Blog — Direct Trade

Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. - Costa Rican Micro Lots from Voortex Productions on Vimeo. As you are enjoying our delicious new Costa Rican Micro Lots from La Mirella, Herbazu, and Farami. See the faces and land that produced such amazing coffee for us. This video was shot during the February 2012 harvest. And, if you have not yet seen our Central American video check our From The Source. From the Source - Olympia Coffee Sourcing in Central America from Voortex Productions on Vimeo.

  I could write about what makes our Costa Rica Farami micro lot coffee so good from the perspective of a coffee buyer and roaster, but I want to take a moment to write as a coffee lover. For me Farami is all that... What I mean to say is that I love this coffee. I love coffees that have endless drinkability. Some coffees (usually more exotic varietals like Geisha or Pacamara, etc.) are nonstop show stoppers; every sip is a mind-blowingly awesome experience. Farami is not a show stopper in the way that a Kenya Top Auction Lot pushes...

  This week I’m on tour of sorts. Not my usual endeavor of sourcing our green coffee in coffee producing countries. No, this week I’m on the East Coast of the United States. I’m supporting our wholesale customers. I’m leading espresso trainings, holding cuppings, tweeking brewers, consulting on menu pricing, branding development, and conducting forums to discuss how we source our coffee and answering questions about our roasting process and our company. We believe in a much more hands on process to working with our wholesale partners. Each of our wholesale customers has a different set of needs, we strive...

We would like to share our new video with you: From The Source. I've been friends with Charley Voorhis for many years now. He used to own a cafe in Leavenworth, Washington. At the time, I was a barista trainer who worked with Charley and his crew in every detail of coffee education. Over the years, we kept in touch and visited each other even after he left his coffee career. I'm very glad he did leave coffee, because his skills as a photographer and filmmaker are too great not to be utilized.  Not many people get a chance to...

Years ago now, I started my travels to coffee producing countries in Costa Rica. Costa Rica since that moment has held a distinctive place in my heart. Since my first encounter with Costa Rican coffee, production, absolutely everything in the Costa Rican coffee system has changed. The micro mill revolution has not only been born but blossomed into something of a world standard for independent transparent entrepreneurship on the producer level.    Our longest standing Direct Trade coffee, Finca La Mirella has reached a level of relationship that has moved way past business. Visiting with Chacon-Salas family for the fourth...