. Fair Trade creates direct links between producers and importers, bypassing various intermediaries who take a share of the profits. Fair Trade is not charity—it is a market-based approach to increasing small farmer self-sufficiency and generating more resources for community development and environmental conservation.

In contrast, conventionally traded coffee is part of the larger “free trade” system, favoring larger producers and multinational corporations, often at the expense of local communities and the environment. Under conventional trade, coffee prices are determined by a volatile international market. The world market price often falls below a farmer’s cost of production and leaves farm families in a struggle for survival. Even when the world market price is relatively high, family farmers get a small fraction of that price, with the lion’s share of profits going to intermediaries.

In summary, Fair Trade coffee is an amazing thing. It allows you the consumer to actually impact the life of someone growing your coffee thousands of miles away. I strongly urge you to spread this information around to friends, family and co workers. Help make a difference in the world, while enjoying coffee of the finest quality!

Thanks,
Matt