Monday, February 22, 2010
Keep those beans a-roastin'
“We wanted to go in the direction of relationships,” says Deborah DiBernardo,
owner of ROAST HOUSE COFFEE. With the expertise of roast master Dave Rier, this
new north Spokane roasting company is focused on helping people make the
connection from farm to cup. If you visit Roast House, you’ll see pictures of
the farmers who grew the coffee and learn about their families.
Roast House
specializes in high-quality “socially conscious” coffee, meaning it’s Fair
Trade, shade grown, organic or relationship coffee, which is produced by family
farms or small co-ops.
DiBernardo, active in the Slow Food movement,
encourages people to apply Slow Food ethics to coffee: Do you know where it
comes from? Is it good for you?
Roast House supplies private-label coffee
to coffee houses and retail grocery stores. The Main Market carries a unique
Roast House Colombian coffee. After visiting the farm in Colombia, Rier liked
the coffee so much he bought the entire crop for the Market. Look for Roast
House coffee education classes in the future, possibly at the Main
Market.
Latah Valley’s newly established TOM SAWYER COUNTRY COFFEE is
part coffee roasting facility, part museum: Along its walls are coffee pots,
tins and grinders dating back to the early 1800s.
Gary Thomas Sawyer —
yes, he goes by “Tom” — encourages his customers to be involved in blending
coffees to suit their needs. Although he focuses on coffee service to businesses
and restaurants, you might just leave with a special coffee blend for your next
dinner party and dessert recipes in hand if you visit. Keeping his business
small and roasting 10-pound batches allows Sawyer to be creative. “I can’t do
what the big guys do — and they can’t do what I do,” he says.
Sawyer also
offers home coffee roasters, green beans and the training to get you started on
making your own “legal, very addicting drink.” He’s so excited to share his
passion about coffee that he might even deliver it all to your house. But only
if you invite him in for a cup of coffee.
Visit www.roasthouse.net and www.tomsawyercountrycoffee.com.
