Sweet, sweet summer. We are so happy it has finally arrived and we are so looking for a summer of fun at Backyard Beans. At Backyard Beans Coffee Co., we know that the right latte can be the perfect accompaniment to a sunny day. Our seasonal latte menu features refreshing flavors like our signature Lavender Latte and new on the seasonal menu is the Ginger Honey Latte, which are the perfect complement to warm weather and lazy afternoons. Whether you're lounging by the pool or enjoying an early morning stroll, our summer lattes will help you beat the heat and keep your taste buds happy. So come on in and let us brighten up your summer with a delicious latte.
The summer fun has just begun at Backyard Beans Coffee Company! This June, the coffee company will celebrate its tenth anniversary as a roaster, rolling out its special Anniversary Blend coffee, a 10 Weeks of Giveaways campaign to commemorate this big milestone, and a video interview with owners Matt & Laura Adams reflecting on their past ten years in business.
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?
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.
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.
What do all these colors represent? Here’s a quick explanation behind our color scheme with our new recyclable bags.
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.
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.
A video tutorial and recipe on how to make the best Flash Brewed Iced Coffee with us.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Read MoreSpecialty 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.
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreWe have two coffees going out to our single origin box subscribers this month. Both of these come from three year long relationships. Luis Alberto Balladarez is a star producer in Nicaragua, and Mountain Harvest in Uganda is doing wonderful things to elevate processing techniques in Uganda. These both represent the best from these countries: Uganda and Nicaragua.
Read MoreThe fruity naturals have arrived! I have heard from a few of you asking when you will see more naturals in their box shipment. Well, we are now knee deep in the season for these coffees. Both coffees this month are from award winning producers. The flavor profile on these are fruity, winey, and tropical so we hope you enjoy the ride these will take your taste buds on!
Read MoreThe fruity naturals have arrived! I have heard from a few of you asking when you will see more naturals in their box shipment. Well, we are now knee deep in the season for these coffees. Both coffees this month are from award winning producers. The flavor profile on these are fruity, winey, and tropical so we hope you enjoy the ride these will take your taste buds on!
Read More
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!