Coffee With a Conscience
Did you know that your friendly neighbourhood coffee roaster has been silently donating to local charities for decades? Fratello Coffee Roasters is heavily involved in the Calgary community, donating funds and supplying hundreds of pounds of fresh coffee every month to a host of different charities whose causes range from homelessness, to food insecurity, to addiction.
Co-owner Russ Prefontaine says it’s a way to give back to a community that has supported the company from the start. It was his father, the founder of the company, that started the tradition. “We were raised with the attitude of giving back […] it makes us feel good. If we want the local Calgary community to support us, we should then be the first in line to be supporting the local community when we can. That is what it truly means to Support Local….it needs to be a full circle.”
Roasting and sourcing ethically has always been top-priority, but the company’s generosity is yet another reason you can feel good about drinking Fratello coffee. Here are just a few of the wonderful causes the company donates to every year.
- Calgary Food Bank
Every year, Fratello takes part in the Calgary Food Bank fundraiser in partnership with the CBC, which happens around the holidays. The Calgary Food Bank is the city’s main charitable food hub, serving families, individuals and organizations. Their programs include emergency food hampers, food linking (making sure food gets to the people who need it), and rescuing perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste.
Fratello has taken part 10 years in a row, and has donated close to $300,000 total. In December of 2021, they donated 1,400 bags of coffee and raised just over $59,000 in coffee sales.
- Calgary Dream Centre
The Calgary Dream Centre is an organization dedicated to helping people overcome addiction and homelessness, two interrelated issues. They offer resources specifically geared towards men and women, and their approach is to pair individuals with case managers who guide them along their journey. The programs include mindfulness training, professional counselling, and life skills mentoring (cooking, driving, and job interview preparation). They also work hard to provide transitional and community housing to homeless and precariously housed people.
- Mustard Seed
The Seed is a Christian non-profit organization founded in 1984 on a mission to care for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty. They cover basic needs like emergency shelter and meals, and also offer programs for health & wellness and employment guidance. The organization also has a waiting list for supportive housing. Fratello has been making significant coffee donations to this organization for 30 years.
- Alex Community Food Centre
The Alex is a food program offering free healthy meals on a drop-in basis, and hosts an affordable produce market every Friday morning. Their New Roots program is geared towards new immigrants facing food insecurity and hosts culturally themed affordable food markets. Other programs include cooking and gardening classes for kids and adults, and community projects to advance Truth & Reconciliation.
- Calgary Drop-in
The Calgary Drop-in serves adults at risk of experiencing homelessness. They offer emergency shelters, meal programs, health clinic services, permanent housing, and hygeine and laundry services. In addition, they offer the Free Goods program, where new and lightly used goods (such as furniture, clothing, electronics and cookware) find their way to low-income & no-income Calgarians.
Iced Vietnamese Coffee featuring our French Saigon Dark
There’s no treat more elegant than Vietnamese coffee. Strong coffee is brewed directly over sweetened condensed milk, stirred, and poured over ice in a rocks glass. It’s a small but mighty pick-me-up that’s at once indulgent and sophisticated.
It’s time to dust off this classic coffee recipe–we’re bringing it back! For Vietnamese coffee, you’ll want to use a full-bodied dark roast. We recommend our French Saigon Dark blend. Its full-bodied smoothness and dark chocolate notes compliment the sweetened condensed milk perfectly. It’s our oldest blend, pioneered in 1985 specifically for iced Vietnamese Coffee, and it remains one of our bestsellers to this day.
Iced Vietnamese coffee history
Coffee was first introduced to Vietnam in 1857 by French settlers. Since then, Vietnam has taken off as a major coffee producer, and today is responsible for 20% of the world’s coffee production. Coffee culture is massive in Vietnam now, and ca fe sua da (which translates to coffee with milk and ice) is a common order at coffee houses.
Because fresh dairy is not readily available in Vietnam, canned sweetened condensed milk has increased in popularity due to its long shelf life and easy transportation.
Traditionally, Vietnamese coffee is made with a coffee brewing tool called a phin, a metal contraption with several filters. This ensures a slow brew time and a strong coffee.
Make sure to get a head start on the warm weather by perfecting your Vietnamese coffee game. Before long, everyone will want one!
How to make Vietnamese coffee using a phin (single serving):
- Measure a heaped tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk into a glass. Set aside. Weigh 20 grams of Fratello French Saigon Dark, and grind fine (as you would for an Aeropress). Boil water to 93-96 degrees C.
- Place the filter plate over the glass containing the sweetened condensed milk. Place the brewing chamber on top of that, followed by the ground coffee. Then, drop the press filter (the piece with the handle) on top of the grinds.
- Pour about 20 grams of hot water over top of the press filter to bloom the coffee grinds. Let it sit for 30 seconds.
- Slowly, and in concentric circles, pour enough water into the chamber until you reach the top. Place the lid on top, and let the coffee slowly brew until it stops dripping.
- When it stops dripping, set your phin aside, and stir the hot coffee with the sweetened condensed milk until well combined. Fill a rocks glass ¾ full of ice, and pour the coffee-milk mixture over the ice. Enjoy!
If you don’t have a phin or you can’t source one, you can simply sub out the phin for the Aeropress method instead. Pour a heaped tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk in a glass. Prepare an aeropress coffee, and plunge the coffee directly into the glass. Stir and pour over ice. If you want a frothier consistency, you can pour the coffee-milk mixture into a cocktail shaker full of ice, along with a splash of hot water. Shake for one minute, and pour into a tall glass with a metal or paper straw.
The Godfather Espresso Collection is 20% off–just in time for Mother’s Day
This Mother’s Day, make her an offer she can’t refuse. Our Godfather blend is 20% off for a limited time only starting April 29th (for online orders only). This includes the Classic Light Roast Espresso, the Dark Roast Espresso, and the newly introduced Natural Decaf. This best-selling Classic blend is a crowd-pleaser, for both the casual drinker and the coffee connoisseur. As a light roast, it imparts flavours of caramel and milk chocolate, and as a dark roast, we taste chocolate fudge and dark toffee. The Godfather collection works well as drip coffee, espresso, or french press, and pairs well with milk.
Make sure to get your orders in by Tuesday, May 3rd at midnight, so you can give the gift of fresh coffee. Order directly off our website to have it shipped to your door.
Mum’s more of a tea drinker? We also have a line of our very own Idle Teas. Nothing is more classic than Cream of Earl Grey, a full-bodied, organic black tea with notes of citrus and lavender, and pure bergamot oil from Calabria. For something a bit more exciting, gift her the Rooibos Matcha powder–just like green matcha powder, caffeine-free rooibos tea is ground into a rich, amber-toned powder. Just whisk it up with a bit of hot water to make lattes, hot or cold, or add the powder directly to smoothies. For a burst of colour, gift her the Beetroot Latte powder. It makes the perfect caffeine-free latte with earthy sweetness and a hint of ginger.
Just one more trip to the flower shop, and you’re all set!
Coffee production does not end when the coffee has been picked, processed and shipped around the world. Maintaining an efficient, productive and high quality coffee farm requires a very sizable amount of work in between the harvests.
The coffee tree is a very demanding plant. In order to keep a coffee plant “happy” you must meet its most basic needs: nutrition and a suitable environment. These factors are true of all agriculture, but are even more important when it comes to the coffee plant, as it is not simply an agricultural product, but a product where quality dramatically varies dependent on the stewardship of the tree.
Coffee was never intended to leave the forests of Ethiopia; humans planted the seeds all over the tropics. As a result, coffee is somewhat of a “fussy” plant, in that, because it is endemic to one place, the plants in Honduras, Bolivia, Nicaragua, etc do not possess much genetic diversity. What does this mean? Well, the coffee plant outside of Ethiopia is extremely susceptible to a myriad of diseases, fungal infections and pests.Coffee has not been grown in regions outside of Ethiopia for a very long time either. Because of this, the coffee plant has not acquired a resistance to the unique environmental hazards that exist in the multiple countries in which coffee is currently grown. In short, it requires work to care for coffee.
Nutrition is very important for coffee trees growing in places such as Bolivia. Without adequate nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, coffee trees can not experience ample root, wood and bud development. Maintaining the topsoil, and fighting erosion from gravity and water run-off requires constant attention from the coffee producer.
In order to grow healthy, productive plants, the farmer is typically required to replenish this topsoil as needed, ensuring that the coffee tree is constantly being fed the required nutrients to produce at its expected level. This requires vigilance, you can’t just leave the trees alone. Most specialty coffee farms are produced on a slope, and thus the risk of erosion is very high, all the nutritious soil can simply fall down the hill, or be washed down. Additionally, in many coffee growing regions, the soil is very loose and silty. This unstable ground poses a risk to farm workers as well as the plants. We in the specialty coffee industry have all experienced brief scary moments where the ground gives way while inspecting a coffee tree. Maintaining the soil is a constant battle, but is vitally important for the health of the coffee tree.
Pruning is a typical activity that occurs on a coffee farm at the end of a harvest. Healthy coffee trees like to grow, especially varieties such as Geisha and Maragogype, which like to grow big, lanky branches that extend very far. Planting coffee must be done with careful consideration: if you space your trees too closely, they will grow towards each other quickly. This is a huge problem, as coffee trees need sunlight to produce fruit. A coffee tree producing less fruit than the year prior is disastrous for a coffee farmer, they will simply earn less money. Strategic pruning must be employed to ensure every tree gets the required amount of sunlight to maximize yields. This does result in a temporary loss of revenue, since you are technically removing branches that will produce fruit, but slacking on your pruning can create a disaster in the long-term, as the plants overlap each other. There is an additional benefit to regular pruning, in that the clipped branches can simply be left on the ground near the trees where they have fallen. These branches will decompose and feed nutrition back to the plant, creating a more healthy, productive tree.
Coffee isn’t just coffee anymore. Now, it’s all about the brand, the merchandise, the location, the story, but it has always been, and always will be, about the taste. Lucky for you, Analog checks off all of these boxes. Coffee has run in the Prefontaine family since 1974, when the father Cam first started a wholesale coffee company out of his home. His three sons grew up helping him with sales and watching him roast his very own coffee. The parents produced the coffee and the sons started selling all the commercial coffee equipment, making them the whole package to share their love of coffee with the world. Eventually after many years in the industry, the family decided that it was finally time to open their own shop.
With seven current locations in Calgary and one soon to be available in the University District, Analog Coffee first started out in the Calgary Farmers’ Market in 2011. As business boomed almost immediately, the company bought their dream location that we all know and love today on 17th Avenue. As the coffee’s popularity grew and more and more people fell in love with the taste, the business couldn’t help but to expand their reach and provide more Calgarians with their delicious brews. Learn more about the history of the company and see which trendy Analog Coffee location is closest to you.
To see the original article, and other winners check out The Best of Calgary website.
Photo captured by Neil Zeller
On April 18, 2018 the protests in Nicaragua first began. Spurred on by social security reforms decreed by President Daniel Ortega, demonstrations involving university students, the elderly and other activists broke out in Managua, Jinotega, Leon and other large Nicaraguan cities. The protests were violently repressed: live ammunition was fired into crowds, hundreds of protestors were killed by police and armed Sandinista militias, thousands more were wounded and tens of thousands have fled the country in exile. Nicaragua has been in turmoil for over a year now, and the end doesn’t appear to be anywhere in sight. Even in the relatively small and sleepy town of Ocotal, shouts of “¡Viva Nicaragua libre!” can be heard, quickly followed by the blaring of police sirens.
What amazes us the most about the Nicaraguan people, is that despite the tragic circumstances unfolding in their country, they still offer the most authentic hospitality, have the biggest hearts and have the most fun out of all the places we visit. It is nearly impossible to feel like an outsider in Nicaragua because the people simply will not let you. The amount of times we have been invited into the homes of people, who we barely know or have just met, to watch baseball or ultra-cheesy Mexican telenovelas is much higher than we ever could have expected. Nicaraguan culture is very laid back and tranquillo. In our experience, Nicaragua remains one of the most informal places we have ever been and it creates a truly relaxing and easy-going atmosphere.
Our partners in Nicaragua are having a tough time right now. Financing from the government, which was once available, is now gone and it’s becoming harder to plant new trees, rebuild drying beds and fertilize and spray crops to prevent roya. In response, we have committed to helping our partners at Expocamo by paying for several new drying beds, to replace some older, heavily used beds. These beds will improve the quality of the coffee not just for us, for but all the people around the world who buy coffee from Expocamo. We are super proud to do this for all Nicaraguan coffee lovers and to raise the profile of Nicaraguan coffee, which we feel is underappreciated.
Direct trade is so important to us because it gives us the opportunity to identify people like Rony Herrera and Francisco Valle Garcia, who are incredibly passionate farmers. Entering a partnership is incredibly beneficial for both sides. Buying coffee in 2019 is tremendously easy and convenient: many reputable companies have very easy to navigate websites, offering dozens and dozens of different types of coffees. It’s trivially easy to select 3 or 4 coffees, have samples delivered to the roastery and then purchase them with little-to-no direct interaction with the coffee farmers. Truthfully, many of these coffees, sourced by third parties, are incredibly delicious and affordable. But this is a lazy way to source coffee and deprives us of important relationships, unique flavors and great memories. Travelling to origin and developing friendships and partnerships feels like the right way to buy coffee for us.
Beyond coffee, the people of Nicaragua are simply good and we really like them a lot. We have been invited into their homes, dined with their families and watched many baseball games with them. The friendship we have developed is incredibly meaningful to us and every year we are so excited to go and see them again. We genuinely feel like part of the family in Nicaragua, which is honestly the typical treatment of foreigners by the Nicaraguan people, the hospitality is unmatched. Despite the hardships the people of Nicaragua are facing, they show every day that they still have some of the strongest hearts in the world. Saludos Nicaragua, te veo pronto.