Due to fluctuation in the commodities market, pricing has risen to it’s highest point in 12 years, and weather patterns that have caused substantial reduction in crops in Central and South America, PTs Coffee Roasting Co. will have a price adjustment at the wholesale and retail level effective immediately. We regret that this step is necessary.

Regards

Fred Polzin and Jeff Taylor

PTs Coffee Roasting Co.

Our exclusive Passport line of coffees gives you the opportunity to taste the best the world has to offer. All the travel, cupping, and know-how we have is poured into spotting these rare coffee gems and bringing out the best in each.

First
For our Passport offerings, we specifically seek out coffees that are rare, exceptional, or have a limited offering.

Then
We roast them to the peak of perfection, in small batches, and on specific roast dates to ensure freshness and quality.

And Then . . .
We ship directly to you. You’ll be able to taste each mastered step of PT’s Passport coffees from tree to cup.

SOLD OUT!  More expected in coming weeks. What a great day for Hawaiian coffees!  Our Micro-Lot of Rusty’s Hawaiian just arrived and we plan to launch it next week. We are now accepting pre-orders for this exceptional coffee.

Lorie Obra next to a sign that denotes her family farm. The farm is named in honor of her late husband, Rusty.

For years customers have asked why we don’t carry Kona Coffee on our offering sheet, in our store, or on our website. I’ve always had the same answer. “The samples of Kona coffee that I’ve received  just don’t cup well enough to justify the price that is paid for a coffee carrying the Kona Coffee brand.”

I tell customers that “we make every attempt to offer coffees that are worthy of the price, not just the name.” Kona Coffee has had a tremendous reputation for years. But in recent years the samples I have received and tasted on our cupping table just didn’t measure up. So despite the pressure to offer a Kona Coffee or Kona Coffee Blend, we chose to stay the course and only offer coffees of exceptional quality.

Coffee cherry harvested by Lorie at her family farm in Hawaii.

Today, we are very proud, a coffee we’ve now carried for 2 years from the Hawaiian Islands placed 1st place in a Blind Cupping competition. I noted when we first bought this coffee that we had finally found a coffee worthy of the price from the Hawaiian Islands. Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee is an outstanding coffee that is grown and harvested by Lorie Obra in the District of Ka’u. Lorie takes incredible pride in the coffee she grows and processes and is always willing to go the extra mile to make it exceptional.

So this blog post is for you Lorie: CONGRATULATIONS from your friends at PTs Coffee Roasting Co.!

Lorie strives to make her late husband proud and produce not just a coffee crop, but one that is exceptional. Today her dream was realized in a blind cupping competition. We are proud to work with you Lorie and look forward to working with you for years to come.
For more info see the local stories about the competition.

Our Micro-Lot of Rusty’s Hawaiian just arrived and we plan to launch it next week. We are now accepting pre-orders for this exceptional coffee.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Jeff Taylor

PTs Coffee Roasting Co.

As part of our Direct Trade program at PTs Coffee Roasting Co. we visit the farms we work with on an annual basis to inspect the farms and learn, build relationships and evaluate the coffee prior to harvest, during harvest or after harvest.

This year, I arrived at Finca Cerro Paldo in Costa Rica just as the harvest had concluded. Although I did miss the actual harvest, I was able to spend a quality afternoon with the Monge Family at Finca Cerro Paldo enjoying lunch and a wonderful cup of coffee with Don Juan Rafael and his sons. We toured the farm and looked at areas of the farm they plan to plant with coffee later in the season. The goal is to double production to meet our needs over the next 5 years.

Finca Cerro Paldo won First Place in the 2007 Cup of Excellence and has been one of our prized Direct Trade partners at origin since. This will be our third year to buy the coffee and I can proudly report this is one of their top quality harvests. I’ll post more pictures from the farm soon.

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FACEBOOK PHOTOS CLICK HERE

These are photos from a recent origin visit to Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador. I visited producer Lucia Ortiz and her family with staff members Holly Bastin and Morgan Smith. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the visit with our friends.

Jeff

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It is always an exciting moment when you are able to meet with the creator of something you love.  Last Thursday presented us with just such an opportunity.  Lucia Ortiz, from Finca Las Mercedes, flew up to Topeka, Kansas to share her story with PT’s customers and to support PT’s Barista Competition Competitor Robin Seitz, who is using her coffee in the competition.  We had a wonderful morning where customers were able to meet Lucia and listen to her intriguing story.

Lucia Ortiz’s family, like many in El Salvador, was steeped in the traditions of the coffee industry.  This heritage, along with a desire to set an example for her children, led Lucia to jump at the chance to take over her in-laws’ coffee farm.  Her leadership, marketing skills and attention to detail has helped the farm become an exemplary farm within the specialty coffee industry in El Salvador.  Her secret (don’t tell anyone) is that she yells at, and occasionally coddles, the trees.  Well, whatever she does, we want her to keep doing it.  Her El Pepinal 1 is a true eye-opener.  It has the distinct aroma of coriander seed and black currant. In the cup, it combines slight floral notes with a bright spiciness. Its effervescent acidity sparkles with notes of peach.  Try El Pepinal 1 from Finca Las Mercedes here!

You can also read Topeka’s Food+Flicks coverage of the visit here!

Join us this Thursday, October 29th at our Barrington Village shop for casual coffee with Lucia Ortiz from Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador.  She will be available to meet and chat between 8:00 and 10:00 am.  Come to enjoy her spectacular coffee, El Pepinal 1, and great conversation.  We are brewing up her coffee all week, so if you cannot make it on Thursday, stop by another time for a cup or two!

Finca Las Mercedes - El Pepinal 1 won 1st place in the 2006 El Salvador Cup of Excellence with a record-breaking score of 94.  Our relationship with the producers of El Pepinal 1, the Oritz family, began in 2008.  From their history with the Cup of Excellence, we knew they had great coffee, but it was not until we tasted it for ourselves that we realized how fortunate we were to roast and sell this spectacular coffee.  El Pepinal 1 is a very complex coffee. It has the distinct aroma of coriander seed and black currant. In the cup, it combines slight floral notes with a bright spiciness. Its effervescent acidity sparkles with notes of peach.  You can purchase Lucia’s coffee at our Barrington Village Store or online here!

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. and the Gombe Coffee Project, along with travels to Burundi and El Salvador, are featured in the Fall 2009 TKBiz Magazine. Click through the pages and check out the “postcards from coffees origin.”

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If you were not able to make it to last Thursday’s Gombe Coffee Project Video Launch Party, Channel 49 News is here to the rescue!  You can check out Ben Bauman’s coverage of the Party on their website here, and you can view the full Gombe Coffee Project Video in our Media Room here.  And you can always support these hardworking farmers by purchasing their coffee here!

You are invited to join PT’s Coffee Roasting Co and Gizmo Pictures to celebrate The Gombe Coffee Project Video release!  Gizmo Picture’s David Kitchner traveled with PT’s Jeff Taylor on a coffee sourcing trip to Tanzania, documenting the lives and work of these hardworking farmers.  That night will be the first viewing of this incredible documentary!  Join us at 6:00 pm on Thursday, October 15th at the Blind Tiger Brewery for great food, coffee and discounted Java Porter!