The Difference Between Freshly Roasted Coffee and Don Massimo's Fresh Coffee
You've probably gone past your favourite coffee shop or roaster and been told time and time again that your coffee is roasted on site or freshly roasted.
Sound familiar?
Well there are differences between what you get at your local roaster or coffee shop that is marketed as freshly roasted compared to the freshness of coffee direct from our family farm - don't worry, we'll explain!
FRESHLY ROASTED - BUT WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
To start with, you need to consider where a vast majority, if not all of coffee roasters and coffee shops get their coffee from; brokers and distributors are common place within the coffee market regardless of country. These people will buy up large quantities of green coffee (the unroasted product) and warehouse it until they can sell it all.
Since coffee is it raw form can last up to three years before it needs to be roasted, it could mean that it is sitting in the warehouse for an extended period of time before it's sold - even sold at heavily discounted prices to move unsold product.
When a local roaster orders coffee (after it has been in a warehouse for an extended period of time - sometimes months), it is then transported by sea in a humid sea container (a trip that could take months depending on where its heading to) and then might sit in another warehouse for an extended period of time. If we were to use a conservative guess from its initial warehousing to when its served to you in a cup, that coffee could already be six to nine months old. It might be freshly roasted but it is definitely not fresh.
Another factor to consider with all this humidity control is that green coffee beans are absorbent and highly susceptible to outside influences - including the humidity controls that they are placed into for storage and transport. This long term exposure can drastically change the original attributes of the coffee and increase its exposure to fungi (amongst other things).
SO THE COFFEE MIGHT BE "FRESHLY ROASTED" BUT IS IT FRESH?
Lets give you an example that you'll understand further.
The apple you get from a farm directly is going to taste dramatically different to the one you get at a local supermarket. That apple that comes directly from the farm and you pick up at a farmers market hasn't been rushed onto a supermarket shelf and has been given the time to naturally mature and grow, only taken off the tree once its ready. Whereas the one that is sent to the supermarket is taken off the tree as it is being grown, packaged, transported and warehoused during which it is maturing. The two apples now have a different taste.
The same applies to coffee!
WHAT MAKES DON MASSIMO COFFEE DIFFERENT?
Unlike any of our competitors that sell Colombian Coffee, we don't use distributors or agents because we don't need to - we produce our own coffee on our family farm in Colombia. This is the first step in ensuring that we provide you with the highest quality and freshest coffee.
We grow our coffee without the use of any form of chemicals (including pesticides) which helps you enjoy a completely natural taste. On top of that, we have processes in place to only utilise the highest quality beans from the farm, washing them in natural spring water that flows through the farm and dried in the Colombian sunlight (not artificially washed or dried like others).
Now here is where the key difference is between Don Massimo Coffee and the local roaster that promotes freshly roasted coffee - we don't store our coffee for months on end, we roast and package the coffee on our family farm in Colombian under the simple core ideal - fine, premium coffee is best enjoyed when it is roasted and sealed immediately after it is harvested to preserve its real attributes and provide you with the best taste.
On top of all this, we know exactly where our coffee has come from - our family farm.
Does the local coffee roaster know exactly the farm the coffee has come from?
Have they seen the farm?
Have they met the people?
How long has the coffee been in a warehouse before its been roasted?
They might be able to tell you the region the coffee has come from and some information about the farm but that might be the end of the story.
Our Family Farm - Our Responsibility
Our family farm in Colombian is located in Fredonia and we have pictures of the farm and its amazing scenery scattered throughout our website.
We employ locals to work on our farm including single mothers that lost their jobs due to the covid pandemic and teenagers (two of which are planning on taking up coffee apprenticeships with us).
The bags that your coffee arrives in weren't imported into Colombia, they are made in Colombia by a Colombian family.
The local that roasts our coffee has over 30 years experience in roasting coffee.
Our aim in the coming years is to support school projects in the Fredonia area as well, giving back to a local community that we care about strongly.
Don Massimo Coffee - The Taste of Fresh Coffee
To summarise - we know exactly where our coffee comes from, the conditions of the farm that it is grown and the quality. We only aim to provide you with a premium Colombian Coffee experience and fresh coffee, roasted after harvesting.
We know that whether its our Premium Colombian Blend or our range of speciality coffee beans (including Panamanian Geisha) that we bring out once a year - the key part of our coffee recipe is to ensure quality and perfection by roasting the coffee whilst it is fresh - that way, you get to enjoy real fresh Colombian Coffee.
- Written by Gianpaulo (or Pablo)
