First Day Roasting On The Loring Kestrel

What an exciting few weeks it has been for us here at Nossa Familia Coffee! The new warehouse is taking shape. We just finished our first week roasting on our new roaster and have the production line in full working order. Most fun for us, we have been tasting the coffees daily to develop better descriptors for the complex flavor profiles of these award-winning Brazilian coffees from Augusto’s family. It could not be a better time to be part of the Nossa Familia family! Let me introduce myself, my name is Rob, and I am the Lead Roaster for Nossa Familia.

We recently had the privilege to start roasting Nossa Familia’s coffee on the Loring Smart Roast 35-kilo coffee roaster known as the Kestrel. This roaster has been hailed as one of the most environmentally friendly roasters currently in production and has incredible figures to back it up. In comparison with a traditional roaster and afterburner setup, the Kestrel uses a single burner to function as the afterburner (to reduce emissions) and the heat source for coffee roasting. In addition to only using one burner for roasting and the afterburner, the Kestrel also recycles the hot air from the roasting chamber which means it has to heat the air less every time it cycles through the chamber. This results in huge savings of energy and natural resources. To put this in perspective, let me use the energy savings calculator which Loring provides on its website. If we were to only roast 4 hours a day 5 days a week (which is less than we will roast in reality) then we would reduce CO2 Emissions by 65,780 lbs per year; which is a carbon offset equivalent to planting 843 trees, or taking 6 cars off the road annually! We feel like this roaster works in a more responsible way with the environment that grows the wonderful coffees we have the pleasure of roasting.
In addition to being an environmentally friendly roaster, the Kestrel is also receiving acclaim for the quality of coffee it is roasting. Its design allows for a few advantages in the roasting process which tend to pass along an even more delicate, flavorful cup than many traditional drum roasters. Because the Kestrel does not directly heat the drum of the roaster (rather the air inside the roast drum) it tends to treat the coffee more gently than a drum roaster would reducing any scorching or tipping that may occur with the coffee. It also reduces the coffee’s contact with oxygen during roasting, which locks the volatile flavor compounds of the coffee in the bean as opposed to allowing these flavors to oxidize and escape. Further, the efficient system of heating allows for shorter roast times with more even roast on the bean. All in all, the flavor-friendly aspects of this roaster are a great match for the environmentally friendly design.

What does this means for you, the person enjoying Nossa Familia Coffee? You can know that not only is Nossa Familia taking every step to make sure we are responsibly sourcing our coffee, but also treating the environment with upmost care and respect. In so doing, we have chosen a roaster that respects you, the coffee lover, delivering a flavorful, sweet, complex, and delicate coffee experience.

As we continue to make this amazing coffee better and better, we look forward to sharing our excitement with you through tastings notes, more in-depth information about the farms and farmers, and other coffee geekery.

Diagram explaining decaffeination process. Click for larger view.

To reach our sustainability goals, we have chosen to use a mountain water process to decaffeinate our coffee. For us, the Mountain Water Process produces a superior cup of coffee with the added benefit of the gentler and chemical-free methods used to extract the caffeine. The resulting coffee is 99.9 caffeine free.
DESCRIPTION:
Sanroke has developed a unique decaffeination process by means of using reclaimed glacial water from the majestic and towering Pico de Orizaba mountains in Citlalteptl, Mexico.
In this decaffeination process, the green coffee beans are immersed in water which extracts both the caffeine and flavor oils. The caffeine is filtered out, and the original flavors are maintained by returning the water soluble oils to the coffee. Once decaffeination is completed, the beans are dried and packed.

Quest M3 Roaster

Finally, a blissfully quiet and fully functional roaster has arrived on the home roasting and sample roasting scene! Built in Taiwan and currently only available through Coffee Shrub, the Quest M3 offers incredible functionality for only a fraction of the cost of a professional sample roaster. Is it a Burns or Probat sample roaster? Absolutely not, but unless you possess a trained palette, you would be hard pressed to differentiate between coffee roasted on the Quest and coffee from a more professional sample roaster. Price conscious roaster and savvy home roasting connoisseurs rejoice!

After all, the Quest is more or less a miniaturized production roaster (it comes with a counter-weighted door and mini sample trier!), which is why I would urge the novice user without prior understanding of roasting mechanics to use caution when using this machine.  The trade off of having complete control over airflow and temperature is that you also inherit all of the dangers of roasting on an all metal drum roaster. The metal exterior is hot enough to burn, and chaff fires are a real possibility.  I experienced this several weeks ago when a circuit breaker in our warehouse tripped as I was finishing out the roast. The coffee began smoldering in the drum as I rushed to restore power.  The Quest does have a built in safety feature in the form of an on/off timer switch that automatically shuts the roaster off in case it were to be left unattended for an extended length of time.

The real testament to the Quest’s abilities is in the results. It is possible to achieve excellent roasts with great repeatability once it gets up to operating temperature. I have been able to reproduce and arrive at my specific roasting time/temp markers within one to two degrees. While the roaster comes with an analog thermometer, I’ve found it to be far too inaccurate and would highly recommend purchasing a digital thermocouple and a vented cap screw.  Our friends at Chris King Precision Components were kind enough to convert one of the included body bolts for us. The analog thermometer still finds use during the initial warm-up as an environmental probe in the back of the drum. The base of the Quest also required a small amount of bending as it was not level out of the box. The tilt of the roaster caused the thermocouple to improperly read the bean temperature in addition to hampering the finished roast from exiting the drum.

With teaks aside, I have noticed a general muting of acidity and a slight lack of depth in the coffee.  Perhaps this is due to the slower temperature response of an electric roaster, but compared to coffee I’ve roasted on a Burns, the roast seems to lacks a slight amount of bite and can tend to accumulate a hint of smokiness. Again, this would only be noticeable to someone actively looking for it. I have also heard of the heating element and fan burning out in some machines, but we have yet to have any issues with ours.

In general, I am very impressed with both the build and roast quality of the Quest M3 and would recommend it as a high end home roaster or as a cheap and portable alternative for shop work.  The fact that it runs off of 110v is particularly appealing, but I would well research your needs before investing in either the Quest or another sample roaster.

Update:

We are on our third month of experimenting with the Quest, and will soon be posting on our new half-bag Loring Kestrel S35 roaster. We’re particularly interested in seeing if we’ll be able to reproduce production roast quality on the Quest. More to come as we start to unpack this beauty!

-Kevin Haugen

Do you still have gifts to buy; stockings to fill; a need to fulfill your inner Santa? Here is a quick list of items for your favorite coffee lover?

Frieling French Press

A Freiling French Press  – This beautiful, polished stainless steel  french press is timeless and practical. With no filters or power cords to mess with, you can brew and serve . The full-length handle is both comfortable and stable. Frieling’s double-wall construction keeps hot beverages hot and cold ones cold if you use the pitcher by itself for milk or juice. All parts disassemble to wash by hand or go in the dishwasher. The press holds 33 ounces and stands 9 inches high.

A pint of Coffee Addict’s Choice from Ice Cream Renaissance – Available at the new Fischer’s Landing New Seasons Market. ICR ice cream is made from mostly local ingredients (unfortunately, vanilla doesn’t grow well in our climate).  They make all of the ice cream in small, three gallon batches.  The standard that they’ve set for their  flavors is 35% overrun. This basically means that there is less air in their ice cream than many brands out there, meaning you get more ice cream per pint!

Clive Coffee Style 5 Tamper

A Clive Coffee Style 5 Tamper  – in owner Mark Hellwig’s favorite wood, walnut. Gorgeously sleek and precise, you’ll impress the receipient of this gift with the high quality bases which are CNC lathe turned out of stainless steel. These tampers are available in three sizes; 49, 53, 58 millimeters. Plus, Clive guarantee size accuracy to within a 10th of a millimeter.

Ice Cream Renaissance

A coffee filter wreath by BooBahBlue. – Looking for something other than your typical pine bough wreath, this elegant and durable wreath will create a festive mood for your family’s holiday or winter solstice celebration. Made with white coffee filters, displaying gorgeous brown flower,, feather and grasses. It will look beautiful hanging on a glass door.

A Gift Bag of three bags of Nossa Familia Coffee - delivered by Portland Pedal Power. Give your favorite coffee lover Nossa Familia Coffee. Choose from six coffees from our family farm in Brazil. Our coffee is Utz Certified as being grown, harvested and roasted responsibly.  As you give your gift, continue the responsible trend and have it delivered by bike! 

Pacifica Coffee Scrub – enliven your skin, or just wake it up with this powerhouse of tropical ingredients including coconut oil, sugar, and sea salt, this scrub exfoliates, smooths, and promotes radiant, brighter skin with an additional jolt of caffeine! Who doesn’t need more caffeine?

Espresso Squares from Portland Truffles- Chocolate lovers will love these delicious bursts of Belgian dark chocolate and coffee.

Community Cycling Center

Donate to Bikes to Rwanda (international) or Community Cycling Center (local) – If you, like our team at Nossa Familia Coffee, feel compelled to give to those in need at Yuletide, then consider these two amazing non-profits. We love them both, especially, as you may have noticed, we have a special affinity for bikes. If you didn’t get a chance to witness the magic of the Community Cycling Center’s Holiday Bike Drive, here’s a recap (check out the video),

Jim Staley in his new home

In February of this year, Nossa Familia Coffee had been offered bulk bins in all New Seasons Markets. This was a huge boon for our company. We were thrilled at the opportunity, but challenged with the quick turnaround needed to implement this great sales opportunity. We needed to create, design and print thousands of bulk bin, or craft, bags within a few weeks. When we found out the lead time to print the bags was 6-8 weeks, we realized we had a problem. We’d need to buy our bags and then stamp them, lots of them, quickly.

Augusto, quick on his feet Brazilian, said he thought it might be a great opportunity to employ individuals supported by Community Vision. And that’s how we got started, employing Jim, Tony, and Cliff. We called Rebecca Miller, the business and development officer who directed us to Emily Fitz. She sent Jim Morgan out to analyze the job. At first Jim brought Tony out to stamp craft bags. Pick up the stamp, press it into the ink, stamp one side of the bag and then the other. This all sounds so simple. It wasn’t that simple. Ink smears. Stamps can be difficult to align so they are applied straight. When you stamp hard, multiple times, your hand can begin to hurt. Thoughtfully evaluating these challenges, Jim Morgan went home, designed and built his own device, still in use, to insert the bag into that has green and red marks that help ‘the guys’ stamp the bags consistently straight each time.  “Green, green, red,” you’ll hear Jim repeating with each stamp. Eventually, Jim determined that Tony did best with shortened 60 -75 minute shifts, with 15 bags stacked and ready for stamping, not 100. One hundred bags on the ready created too much anxiety and rushed stamping.

After the full program was fleshed out, Jim Morgan brought in Jim Staley. Now every Wednesday, Jim Staley comes in with his big smile, handshake and hug before he ‘gets to work.’ The best part about the story is what these part-time jobs offer to ‘the guys.’ A great example is with Jim Staley, who can pay his new mortgage with the wages he earns at Nossa Familia Coffee. Here’s a recent article in the Gresham Outlook about Jim Staley and his trials in getting his own home, a goal Community Vision, Inc has been advocating for him for years.

Nossa Familia Coffee had already been supporting Community Vision for 6 years at their community bicycling and fundraising event, The Harvest Century, by providing free coffee to all of the participants. Community Vision also operates a cafe at Mt. Hood Community College called Mocha Mama’s. in 2011, Mocha Mama’s began using Nossa Familia Coffee in it’s cafe. Each week David, and his support staff Mike, comes in and places the week’s coffee order. On Tuesdays, David and Mike come back into pick it up.

To our staff at Nossa Familia, we feel honored to work with Community Vision;  Rebecca, Emily, Jim M., Jim S., Tony, Cliff, and all of their staff. Their vision helps us envision that anything is possible and that when David or Jim walk into the room, like anyone, its time to stop, smile and acknowledge each moment and each person.

Give Nossa Familia, ‘our family’ in Portuguese, Coffee to your clients, employees, friends and family for the holidays! We’re offering a great opportunity for you to create a unique gift -  a custom-labeled bag of 12 ounce coffee. Create your own message and add it our beautiful bags, deliver your gift, and make them happy.  Nothing says you’re special like delicious, family-traded, farm direct, locally roasted Nossa Familia Coffee.

Our Family of Coffees

To order, click on this flyer for details. For questions, call Sarah Bailen Smith at 503-719-6605 or email sarah@familyroast.com

If you’re in the Portland area, consider having your gifts delivered by our sustainable delivery partner, Portland Pedal Power.  Click on their services page and scroll down to the products section and click on Nossa Familia Coffee.

We are so thrilled with the results of “Win a Free Trip to Brazil” sweepstakes. We received 8405 entries!!

We had 50 people watching as we scrolled through names and found Sara's winning entry number.

Ms. Sara Lee from Divide, Colorado is our lucky winner (pictured below with her family). She’s checking her passport and getting her arrangements in order to go to Brazil with us in May.  Sara’s story is very touching. Here is Sara’s account of how she signed up to the drawing and how she won!

“This September, we were in Portland for my mother’s memorial service.  She passed away on August 14 after a two and a half year battle with Pancreatic cancer.  We were staying with my sister Debbie, and we went to Bagel Land for breakfast on the way to my other sister’s house.  On a whim, we filled out the entry form for the trip to Brazil while we waited for our breakfast.  The next day we celebrated my mother’s life during a beautiful outdoor service with friends and family.

I believe in God, heaven, angels, and divine intervention.  The drawing for this trip was on All Saints Day … a special day in the Catholic faith, and I believe that my mom had a hand in my name being  drawn for this adventure.  She was an avid traveler and lived for adventure.  I know in my heart that she was a part of this, after all, we entered the day before we celebrated her life, and the drawing was on a day in which saints, those known and unknown are prayed to for intercession.  My mother truly was a saint.”

Sara Lee's Family

You can join us in Brazil as well! We have officially opened registration to our tour. It will be 10 amazing days in the Brazilian sunshine, click here for detailed information.

Nossa Familia Coffee will return the Hollywood Farmers Market beginning on Saturday May 7.

Saturdays: 8 am – 1 pm
May through Thanksgiving
Please note that the November markets begin at 9 am.

The Hollywood Farmers Market is located on NE Hancock between 44th & 45th Avenues in Portland, Oregon.

We can’t wait to be there!

Our monthly newsletter is out. Read it here.

As the leaves change color and the mornings become crisper, nothing warms the soul quite like our take on a French Roast. Named for our great-grandmother Mathilde who drank our strong coffee until she was 103, this dark roast makes a tremendous drip coffee or an incredibly bold yet smooth French Press.

Through the end of October, Mathilde’s French Roast is on sale for just $9 per 12oz bag or $23 for a 2lb bag.

Try Mathilde’s French Roast >>