Breton the intern:

So far, everyone has been keeping me very busy. I visited last Saturday’s market and prepared for, set up, worked, closed up and cleaned for the Wednesday evening market. Luckily Young was there to explain everything and Katie helped out a lot too. Working at the market reminded me a lot of working at my local bakery. The most important part is satisfying the customers, being friendly and helpful. We serve sweet and regular cold brew coffee (toddy®), hot drip coffee, and unique to Wednesday, pour over coffee. Which means we’re boiling water and letting it drip through the filter just before your eyes. It’s a pretty fun and social time. I’m aware of how the phrase “everyone knows everyone” is fairly accurate. We ate great pizza, could sip green smoothies and were given a bunch of beautiful flowers at the end.

Working at the market I’ve realized a couple different things:

1. I need to know all the coffees well (where they’re from, what they taste like which is the darkest brew and most popular… etc),
2. it is possible to fit everything for the market (and then some) in the Element,
3. and no, we don’t serve triple shot caramel lattes.

It is often said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

Well, we are so flattered by being imitated.

Honestly, we are beside ourselves, stop. It’s just killing us.

Never before in DOMA Coffee Roasting Companies 12-year history have we received so much flattery (in the form of imitation) for our design work as we have since Roast House opened their doors a few years ago.

From font treatments, photos, design concepts, to the very specific choice of colors.

Our thanks goes out, really honestly thanks a million for imitating us, so glad you like our design work that much.

As a group of designers and artists we design with a very thorough attention to detail, very much like the way we roast coffee.

We take the time to research our designs, making sure our work is original, unique and no one regionally is doing something similar. Those are the standards we have set for ourselves. We belabor the details of everything. The DOMA brand has developed and modified over time to convey who we are as a company.

We have had brilliant creative expertise and consistency with Shelly Croswhite of Crowberry design, which did our original logo and was part of the team who redesigned our latest version last year. She has been with DOMA since the beginning. Chris Dreyer of Dreyer Press has played a large part in developing our brand by adding his unique style of illustration, design and most notably his maturing craft as a letterpress man. Honestly Dreyer Press and DOMA have a contract signed in blood (his and mine) his relationship to DOMA is that important (Ok, and sometimes we’re not sure if he’ll show up with our bags!)

Personally I have loved having the opportunity and good fortune of working closely with these creative designers, and along with many other illustrators and designers we have a very developed brand. One that includes, fonts and ligatures’, color palette, logo and tagline, tone and voice.

Our brand speaks volumes about our company, our product, our ethics, our sustainability, and our promise to our customers. DOMA has won design awards in regional, national and international markets.  (Now, that was flattering)

So, we wonder, is the consumer confused when Roast House decides to use similar treatment in their logo font? When their tag line is 3 separate words? When they launched a coffee supporting cycling with a skeleton? When they posted a photo of a farmer from our co-op’s web site on their FB page, renaming the farm and the region implying that this is a farmer they purchased green coffee from?

Is our local community deceived when Roast House stated that 100% of the coffee they sold was organic, when in fact they did not receive their organic certification until 18 months after they had been making these claims.

Is anyone confused when Roast House uses the exact same colors and style of layout as all of DOMA’s marketing material in their most recent web site?

I hope that Roast House and their designers did not mean to bring about confusion in our brands, particularly in this regional market, as we are both selling coffee.

Is this a most unlikely coincidence or infringement of intellectual property?

It can also be said “Flattery gets you nowhere”.

Hilaria Ramos Hndz showing organic soil. We actually buy our Mexico Michiza Yeni Navan from this cooperative.

On March 5^th, we will be releasing the new La Bicicletta bag.  It features excellent, new art by the DOMA design team and colorful letterpress work by Chris Dreyer.  Since it is also National Multiple Personality Day, we are offering two unique versions of this award-winning bag.  It will still contain the same great blend you have grown to love.

Proceeds from the sale of this coffee go to support women’ s cycling teams, including our local Team Rep.

Finally, you’ve waited all year for this one.  Available Monday November 14th, 2011.

(Or call and pre-order yours today.)

New messenger bags and tote bags available now!

Call AnnE to order @ 208.667.1267

Altura

The Altura: $40

Size: 16″w x 12″h x 4.5″deep

Lining & Pocket – natural canvas made from recycled cotton/plastic bottles

Back – brown canvas made from recycled cotton/plastic bottles

Inside pockets – 16″w x 6″h – divided into 3 pockets

Snap Closure – top of bag under flap

Adjustable Shoulder Strap – 1.5″w automotive seat belt webbing

Our tag – recycled leather branded with DOMA logo

Comments: our largest shoulder bag with plenty of space. 

Sumatra

Sumatra: $35

Size: 12″w x 11″h x 4.5″deep

Lining & Pockets – natural canvas made from recycled cotton/plastic bottles

Back – brown canvas made from recycled cotton/plastic

Inside Pockets – 16″w x 6″h – divided into 2 pockets

Snap Closure – top of bag under flap

Adjustable Shoulder Strap – 1.5″w automotive seat belt webbing

Tag – recycled leather branded with DOMA logo.

Breve

Breve: $23

For those who like to travel light – just enough room to carry a few must haves (cell, keys, wallet, etc)

Size: 8.5″w x 9.5″h x 1″d

Lining & Pocket: Canvas made from recycled cotton & plastic bottles – natural color / light tan

Shoulder Strap: 1.5″ wide Automotive Seat Belt Webbing – one piece / non adjustable

Inside pocket: 6″ x 6″

Tag – recycled leather branded with DOMA logo.

Excelso

Excelso: $16

 Our smallest tote – however, we still wanted it to have plenty of space – so we put a 5″ gusset on the bottom. This gives it extra space without having to make a larger tote.

Size: 8″w x 10″h x 5″d

Lining & Pocket: canvas made from recycled cotton & plastic bottle – natural color / light tan

Inside pocket: 6″ x 6″

Handles: 1″ wide cotton webbing

As you may have heard, our award-winning “La Bicicletta” is getting a new look.  This will be the third version of out iconic bag.  Proceeds still go to support women’s cycling (Team Rep) and it will have cool letterpressed, new art.  Details are scarce on the new art, look for it next month.  I have heard that there will be two different, new designs…

In case you don’t know, Team Rep is a local women’s cycling team.  Here are a few words from their founder, Jenni Gaertner:

The team started in 2009, when a group of ladies came to me asking for mentorship.  They wanted to try out some road racing, and wanted someone to help with the “ins and outs” so to speak.  As word spread, my thoughts of an initial meeting of 10-15 ladies was in reality a meeting with over 60 women present!  In our first season, we had close to 90 women signed up on the team….

Our mission was, and continues to be, to promote women’s health through cycling.  We seek to introduce women, at any and every level, to this sport – and help them pursue whatever cycling goals they may have.  Some women
join so that they can have a group with which to ride.  Some women join because they want to compete, and want skills development and challenges.

Some women join because they just want some new friends.  We have women from age 11 through age 70 on the team, novice to pro.  We are mothers.  We are sisters.  We are daughters.  We are wives.  We are lawyers.  Or doctors. Or housewives.  Or students. Some of us like to ride really fast.  Others like to ride casually to the coffee shop.  Some of us are gourmet cooks.  I can’t cook myself out of a box.  Some of us are cat lovers.  Others prefer the pooches.  ALL of us love to ride our bikes, and all of us contribute something of value to our group.

Since that initial year, we started a satellite team in Boise for the 2010 season, because the women in Boise saw what a great thing we had, and wanted a part of it   For 2011, they were able to secure local sponsorship and become an independent Boise-area team.  Without the structure that we provided, and support from our sponsors, they wouldn’t have been able to complete their mission.

We have sent squads to the premier women’s stage race, the Nature Valley Grand Prix, where we won stage 1.  We have dominated regional stage racing in the Cat 1/2 field for 3 years, and have fielded impressive Cat 4 fields, as well.  But the biggest accomplishment, in my mind, is that we have given women a safe place to explore the sport.  Several friendships have been started, and continued, because of the team.  Women are trying things they previously haven’t had the courage to try before, because they’ve been provided a support system and confidence from riding.  It’s truly amazing to see how some of these women have transformed from the simple act of gaining confidence on a bicycle.

We are releasing two (yes, I said two) new coffees on Monday, October 3rd.  We realize that having two, brand new, DOMA releases available on the same day might be intimidating.  Don’t worry, though, one sip of either of these new offerings will set your mind at ease.

Brazil Santa Izabel is a new microlot from Minas Gerais.  Great for drip or single origin espresso.

Guatemala El Tambor comes from Cup of Excellence award winning Finca El Tambor.

Click on the links for more information.

Available at the roastery and online starting Monday, October 3rd.

Can’t seem to get your hands on one of our microlot cans?  Here’s a handy list to help you find one in your neighborhood. If I missed someone, e-mail me and I’ll add them.

Coeur d’Alene

• Big Blue (Kootenai Medical Center)
• Farmer’s Market (Wed/Sat)
• Pilgrim’s Market
• Rep Café

Spokane

• Atticus
• Madeline’s
• Rocket Market

Moscow

• Nectar
• Bloom
• Moscow Co-op

Lewiston

• Sugar Mama’s

Missoula

• Le Petit Outre
• Good Food Store

Wyoming

• Jackson Whole Grocer

If you are a regular visitor to our blog, you probably have read one of our tirades on the greenwashing that happens in the coffee industry.  In case you aren’t familiar with the term, it means “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.” I almost didn’t use this word because it is so recklessly thrown around, almost as much as “ethical”, “sustainable” and “all natural.”  But when I read this definition, it so perfectly fit the practices of so many in the coffee (and many other) industry, that I had to keep it.

Caveat Emptor – What it really comes down to is that it is the consumer’s responsibility to look deeper and see if the claims of their coffee roaster are actually true.  Looking at a few websites, I found a number of claims that were vague, meaningless or misleading:

• “all organic and shade grown”
• “price for coffee set by the coffee growers themselves and is paid to them directly”
• “strong transparent relationships”

Often these types of claims are made with no further information…isn’t “transparent” supposed to mean something?  In many cases, no verification is possible for the consumer without a great deal of investigation.  There is a simple way to look deeper with less work…look for third party certification from a reputable group.

Third party Certification

Many roasters are working hard to honestly bring you genuine certified organic, fair trade, sustainable (or whatever term is popular) coffees.  Just look at their websites, talk to them, and you can see some of the exciting work they are doing.  But look deeper and look/ask for third party certification.  If they are telling the truth, they will be happy to share their documentation with you  (like their organic certificate, certificates from fair trade organizations, SLIPS score, IMO, etc).

Organic – look for the USDA organic seal.  Or the words “certified organic by…”.  This guarantees that your coffee is organic.  A detailed and in depth inspection has been done at both the farm and the roastery.  All certified organic coffee has a paper trail that can be followed from the bag of roasted coffee you buy, all the way back to the farm (and every stop in between). Beware of roasters who claim their coffee is “organic” without the seal or the certifying body’s name…this is illegal.  Certified organic handlers can be verified at the USDA’s website ( and they will be happy to show you their certificate).

Fair Trade/Sustainable/Ethical – many third party organizations verify/certify “fair trade” and “sustainable”.  Lots of logos/terms are used, some mean more than others.  The bottom line is…what parts of fair trade/sustainable/ethical are important to you?  Pick those labels that are verifiable, and buy from companies that offer facts (documentation, not just broad claims) about exactly what these terms mean in their business and how committed they are to these principles.

Cooperative Coffees is IMO certified

Our green bean importing collective, Cooperative Coffees, has been officially certified under IMO’s Fair for Life program. The new program was founded in 2006 by the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) and the Swiss Bio-Foundation in response to the growing need for a system that included a broader range of products and operations. “Fair for Life” complements existing certifications by incorporating standards from FLO, ISEAL, Rainforest Alliance, SA 8000 (from Social Accountability International) and ILO.

One of the unique things about IMO certification is that there it uses a “rating approach” which gives us a score and allows for continued improvement.  You can see our score here:  FairForLife.

You can also check the document trail for our coffees, view the organic transaction certificates, the organic certificates of the farms, the prices we paid, contracts, payments to farmer groups, etc.  at: fairtradeproof.org

Here’s a bit more on what the IMO certification means.

Make a Difference

Social Aspects

Fair Trade & Social Development

Environmental Aspects

Traceability and Transparency

Certified products are fully traceable at all stages.

OK, here it is.  Our nod to the neo-neoclassical sub-culture innuendo of the new millenium.  There is just too much coincidence here that we couldn’t ignore.

The Chronic is a blend of coffees from our producer partners in Central and South America.  It is 100% Certified Organic (yes, certified!), Fair Trade and roasted to perfection right here at DOMA with Bob Marley playing on the turntable.  It is a slightly darker roast which, not suprisingly, finishes at a temperature of 420°F on our Loring Smartroast.

Looking at the calendar earlier this month, we noticed that this Wednesday is 4.20.2011.  Clearly, we needed to have a sale, so this is it…

This Wednesday, you can purchase a bag of the Chronic online, or in person at the roastery for the amazing low price of $10.  Unlike the dime bag from the 60′s, this hand letterpressed, recyclable/compostable kraft bag will contain a full pound of The Chronic.  Fresh roasted and ready for you to grind up and enjoy.

SALE begins at 12:01 AM on 4.20.2011 (online) and 7:30am-4pm at the roastery.