In August - Chris and Russ were in Brazil visiting the Sete Cachoeiras coffee estate. While there, they took some great photos of their tours and Russ decided to describe everything that he saw and learned - and we turned it into a Coffee Knowledge slide show. Click the picture below to launch slide show or click the Link. 

We recently had a representative from Numi come to Calgary to give us some more training on their great products. I noticed a DVD with a video on flowering tea - so I ripped a copy and put it up for you all to enjoy! 

Russ & I had the pleasure of taking some of our staff down to Brazil last month on an educational buying trip. We met farmers committed to more then just quality coffee, but also who were committed to making a difference in the environment and to the lives of people who worked for them on their farms.

We look forward to bringing to Calgary some of these special coffees and the stories of the families who put so much heart into producing them. I want to give a special thanks to Schieder and the good people of Tristao Trading for hosting our Fratello family while in Brazil. It was a fantastic trip!

Gallery Series, refers to those one-of-a-kind coffees with extremely special or exciting flavor qualities, that when we cup them, we recognize as extraordinary. Like other organic food products, the flavor qualities of Gallery Series coffee reflect not just a particular geography, altitude, farm or varietal–they also reflect less fixed factors like weather and terroir–which is never exactly the same anywhere in the world from year to year. Because of this, Gallery Series coffees are limited edition coffees, so make sure to enjoy them when they are available…

My brother and I just got back from a green coffee buying trip to Brazil. While we were there we had the pleasure of enjoying a coffee at an amazing cafe in Sao Paolo! We met the owner, totally hard core & “3rd Wave” in his approach. He is not able to import coffees from outside Brazil, so he has learned to source & brew amazing single estate brazilian espressos. If ever you find yourself in Sao Paolo… you will want to check this crazy place out! Cheers.

I used to be the best in the building, but very quickly John & Joel are pulling away from me!! I had better start practicing! Good job guys.

  Bolivian coffee is truly a hidden gem of specialty coffee. I was very surprised at the quality of coffee being produced, in these small farms high in the Andes Mountains.  Growing conditions reach as high as 2500 meters above sea level.      Almost every farm is organic; however, not all are certified.  Typically these farms also grow other crops amongst their coffee trees such as orange, banana, and other tropical fruits.  Walking through these farms gives you a lot of history as many have been handed down for many generations. Their farms and processes methods are very small as most farms are never more than 10 hectares.  The growing conditions and processing methods are very typical of what would be found in Africa. You will find a lot of naturals, and semi-washed coffee on these farms.    

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Well it was the final day of the 2007 Bolivian Cup of Excellence competition. There was no better way to end off my journey than by seeing all of the hard working farmers and their families cheering each other on in hopes of being one of the 26 finalists.

It was incredible to see their faces filled with joy when their names were called one by one and recognized in front of all the media and their peers for the efforts to improve quality and consistency on their farms. It sure makes it easy for me to want to continue supporting the COE Competition when you get to hear stories of how this motivates them to improve what they do, and hear them tell us how their lives change through the exportation of their coffee to our roasting facilities.  

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Check out this link: “Fifth Avenue Club - Belo Auction”It is an on-line auction that one of our coffee customers has organized. Darren from Fifth Avenue Club & Juice & Java coffee bar is totally renovating their fitness club, and they have put a ton of commercial fitness equipment and all kinds of other things on the auction in order to raise money for the small village of Belo Ethiopia. This is the same village that we at Fratello Coffee have been sponsoring for the last 4+ years! In addition to the proceeds of this auction, Darren has committed to donating $3.00 per membership per month to support the development work in Belo! Very cool!So, check it out. Auction ends Oct 17. “Fifth Avenue Club - Belo Auction” (Read the rest of this post)

Well I am very happy to say that Fratello Coffee’s new Gallery Series is here, and here to stay. Our launch of this exclusive line is starting with, but won’t be limited to, the following three varieties:  El Salvador: La Divina Providencia - Cup of Excellence Cup Of Excellence Jury Cupping Score: 86.33Cup Of Excellence Rank: 11LIMITED QUANTITY AVAILABLE: 3000 (8 oz.) bagsLa Divina Providencia, a farm acquired four years ago by Roberto Ulloa, produces coffee that is ranked among the top ‘Cup of Excellence’ lots. The farm is ideally located in the golden coffee belt, well above 5,000 feet, blessed with rich volcanic soils as well as Bourbon and Kenya trees that reach an average of 40 years old. La Divina Providencia has been managed under conventional practices, but also uses organic inputs as fertilizers. Roberto is a fourth generation coffee grower that is involved in his community; donating pedagogic packages for children at two nearby schools.CUP OF EXCELLENCE: JURY DESCRIPTIONS This is a very unique coffee and delivers a sweet, clean flavor. Nice sweet coffee (12) black cherry (12), full body (8), chocolate (12), coconut (1), caramel, clean (9), good fruit, juicy (2), blackberry, dry fruit (3), tobacco (3). (Read the rest of this post)