August 2021: Espanola Coffee Roasters
Secret Sip Coffee Club, with utter jubilance and admiration for our secret August roasting partner, we proudly present Espanola Coffee Roasters. The team operates a world class roastery and have a majestic product line, crafted by a humble roasting genius and founder, to back it up . The masterful team operate a small batch roastery and are changing the coffee game in Espanola, Ontario.
We were so enthused by the founder’s story:
“My name is Dan Massicotte and I am the owner/operator/head roaster for Espanola Coffee Roasters. My coffee journey began at the old A&P (now known as Metro), in the coffee section with my grandmother where she would grind her coffee fresh every week. She would let me have a cup of coffee with her in the morning at 9 years old. Fast forward a few years to my next memorable landmark which was visiting great local coffee shops in Toronto with my aunt. A little while after that, I started out roasting coffee at home after a friend of mine introduced me to it. I was hooked. In 2016 I decided to start a business so I can bring fresh, locally roasted coffee to my hometown and share what I love with others. Along with the help of my wife Mio, my son Benjamin and my daughter Minah, I bring to you Espanola Coffee Roasters. Our goal is to bring you fresh roasted coffee that is ethically sourced and roasted with care. We work closely with our importer Mountain Coffee to bring you high quality coffee that is bought in an ethical and transparent way.”
Espanola Coffee Roasters, truly values the entire supply chain, from the artisan farmers and producers growing the coffee and processing it with care - to their importer who deals with the farmers, offers respect and pays them well for their hard work - to the roaster who tries to bring out the flavor characteristics intrinsic to the coffee - to the retailer who is making it easy for you to buy a great product. The process from bean to cup is a complicated one, so the team does their part to make sure everyone is taken care of, or else great coffee may not be around for our future generations to enjoy.
Remarkable, the team donates to World Coffee Research, a not-for-profit organization. Their mission statement is: "Grow, protect, and enhance supplies of quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of the families who produce it".
This month’s exquisite coffee was a rare single origin from the Jerico, Antioquia region of Colombia, where Campesino’s main warehouse is located. Jerico is a small and very Catholic town, home to Colombia’s only canonized saint, Madre Laura (Mother Laura). The town maintains a rich coffee culture, but has limited access to resources. Campesino set-up shop in Jerico in 2016, providing a new option to the farmers to sell their coffee at a much higher price, in addition to forming a personal relationship with the team at Espanola Coffee Roasters. This blend is made up of 20+ farms and growing, each lot cupped regularly to find the perfect balanced cup that best represents the town of Jerico and its distinct profile.
The coffee beans were fully washed Coffee, with the floaters taken out by hand. This micro-lot was grown at between 1700-2000 MASL and contained the Dos Mil, Caturra, and Castillo varietals. The TASTING NOTES were a lovely marriage of caramel, orange, and honey, with medium acidity, and clean / silky body.
Secret Sip Coffee Club, aka the best coffee club in Canada 😊 is so pleased to have partnered with Espanola 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 Espanola Coffee Roasters, check out their website below: