February 2021: Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters
Secret Sip Coffee Club couldn’t be more satisfied partnering with a truly passionate dynamic duo, and to officially unveil our February’s secret roasting partner. A lovely small batch roastery and cafe built by a curious engineer and a gastronomic catering master, making some noise out of the Stouffville, Ontario, Velvet Sunrise does not disappoint.
Mark first discovered coffee roasting in a previous career as a civil engineer, when a client introduced him to home coffee roasting. The aroma and flavour in that cup of coffee changed his life forever. From there, Mark fell down the rabbit hole, learning all he could about being a home roaster and barista, until his home carried that same rich aroma he first flirted with in his clients home.
He carried on that way, until the opportunity arose to open up his own roastery and cafe, Velvet Sunrise, with his wife Lisa who had ventured into catering. Leaning into being a wholesale roaster didn’t come without it’s bumps however, as Mark would discover that not everyone in the coffee industry matched his level of knowledge or constant curiosity about all things coffee related. Ten years later, Mark finds himself working with his small team closely day-to-day. Taking time out to talk coffee with people of all experience levels. The Velvet team wouldn't have it any other way. The fact that they're so involved throughout the process, from seed to cup, is the reality of their dreams come true.
This month’s offering to our club members was the Velvet Sunrise’s single origin from Brazil. The Cerrado Mineiro region of Brazil is a world recognized high quality coffee producing origin – the first “Designation of Origin” in Brazil, located in northwest of Minas Gerais State. The characteristics of this delectable cup is intense chocolate and caramel notes, which meld seamlessly into a toasted hazelnut, full body, and a long smooth finish. The fruit notes become more pronounced in lower concentration brews such as Aeropress and pour-over. Notably, the farmer is Vicente Ferreira Gonçalves and the farm is called Escalada. The Catuai variety and natural (dry) process produces a quality cup with minimal water usage, which is made possible due to the extended dry season with moderate temperatures. This coffee is dried on a large concrete patio at the farm. There are 154 bags in this lot. Finally, Paubrasil is named for Brazil’s national tree and exemplifies the consistent quality created by Brazil’s seasoned farmers, who use all available technologies to advance production by growing coffees that offer balanced, smooth profiles, despite the challenge of changing environmental conditions.
Secret Sip Coffee Club is so pleased to have partnered with Velvet Sunrise to bring you this month's secret roast, and what we believe to be, one of Canada’s best coffees. To learn more about Velvet Sunrise, check out their website below: