Since years I'm working on this project/online shop.
There were a couple of reasons to postpone it all the time, but finally we've landed. Or almost.
Still a couple of 'stars' and links to be 'glued' into the sites of course, but the ball is rolling.
And it's a nice ball game. Most of things i've been doing in my life came out of passion and love, and so is this project.
What reasons are good to subcribe online?
Although people won't believe that i'm very often afraid of entering a bar/shop/restaurant ; it's the truth though. And many more people are so; they definitely want to share the atmosphere we, or our dealers, are creating, but there's a threshold, something they are afraid off.
But with a membership that gets the coffee at their doorstep, or even better, directly into their house..... That's a good reason to stop buying supermarket stuff!
Some people don't have time to visit a bar or specialised shop to buy a bag of fresh stuff.
Some people are living abroad, far away from Specialty Coffee.
Some are too busy to leave the office or have a big house hold to cover.
Some people are not interested in fresh coffee with a story.
Or am i mistaken?
Of course some people do not trust us and don't want to subscribe. Or they don't know what the difference between Specialty coffee and the average stuff is. Or they don't have a grinder. Maybe they even think (pre)ground coffee is as good.....
For those who don't trust us : we're on the market for +9 years and focus number 1 in all those years was giving people a good time and a good cup. We're not a money driven company!
Very often people see our prices and since we're cheaper then most of the competition, they think we're not as good. Of course I'm not saying we're the best! I don't like company's who scream out that they have perfect roasts and the best beans. We try to do our best. We try to do better. For achieving these goals, me and my people are travelling the world. We're on a continious look out for all movements happening in this crazy coffee world.
Afraid for what's going to be in the bag?
Don't.
Besides all trends and fashion statements, we want to keep our buds sharp and inform you about all our tastings.
With every envelop we send out, we attach a paper with information about the bean and its taste notes.
After 26 weeks you'll have a minimum of 20 different specialty coffees at your doorstep. Coffee is a colorfull world, with African beans the most colorful. :-)
Why whole beans?
We can go on discussing about differences in personal taste, roasting angles and origins, but nobody will argue that pre ground is as tasty as freshly ground.
Whole beans probably loose most of their flavor after one month. Ground coffee looses most of its flavor in 2 days. This doesn't mean the coffee is not 'good' anymore, but you tend to loose the details and for me that's not 'good enough' anymore. So, whole beans it is.
I remember a 'traditional' roaster once telling me that I would ignore 99% of the market this way. Well, if that's the truth; I'm not interested in 99% of the market. Or better; I'm hoping I can motivate some people within this 99% group to start grinding on demand. Brew by brew.
Yes you'll have to make an effort!
Yes, you'll be rewarded!
For the first 50 half year members we offer a free hand grinder. Later on we'll start selling hand grinders for low prices; this way we hope to help people experience the freshest (filter/press) coffee of their life. Maybe even the best (filter/press) coffee of their life.:-)
What's important for us :
For getting all these amazing flavours in your cup, it's very important we keep a focus on the following:
'In Season' means single-origin beans, which are no older than 10 months from the completion of the harvest. You'll taste the difference between fresh or old crop. (probably we dare to make exceptions for Ethiopian, Kenyan or Vac Packed beans)
'Light Roast' means Sweeter, with great balance in acid, aroma and complexity, but still with enough body.
These roasts also give a longer shelf life, although we hope your bag is empty every week. :-)
'Freshly Roasted' : not only we like freshly ground; most coffees will get to your doorstep within a couple days after roasting.
'Specialty Coffee' : what's specialty and what's not? Tough one. For me 'Specialty Coffee' is coffee with a story, with something exceptional, not conventional, as clean as possible, gourmet, premium, +80 points coffees (cupped on a 100 points scale).
'Coffee with a Story' : attached to the coffee you'll find a paper with some info about the bean, origin, country and taste.
'Correct Brewing' : on the envelop or at the blog or later on our specialised slow coffee web site, you'll find brewing advise. The coffee will only taste as good as how you prepare it. Still have some questions; don't hesitate to ask us or one of our specialised dealers.
'Local' : the roasted coffee comes from Antwerp. Taking note this membership is only for Belgium (and later on The Netherlands), this means local. Not from a factory far away. Not flown over with an airplane, which is a real 'killer' for your coffee.
'Micro Roast' : all these coffees are roasted on a 15 kilo roaster, in which we roast 12 kilo at a time. We believe this small scale roasting gives us deeper flavors. Yes, we are small, artisan, and focused on quality.
You'll find all this as important as we do? Don't hesitate and surf the site :
www.specialtycoffee.be.
Be aware these memberships are for Belgian adresses only. (a distribution in the Netherlands will follow soon)
Soon a link at our regular Caffenation Site will be available as well.
I'm hoping to hear from you soon,
Rob
Caffenation, Specialty Coffee Roasters.
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