The Roasterie, in Kansas City, is doing more than serving up a great cup of coffee, their making a difference in the local and global community. As a coffee company and roastery, The Roasterie is engaged in a crop to cup effort to share and nurture communities. In the KC area alone, The Roasterie is engaged in donating products, time and resources to over 150 local charities each year. The list of charities these guys are working with is extensive and includes the:

Local Opera, Kansas City Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, KCUR Public Radio, KCPT Public Television, National Kidney Foundation, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Leukemia Foundation and March of Dimes, just to name a few.

Just yesterday The Roasterie took part in a blood drive with a Give Blood Get Coffee campaign where it gave out a free bag of coffee to everyone who volunteered to give blood.

The Roasterie is also committed to serving the global community and this can be seen by the companies creation of the St. Drogo Foundation, named after the patriot saint of coffee. The foundation helps the local communities that produce The Roasterie’s coffees. In many cases The Roasterie pays up to 4 times the price offered by the commercial industry, and gives back a portion of every bag sold, to the communities it buys form. By partnering with other organizations The Roasterie has been successful in providing children with education and health facilities for its coffee growing communities.

If you see The Roasterie’s products or are around the KC area, we would suggest that you should check them out, and if you do, we would love to hear your thoughts.

Find The Roasterie on the web or learn more about how they are standing by their mission: Taste good, do good at www.theroasterie.com

                          

The Wondo Worka Cooperative is home of one of our favorite Ethiopian Yirgacheffes from the Sidamo region and is quickly becoming a favorite of many in the specialty coffee industry, who have come to love this beautiful cup with lingering floral aromatics and notes of fruit and berries.

Ken David describes the cup as having:

Intense, bright aroma: tart coffee cherry, honey, a hint of fir, flowers. In the cup tartly sweet acidity, honeyish mouthfeel and flavor, with molasses, pipe tobacco and deep, rose-like floral notes. Very sweet, fruit-saturated, perfectly clean finish… A dramatically light roast liberates both acidity and sweetness and allows an unusual honey, molasses and rose-like floral character full expression.

With reviews like this it’s no wonder that the Wondo Worka Cooperative has became a favorite source for many of the specialty coffee industry’s leading roasters including: Counter Culture Coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Caffe Pronto Roastery and many more.

The following is a video we have, complements of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, of the Wondo Worka Cooperative in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. We’re a big fan of the work happening with this cooperative and how the specialty coffee industry has rallied behind them. This is a cup worth tracking down and if you can’t find it in your local cafe we suggest tracking down your own bag on line.

We recommend a bag of Caffe Pronto’s Wondo Worka which recently received a 92 point rating by Ken David on Coffee Review. Caffe Pronto Roastery is located in Annapolis, Maryland and be found in many fine cafes. You can also order your own bag directly at: http://www.caffepronto.com

                          

Recently during a visit to the Mid-Atlantic some of our team had the pleasure of visiting the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company in Crofton, Maryland, and we have to let you all know that we love what these guys are doing.

Whether it’s hanging around the roastery drinking espressos, sponsoring conservation efforts, or hosting the local Green Drinks group, you’re bound to find the team at the Chesapeake Roasting Company engaged in the two things they love most, coffee and community.

The Chesapeake Bay Coffee Roasting Company is an eco-friendly coffee roastery that is committed to giving-back to their local community, and they do this in several ways. One is by the creation of their H2O Initiative which is the company’s community outreach program, geared at advocating their give-back message and supporting organizations and community groups making a difference in the health and well being of the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, a portion of every dollar the company makes goes to preserving some aspect of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, one of the areas leading natural resources and treasures.

Another way the company gives back is buy it’s commitment to being green. While touring their facilities we had the privilege of learning about the companies newest addition to the team, a state of the art roaster. The Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company boasts one of the world’s most efficient and eco-friendly coffee roasters, consuming nearly 20 percent less energy and reducing emissions by almost 80 percent when compared to traditional drum roasters. The company is also taking a green approach to its packaging using sustainable canisters which can be recycled or reused after use.

Great guys, with a great vision and love for coffee and their community, we can’t get enough of this stuff. Thanks for the inspiration.

For more information or to order coffee check out the CBRC site at www.cbrccoffee.com