From Breton the intern:

Wednesday I also had the experience of cupping for the first time. Cupping is the wine tasting of the coffee world. At this point in time I came to the conclusion that not only is coffee an art, but a science here. Five glasses of six different types of coffee grinds in them were set out on the lab table.

First, we sniffed the grinds. I say sniff because it was explicitly explained that if you inhaled too deeply, you were likely to breathe in coffee grinds. Unpleasant experience? I imagine so. Every step of the way, it’s important to take notes and pay attention to differences. Do all five glasses smell the same? What undertones to you smell? How would you describe that smell? Using words instead of hand motions? That’s a little difficult if you’re like me. Also, can you tell the distinct difference between the first and third sets? Does the coffee smell differently when your mouth is opened or closed?

Then just boiled water, slightly cooled water was poured into all 30 cups. After sitting for a couple seconds, we went around with our special silver (or silver plated) spoons to smell the coffee again. The spoons are used in this step to push around the foam, pay attention to the consistency and smell the rising steam or foam on the back of the spoon. This time, you’re meant to pay attention to how the smell has changed from the grinds to the liquid brew. I was surprised how Las Lajas smelled very strong and somewhat spicy as a grind, but the Ethiopian which began with a similar, not as strong smell, ended up much brighter.

Next, the grinds were cleared away so we could taste the black goodness. Ok, tasting is pretty intense and the most important, most interesting part is the slurp. When you take a spoonful of coffee you don’t sip it slowly or put the whole spoon in your mouth, you slurp it. For professionals, these slurps are loud, strong and impressive. I couldn’t quite get the hang of it, so mine were pretty timid and lame in comparison. I think the reason for slurping has to do with aerating the coffee to affect the taste? We moved clockwise in a circle tasting each cup to discover the particularities of every coffee. I was amazed at the drastic difference from one type to the next. I also learned how coffee changes taste as it cools which is a key part of the process to pay attention to. A customer must be satisfied and happy with their coffee from the moment it is poured down to the last drop.

Thanks to everyone who went through the process with me– I truly learned a lot.

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

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

It seems like just yesterday that the hippest hipsters in the specialty coffee world were in love with a little contraption known as the Clover.  This was a big black box that made a single cup of drip coffee at a time.  Oh yeah, it also cost $11,000.  And did I mention that it makes a single cup of drip coffee at a time?  And it requires a specially trained barista to operate it.

It supposedly was, “an innovative design that lets you discover new layers and dimensions within a coffee’s familiar aroma, flavor, body and acidity. The result is a deeper experience – one that’s carefully prepared and made to order, one cup at a time.”  If you were cool, disaffected, had a coffee related tattoo(s) and served coffee out of an organic-industrial location while listening to obscure bands,  you had to have one of these machines.  The best-of-the-best in the industry had them and people lined up to pay $4-5 for an small cup of drip coffee from this technological miracle.

This is not Howard Schultz

But then disaster struck…the Clover jumped the shark.

Howard Schultz (you may remember him from such hits as Starbucks) bought the company that makes the Clover in 2008.  The reaction from the hipster set was immediate and extreme.  It was if the lights in the bar just went on and they realized that the Clover wasn’t as sexy as they had first thought.  Stumptown was one of the first to get rid of their Clover machines and others soon followed.  The Clover would be relegated to the dim corners of corporate coffee’s attempts to reach out to the hipster/independent market.

If high tech wasn’t the answer, maybe low tech would be the next big thing.  Pour over drip coffee soon began to creep onto the scene.  It was amazing, this technique which had been around since the early 1900′s, was suddenly the newest thing out there.  Now you can find all kinds of low tech, classic methods (often with very high tech (and expensive) accessories) at the most exclusive coffee bars.  Each cup is prepared individually…what was old has suddenly become new.

One of these older methods of drip preparation is the Chemex.  Invented in the 1940′s, it is a glass, pourover carafe which uses a filter paper and makes about 6-10 cups of coffee per batch.  Great for hot or cold coffee.

Chemex inventor Schlumbohm

Making iced coffee on the Chemex not only looks cool, it produces a shimmering, clean cup with well defined flavors, quickly and easily.  Did I mention that it looks cool?  Whipping this method out is sure to impress even the most jaded hipster.

This is how we do it:

1. Rinse the paper filter with hot water (discard the rinse water).
2. Place 350 g ice in the bottom of the Chemex.
3. Insert filter and fill with 50 g of fresh ground (slightly coarser than drip) coffee.
4. Pre-infuse the grounds with just enough hot water (200°F) to saturate, wait 60 seconds.
5. Slowly pour the rest of the water over the grounds in concentric circles.  The pour should take about 2.5 minutes and you will add a total of 350g water.
6. Enjoy.

Invest in a scale, 50g coffee.

Rinse filter with hot water

Approx. 350g ice in Chemex

Add coffee, tare scale

Water just off the boil

Preinfuse with just enough water to saturate, wait 60 sec.

Slow pour using concentric circles over 2-3 min.

Add the same amount of water as ice (approx. 350g)

Enjoy (and impress your friends)!

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.