About Us
How did we get here?
In the Fall of 2016, we read a copy of 'All About Coffee' by William Ukers—a book from 1922. It was one of the first history books about coffee and it recounts how coffee first reached America in the early 1600's. The navigators of those 17th century cargo ships crossed the ocean by using the night sky to find their own bearings, bringing coffee and a new daily custom that would last for centuries to American shores. The book tells a great story about coffee's simplicity and ultimate journey.
At the same time, we were also paying a lot of attention to the boom in craft distilling and high end coffee. A gin and tonic suddenly meant options; what kind of gin did you want and which one of ten tonics for the fizz? Menus suddenly included a page of Negroni options, not just one. Meanwhile, there didn't seem to much thought about the coffee for the humble Irish coffee or espresso martini.
That's when we knew we wanted to do our own coffee and Bearings Coffee released its first product in March, 2017. Sure, we’re interested in flavor. But we’re also fascinated by the power of coffee to bring people together, and the stories that very human connection can create.
Because it’s a cultural connection, coffee is an important part of our lives. But since we're a business, our aim is to be a successful one. Our primary purpose is to share that success with good citizenship organizations in our community. We also hope that our coffee can help you discover what’s possible in your own hometown.
How do we create our coffees?
Research: We look at coffee cocktails, stories about coffee pioneers, cultural occasions and think about a coffee for them.
Science: We create a taste profile to match the drink or story in consultation with taste specialists in the coffee industry.
Geography: With that taste profile in-hand, we look at what coffee producing regions are in season and match them up.
Action: Once we know our source countries, we collaborate with skilled coffee roasters who help us prepare great stuff.
What kind of coffees do we work with?
We only work with coffees that are directly traceable back to a farm or a processing mill at country of origin. Each coffee must be certified by the importer as been paid for fairly and we look for the following certifications: Organic, Certified Organic, Rainforest Alliance certified, UTZ certified, Non-GMO certified and Smithsonian Bird Sanctuary certified.
If you’d like to collaborate with us, we’re happy to chat! Send a note to: owner@bearingscoffee.com
Disclaimer: We didn't invent coffee. It's been around a very long time ;-)
