♥Heart Month♥
Ahhhhh February! I love new things and new beginnings yall. But January, like what a friend said, is like a Monday that never ends! Grateful for a fruitful and productive month though! To Recap:
We held our first pop-up market at the SPARC Group Run and what an honor to count that as our first market of the year! 20% of the Cold Brew sales went to SPARC Worldwide, a non-profit organization that serves our local community and beyond. Start the year right by giving!
The 2nd pop-up market was also extra special because it was a celebration of Katie’s birthday from HungerShop VA www.hungershop.com. She gathered all her favorite small businesses in the area and made it into a celebration of the vendor community. It officially became the First Annual Hunger Bash Winter Market. If you are a small business like us, you know by now how January is usually a slow month and to selflessly think of other small businesses at this occasion is commendable! And what a beautiful and perfect day it was surrounded by wonderful friends and customers!
Now that we are in the heart month, February is looking tough already as I had to cancel a pop-up market for the very first time. Some of you may already know that I was diagnosed back in Nov 2021 of this rare condition called Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome (RCVS). Mind you, it doesn’t happen all the time. But cold weather usually triggers it and it already slowed its ugly head this past month. Saturday’s weather is high of 35°F and I’d hate to have vasospasms if I can prevent it, thus the cancellation.
February Flavors:
February Calendar of Events:
Feb 5 & 19 (Sun) - Hampton and Newport News delivery (afternoon)
Feb 11 (Sat) - Galentine’s Day Mini Market at Reaver Beach NFK, 3800 Colley Ave. NFK 1-5pm
Feb 14 (Tues) - Be My Valentine- Pop-up at The Pink Box, 5860 Harbour View Blvd. Ste.B2 SFK 11-7pm
https://allevents.in/suffolk/be-my-valentine-love-your-local-businesses-pop-up/800023997107959
Feb 14 (Tues) - NO DELIVERY DAY
Feb 25 (Sat) - Pure Barre NFK pop-up, 320 W 21st St. NFK 8-12pm
Meet A Maker
This month’s feature is a treat as I met this guy at Coffeefest NYC back in 2019! I am so glad to have met Joey, CEO of Coffee Hunter Project!
Where is Home?
Manassas, VA
“I decided that no matter what I did I had to give opportunity and create jobs, never take them away”
Why did you start making what you make?
I began in Haiti in 2012 after a mission trip with my church. The trip was a week-long mission trip and we ended up spending around $15k to go to Haiti total, for 10 people that didn't speak the language, to paint walls. A few days before we left, we dumped a duffle bag of shoes out in the market place and a local woman started crying. I went to talk with her, and she told me that she got a bank loan to buy and sell shoes in that town, and we just gave everyone a free pair. She told me that we weren't helping as much as we thought we were. I was frustrated with how little impact we had, and how inefficient the cost of the trip was, compared to what we accomplished. So two days after returning to the USA, against everyone's advice, I bought flights back to Haiti. I bought a motorcycle, started learning Haitian Creole (kreyol) and drove through the mountains to find coffee producers. I did it to do something different in order to help the people there and I decided that no matter what I did I had to give opportunity and create jobs, never take them away.
What sets your business apart from other roasters?
The answer to this is two-fold for me. While we started in Haiti in order to create sustainable employment, we also use the same direct trade business model in a dozen or so other origins. These direct relationships have allowed our company to make gigantic impacts in developing nations, and our post harvest processing team to create new and exciting offerings along with our producers. Back in Manassas where we roast, our team cups every single batch we roast. If the coffee is not up to our quality control standards, we donate to local shelters and reroast. This type of quality control, along with the awards we have won in the last two years, have really set us ahead in terms of product value to our partners. We can guarantee a high standard of quality, and since we have direct relationships with our producers we can also guarantee transparency in how the producers and others in the supply chain are paid.
What does the future look like for your company?
Last year we were given over fifteen 90+ scores from Coffee Review, won a Silver Medal and four Bronze Medals in the Golden Bean North America, and we were awarded "Macro Roaster of the Year" by Roast Magazine. Additionally we conducted a double blind study in June of 2022, on the off gassing of CO2, post roast, and the sensory perception. Our results showed that the industry standard is likely of tasting coffee the day after it is roasted is likely not optimal for most coffees. You can read this full study here, and it was also featured in the October 2022 edition of Roast Magazine. To continue on this path during 2023, we have launched a YouTube station (give us a follow!) that will be going into coffee education for our partners and consumers. Some of the topics on the horizon will include Fair Trade vs Direct Trade, Sustainable Sourcing, How to profile coffee (for coffee roasters), and how fermentations and coffee processing at origin impact your taste in the cup.
