peace coffee - minneapolis, mn
One of my favorite roasters in recent weeks is Peace Coffee. Based in Minneapolis, MN, they started in 1996 by the non-profit Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy. They developed a fair trade model which was completely new to the U.S. coffee market at the time. 100% Fair Trade Certified, organic coffee from small-scale farms which belong to local cooperatives.
In 1999 they co-founded Cooperative Coffees with similar-minded coffee roasters. This cooperative does for coffee importing what the existing growing cooperatives did for exporting. Cooperative Coffees is to this day a unique entity in the coffee industry. Check the links at the end of this article for more information on how it works.
the beans
I've thoroughly enjoyed several of their offerings, but here I will highlight two of my favorites.
This is my overall favorite at the moment. Coffees from Guatemala have long been a favorite of mine, and this one hits all of the right notes for me. It's a darker roast, but not so dark that it tastes charred. You get a smooth tasting coffee with notes of chocolate, caramel, and nut. This coffee comes from Peace Coffee's longest trading relationship, the Apecaform Cooperative. Click on image to visit Peace Coffee's online shop.
I recently purchased a Toddy Cold Brew Maker, so naturally I wanted a proper coffee for it. Peace Coffee's Yeti Cold Brew Blend creates a fantastic smooth, sweet cold brew. It's also very nice brewed hot in your drip machine or via pour over. It's a medium roast with notes of caramel and dark chocolate. When brewing as cold brew, I followed the Toddy recipe of 12oz of coffee and 7 cups of water. Once brewed I do one part coffee to three parts water or cream in the glass. For my taste it turned out just right with that ratio, but it can be adjusted for stronger or milder tastes. Click on image to visit Peace Coffee's online shop.
for more information
Check out these links for more information on Peace Coffee and Cooperative Coffees:
Peace Coffee Homepage - Shop for beans and coffee equipment, read about company history and their commitment to sustainability and contributing to their local community.
Cooperative Coffees - Read about how the cooperative works and who the members are, both roasters and producers.
Sustainable Java's Toddy Cold Brew Page - Check out our post on Toddy and how to brew great cold brew.
