August 2017's Roaster of the Month: Kaito
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It is official! Secret Sip Coffee Club is one year old and only getting started! Our adventure in pursuit of Canada’s best coffee has allowed us to taste some phenomenal roasts from across this great nation, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share the pinnacle of this artisan craft with our beloved members! This month we partnered with a truly incredible roaster and team to help us celebrate our Birthday. Roasting out of what seems to be one of Canada’s most beautiful roasting facilities. Based out of Hudson, Quebec, we present Kaito Coffee Roasters!
In our many discussions with this roaster’s fantastic and passionate team, we identified one of the most pure forms of positivity and passion towards this craft we have all come to love. Every detail has been meticulously thought through with this collective and is so intertwined with the groups brilliant branding and delectable product. In pursuit of the stories that underline and propel the greatest Canadian micro-roasters, the bar is set very high by the team at Kaito.
“Founded in our hometown of Hudson, Quebec, Kaito aspires to make the simple luxury of great coffee more approachable and accessible to all. With mindfulness and transparency as guiding values, we continually strive to make the most delicious and sustainable coffee, and to share what we love with others who care as deeply as we do.
We've always loved coffee. It’s been an indispensable part of our daily lives for as long as we can remember, though we weren’t always aware of the realities and complexities behind our humble morning cup.
Like so many others, there existed a time when we didn’t know and didn’t question where our coffee came from or how it was processed: we didn’t know that the coffee we drank was usually a mixture of many types of coffees from different places and of varying qualities; we didn’t know that this mishmash of lower quality coffee beans had to be roasted to the point of burning in order to mask their inevitable flavour flaws, resulting in the dark, roasty bitterness that we’d grown accustomed to; and most concerning of all, we didn’t know that coffee as a commodity is an unsustainable model that unfairly exploits coffee farmers and often devastates the grounds on which coffee is cultivated. What we did know is that we loved coffee, and we set out to discover all we could about it.”
Kaito’s brand and coffee philosophy was of extreme interest to us. We wanted to know what the little bird was all about and how it is linked to a passion for coffee.
“Coffee is a beautiful thing, and our goal is to bring out and share its delicate clarity with others who care as deeply as we do. Adopting our name from the ‘kite’ fold that sets the foundation from which our origami bird emblem—Wazo—emerges, Kaito encourages mindful exploration of the world of possibilities that coffee presents.
Part of what is called the ‘specialty’ coffee market, we share the ‘third wave’ philosophy, but prefer to define ourselves as a craft coffee roastery that applies a wholistic approach to our process. In a perfect world, we'd be rid of all these labels, and we hope that the kind of coffee we, and others like us, lovingly develop may one day become the standard of every cup.
Until then, we’re simply doing our part to reveal something beautiful—one fold at a time.”
We loved Kaito’s orientation towards sustainable sourcing from the finest specialty producers around the world which they highlighted as being the foundation of their operation with a focus on building strong and equitable partnerships with like-minded people interested in building awareness and communities while bettering the practices and product of the coffee industry. Most important of all, Kaito roasts all of their magical products with “Shameless Nerdiness”!
“Once in our hands, we look to preserve the highest degree of quality from our specialty grade green coffee and, with our beautiful Loring roaster, we mix equal parts craft and shameless nerdiness into meticulously developing just the right roast profile to unlock the full potential of nuanced flavours inherent in each bean.”
One of the most intriguing and unique elements of Kaito’s operation was the colour collections of their coffee.
“Curating our coffees into coloured collections (Blue, Yellow and Red) based on their flavour profiles, we encourage the exploration and discovery of a dynamic spectrum of taste experiences with friendly guiding advice designed to help you get the most out of your daily ritual.
Flavour is a journey that matters only in the context of you and your enjoyment of the cup in your hands, and it is our privilege to help shine some light on the world of possibilities that coffee presents.
Coffee is a beautiful thing, and our goal is to bring out and share its delicate clarity. Responsibly sourced and meticulously fresh roasted to our exacting standards, we do a lot to make your job delightfully simple—enjoy great coffee.”
This month’s secret roast is called the “LØVE” blend; the story behind which was too good not to tell:
“The name was developed in late March of 2016. It's also when our first child, Leo was born. We wished to pay tribute to our new son by referencing him in our blend name. Turns out Løve means lion in Danish. For English speakers, it also brings to mind the concept love, which is exactly how our Leo came to be. We just couldn't resist.”
As a critical side note, is that for every LØVE blend purchased online, part of the proceeds will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation, which works hard to protect lions, elephants, hippos, gorillas and many other species.
This month’s secret roast masterfully displays rare yet lovely hints of hazelnut, milk chocolate, rich caramel, with a viscous body and world class centre. This coffee drinks well as either a killer espresso or as a filter coffee.
This blend currently consists of Brazil Fazenda Santa Tereza and Colombia Yacuanquer.
Origin: Brazil
Producer: Alexandre Engler, Fazenda Santa Tereza
Region: Alta Mogiana
Altitude: 1000 meters
Plant variety: Yellow Catuai
Processing Method: Natural
Harvest: 2016/2017
Origin: Colombia
Region: Yacuanquer, Nariño
Farm: Smallholder farmers
Plant variety: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia, Typica
Plantation altitude: 1800 - 2100 meters
Processing method: Fully washed
Harvest: 2016
With love to all our members from the owners of Kaito - Holly and Paul
Secret Sip Coffee Club is ecstatic to have partnered with Kaito Coffee Roasters to bring you this month's secret roast, and what we believe to be, one of Canada’s best coffees. To learn more about Kaito Coffee Roasters, check out their amazing website below: