Topic: Preparing for and experiencing an Origin Trip.
Coffee Smarter Expert: Jared Hales, Hacea Coffee Source
Connect: www.haceacoffee.com • @haceacoffeesource on Instagram
We've got some fantastic news for all you fans of Roast! West Coast's Coffee Smarter efforts. Roastar, the coffee packaging company, has really stepped up. In addition to being the presenting sponsor of Coffee People, they are doubling down to become the Presenting Sponsor of Coffee Smarter Pro.
Click the logo above to learn more about Roastar's packaging, pricing, and how they help your business tell its big story. Thank you, Roastar! Their support is a major reason we can keep offering these podcasts and our newsletter for free.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Logistics: There are a lot of personal and professional logistics. Beyond packing your bags, the pre-trip logistics include lots of travel plans to oft-distant locales and plenty of back-and-forth dialogue with the resources at origin to plan ahead.
It is going to take some effort to get to origin. Make sure you’re able to see what you need to see and go where you’re able to go. Most coffee farms aren’t located right near the airport. They’re in the mountains!
Be mentally prepared to be flexible. The on-the-ground situation will likely change. Having the right mindset and planning flexible times is important.
While an importer is at origin, their goals might include doing their due diligence to ensure that a farm has been doing what they claim or has the facilities they need to meet the demands of the coffee contract. They’re building and/or strengthening relationships.
Zoom calls are a great innovation, but nothing builds trust like an in-person connection (when an option). Coffee exporting and importing requires a level of trust. A trip to an origin locale can help solidify that relationship.
Traveling to origin allows for real-world experience, enabling you to better communicate with your clients. That is true if you are a green coffee importer, roaster, or barista. Knowing a coffee is grown in the highlands isn’t the same as standing there, looking out over the coffee trees in the valley, hearing the chirp of the birds, smelling the scent emanating from the dewy cherries, and feeling the chill of the breeze as you wander between the trees.
Finally, you’ll never regret tossing an extra pair of socks and underwear in your suitcase. That’s good advice for life, generally, I think.
HACEA COFFEE SOURCE ONLINE
Online! Click to shop green coffee on haceacoffee.com
Cup coffee with Jared at Hacea Coffee Source. Hacea regularly offers educational sessions on Tasting, Roasting, and Brewing coffee at their Anaheim, CA cupping studio. Click the button to check out their upcoming classes:
R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS
A huge, on-going thank you to this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Congrats to Mostra Coffee Company! We’ve always known our Legacy Partners were super duper cool, and now we have some tangible confirmation from Betway, a gambling company (what? why?) that named them one of the top indie coffee shops in the U.S. It wasn’t just a random choice. Their top 10 was based on a combination of social media statistics and online searches. Okay, it sounds a bit arbitrary, but still!
Mostra stands out in real life, too. If you find yourself on a coffee tour of San Diego, be sure to stop at one of their four (soon to be five) locations.
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters • San Franciscan Coffee Roasters
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