What's in the Box: El Paraiso and Hamasho Washed

We have two stunning micro-lots this month for our single origin subscribers. These are top notch lots from star producers in Colombia and Ethiopia. If you have had our Ethiopia Hamasho Natural then this month you get to try the washed process version of that coffee, grown in the highlands of Bensa, Sidama. This is a subscriber exclusive coffee, so if you have been considering jumping on the monthly box program, take note! As a subscriber, you'll get access to one-time limited releases.

Coffee Roasts, What's in the BoxBobby WrigleyMarch 2, 2023Ethiopia, Colombia

Spring 2023 - Cafe Drinks & Specials

Our Spring Drink line up is here —- enjoy traditional favorites plus new tastes this season.

CafeAmanda DanzigerMarch 1, 2023Spring, Drinks, Specials, Ambler, Lansdale, 2023, Seasonal, Cafe

Colombia Part 5: Moving the Coffee

All of the coffee from the 11 buying stations eventually makes its way to the dry mill, where it is hulled of its parchment and then sorted with multiple machines to be cleaned free of defects. Some coffees are blended and homogenized to make uniform regional lots, while other micro-lots are segregated and processed individually to be sold on their own. The size of the micro lots vary; some micro-lots might be as small as a couple of bags of coffee (about 300 pounds).

Coffee 101, Coffee RoastsBobby WrigleyFebruary 13, 2023Colombia, The Coffee Quest, Coffee Quest, Dry Mill

Colombia Part 4: New Relationships

Coffee Roasts, Coffee 101Bobby WrigleyFebruary 6, 2023Colombia, Coffee, Huilia, Coffee Buying, Buyer

What's in the Box: Burundi Long Miles and Guatemala Alma

Coffee Roasts, What's in the BoxBobby WrigleyFebruary 2, 2023Burundi, Guatemala

Our Time in Colombia at The Coffee Quest

Our company has been sourcing coffee from Colombia via The Coffee Quest for the past five years because they deliver the best Colombia has to offer. Check out the conversation we had below with Stephen from The Coffee Quest that highlights what sets specialty coffee apart from commercial, and the key stages at origin where quality is ensured. Namely, the farm level, the buying station, and the dry mill. We hope you enjoy!

Coffee Roasts, Coffee 101Amanda DanzigerFebruary 2, 2023Coffee Quest, Video, Education, top blog

Colombia Part 3: Coffee Pricing

The farmers who have a relationship with The Coffee Quest (TCQ) are sent daily prices via WhatsApp, and the pricing is broken down by cup score. The higher the score, the higher the price. The most difficult coffees to find are the 86+ micro lots, so farmers are encouraged to deliver these with pricing incentives. The buying stations perform QC on a sample of the farmer's lot and provide feedback the next day, and then the farmer can decide if they want to sell the lot.

Coffee Roasts, Coffee 101Bobby WrigleyJanuary 30, 2023Coffee Quest, Coffee, Farming, Farmers, Producer, Colombia

Colombia Part 2: Established Specialty Farms

Specialty coffee is fairly established in Colombia–especially in central and southern Huila–so, there are many farmers who are doing phenomenal work to produce amazing coffee. These are farms that not only have great growing conditions at high elevations but also the attention to detail with variety selection for planting, picking, processing, and care for the land, which is what makes these coffees stand out.

Coffee Roasts, Coffee 101Bobby WrigleyJanuary 23, 2023El Paraiso, Ernedis Rodriguez, Colombia, Coffee Quest

Colombia Part 1

We are commonly asked how we source our coffee. We get questions like, “Do you buy directly?” and “are the farmers being paid an honorable price?” We take pride in sourcing responsibly, but answers to these questions are multi-faceted. With this blog series I want to give you a peek into how we source coffees in Colombia.

Coffee Roasts, Coffee 101Bobby WrigleyJanuary 17, 2023Colombia, Coffee Quest

Feb 2, 2023

Dec 22, 2022

2022: A Year in Review

That’s a wrap on 2022! It was another jam-packed, fun-filled, whirlwind of a year, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all that it brought us. From the launch of our new recyclable packaging, to our expanded warehouse space, continued community initiatives, and everything in between, it’s been a successful year on so many levels. Let’s recap it, shall we?

Sep 1, 2022

Meet Our (Dramatic) Family

Allow us to introduce ourselves, we’re Matt and Laura Adams, and we’re the owners of Backyard Beans Coffee Co. Our family consists of three wild children and sometimes we encounter drama. So, in order to celebrate the return of one our most popular seasonal blends, Family Drama, we put together a little dramatic video of our family for you to enjoy.

Jun 29, 2022

A Reason to Recycle

Wondering why we made the switch from compostable to recyclable LDPE (low density polyethylene) coffee bags? A lot went into this decision, but the quick version is this–with limited municipal composting in our area, we've come to realize that the compostable bags may not be the best “green” option for our company. Our new bags are plastic, and they are recyclable at nearly all grocery stores or big box stores at the plastic bag collection bin, along with several curbside and commercial recycling services! As a wholesale roaster, most of our coffee is purchased through our grocery partners. Simply drop the bag into the recycle collection bin on your way into the store. Use this locator to find a bag recycling deposit at your local grocery store: https://bagandfilmrecycling.org.

Apr 28, 2022

Pour Over Iced Coffee Recipe

We all love a good iced coffee, and with the warmer days coming ahead we created this easy tutorial on how to make the best pour over iced coffee at home.

Feb 15, 2022

What to Drink in Season

First, a little horticulture background. The coffee we roast comes from a flowering plant called Coffea Arabica, grown at latitudes close to the equator and at high altitudes where the weather is cooler. This plant flowers one to two times a year, followed by the development of its fruit. Inside the fruit are seeds—that’s what we roast and turn into our decadent and delicious brew. The fruit looks like a small, firm cherry, usually red, but sometimes orange, yellow, or purple. The fruit is referred to as “cherries” or “grapes”—although there is not much fruit around the seed to be enjoyed. And interestingly, after the seeds are processed and roasted they are commonly referred to as beans.

Mar 5, 2021

How to Store Your Coffee At Home

We get a lot of questions about coffee, but one of the most common has to do with storing it—whether it’s better in the fridge or freezer, in a mason jar or vacuum canister, you name it. So, we’ve decided to demystify the storing process so you can maximize your coffee and enjoy it fresh for as long as possible.

Jan 25, 2021

The Story of Coffee

The birthplace of coffee is Ethiopia. There’s a legend passed down from generation to generation that a goat herder, Kaldi, and his goats were the ones first responsible for discovering coffee. Merchants eventually took those stimulating dried coffee cherries to the port of Mocha in Yemen, and then up the Red Sea to Mecca. It was there, in Mecca, that the first coffee house was built in 1511—but the coffee was nothing like what we drink today. It was a boiled infusion of the dried coffee fruit, later referred to as the wine of Arabia. Not long after that, the religious Sufis of Yemen began roasting the seed, grinding it, and brewing it, which led to an amazing discovery—black coffee! Coffee consumption then spread through the Muslim culture in the horn of Africa.

Jul 17, 2020

What are coffee tasting notes?

Because everyone’s senses are different, it can often be difficult to pin down a coffee’s precise flavor. Much like the food we eat, coffee is very chemically complex and we experience it through gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell). When coffee is brewed, it is around 98.5% water, so the tiny amount of dissolved solids, oils, and strong aromatic compounds in the brew pack quite the punch. Bringing those flavors to life is quite a complex process involving many chemical reactions.

Apr 17, 2020

Specialty Coffee Explained

Specialty coffee is a term used for the type of green coffee that we buy and roast. It is coffee that scores over 80 points based on a 100 point scale. This scale is industry standard and is taken from the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) cupping score sheet. The climate, soil, harvesting techniques, processing methods, sorting, storing and age all play into the quality experienced. So when you take a look at the back of our bags and wonder why we have the nerdy information on the back, that’s why! Coffee geeks know that we’re a specialty coffee roaster because of this information. If you’re just getting into the world of specialty coffee, take a look at the bags in your grocery market and compare them!

Jan 23, 2019

Processing revisited - Washed Process and Natural Process

When the skin and pulp are removed from the seed of the coffee cherry prior to drying we are talking about the washed process, or wet process. Washed coffees require more machinery, water and infrastructure. The cherry is depulped by a machine, separated by density, and usually fermented submerged in water in tanks for 12-50 hrs depending on the location. The fermentation helps to loosen the remaining pectin surrounding the seed that remains after the depulping. After fermenting in the tanks, the coffee is laid out to dry (in some cases mechanically dried with machines, but most cases for specialty the coffee is dried on raised beds or on concrete patios). There is one last layer that remains on the seed after drying and that is called the parchment. Parchment protects the seed from drying too quickly as well as protecting it from the environment to a certain extent.