for the long haul

as the leaves begin to fall & we enter the cozy season, let's sit around the fire & swap some stories. you may not call them spooky (unless you count tariffs..), but we do have a couple of curated insights we hope you'll find helpful.

today, we're looking at:

1. new friends & coffee from mexico
2. nic main: our new director business development
3. jacob & ethan's trip to roast summit
4. our spooky story? tariff updates 

new friends & coffee: mexico nayarito

as of this august, we made new connections in the nayarit region of mexico. whoop whoop! through a friend of zac's (our co-owner), we were connected with the team at san cristobal, an importer with clear focus on supply chain equity and truly fair trade.

through a series of sampling & testing, we stumbled upon the most delicious mexican coffee we've ever roasted. we're over the moon about this coffee and simply can't wait to bring it to you. available now on our retail site, if you're a wholesale partner & interested, please reach out! we'd love to make it available to you as well.

think low acidity, with the sweetness of red apples & the richness of brown sugar. throw in a little graham cracker, and that's the new mexico nayarito.

nic main: our new director of business development

we make it our aim to have a healthy team that takes care of our growing group of partners & customers. enter: nic main. with nearly a decade deep in the coffee industry, nic is both the type of person & skilled professional who can contribute to seeing this through.

we have had the joy of getting to know and love nic through years of paths crossing & coffees shared, so when he expressed interest in joining the team, it was a clear yes.

over the next several weeks, a more defined role came to fruition: director of business development.

in this role, nic will curate, create, and collaborate with local community organizations, cafes, and you, if you would like to craft your own coffee vision.

nic is a man of many talents & noteworthy interests; we hope you run into him. if and when you do, say hello, and before long, you'll realize you have made a friend. and if you start talking coffee, buckle up...

if you had three days in portland, how would you spend them?

for many in coffee, the answer comes quick: drinking...too much coffee. portland is, all things considered, a city rich in coffee culture. and while that's exactly what our guys did, they got to over-caffeinate over valuable conversations, forums, & unique coffee tastings.

there were three highlights we hoped to share with you, three key takeaways for our partners & customers:

the first, relationships & connections.

this summit served as an opportunity to connect with people. ethan and jacob continued to build relationships that, between industry connections & heart-level friendships, help us stay in the game. people remind us why we're here, with you, in the first place. it's about the people, isn't it?

the second, you might call progress in coffee sourcing.

a note from ethan: this summit equipped us to take more "proactive steps toward contracting greens to provide [increasingly] stable inventory." that is to say, this roast summit increased awareness of why & how to source greens, lock in contracts, & stabilize costs more pro-actively than re-actively. if you're a wholesale partner, this one goes out to you. scroll to the bottom to read a little more on the current sourcing situation.

finally, this summit served as a chance to deepen knowledge through coffee's entire process.

between unique cuppings (that is, a formal tasting) of cold brews & dark roasts, in-depth seminars on water quality & roasting science, & hands-on roasting experiences, we're simply excited to improve what we serve ya. onward!

below, a continued conversation for wholesale partners & curious folk

tariff updates: no, this isn't a spooky story.

perhaps today's tariff update can feel more like a bonfire convo than a jump scare. let's chat!

as news articles spread & we enter many cafes' busiest season, questions do continue to arise: what's happening with coffee prices?

last month, we shared our approach as your roaster:

• buckle in
• maintain relationships
• trust the market to stabilize
• seek how to adapt
  

that's still what we're doing, but we want to update you on active steps we're taking to adapt.

first, we're continuing to maintain & develop producer & importer relationships.

including the story above regarding new importing from mexico, we're getting the sweet opportunity to go visit our partners - two birds coffee - in guatemala next month. can't wait to fill you in. relationships like this are the bread and butter of who we're hoping to be & how we operate. likewise, we are beginning conversations with new importers to continue the pursuit of quality coffee at approachable prices.

second, we're directly tackling rising costs in two complimentary ways:

1. contracting coffee. as in any contract, we work with our importers & producers to make pricing agreements. currently, we're looking at our math in order to potentially lock in "x" amount of bags at the current green coffee price, which can be held for us for a small fee until we request them. we've done this historically, and are looking at considering further contracting to help stabilize green prices (and therefore, roasted coffee prices) in the future.

2. paired with contracting, we're actively testing blend ratios. blends always change with seasons, since coffee is a crop; the magic of a blend is utilizing subtly different coffees throughout the year to create the same singular flavor "profile." now, we're asking questions (& testing accordingly) more deliberately pointed away from the coffees with the most rising costs, such as brazil. as we lock this in, we lock in contracting, & we stabilize your prices all the more.

what's our word to you?

as with last month, our word is similar. we'll keep you updated and prepared. through this calendar year, we’re holding your wholesale costs with no changes.

we have begun outlining a wholesale price update come the new year, & will keep working hard on our end to keep said price update in a range that feels practical and possible. as of this week, coffee prices indeed hit an all time high. as all aspects of the supply chain feel the pinch, it’s our goal to make a price adjustment at the beginning of the calendar year and to keep it stable as long as possible.

we might also note, though tariffs are uncertain and changing, good news is always on the possible horizon.

just this week, the trump administration is finalizing an agreement to exempt coffee from tariff's for the country of vietnam. while we don't have a green partner in vietnam (yet), we hope these exemptions can spread to trade relationships with countries we are working with. additionally, even yesterday, a bipartisan "no coffee tax act" was introduced by senators. so stay tuned...

these are truly unprecedented times in coffee pricing, but we are committed to this industry for the long haul!

as always, please feel free to reach out! our team would be delighted to hop on a phone call & join in this tariff conversation anytime. you can reach our ecc team during business hours at 812-746-3668, or reach out to your contact individually.

for now, cheers. let's keep working hard to serve incredible coffees to incredible people.