April 2019's Roaster of the Month: 94 Celcius
Secret Sip is psyched to welcome Montreal’s 94 Celcius as our April roaster. 94 Celcius’s founder, Marc-Alexandre, inspired us with his commitment to social justice and gender equality. After working for many years in the science industry, his love for coffee grew after a trip to France, where upon return to Canada he began experimenting with different roasting techniques in a 1970s popcorn popper. From there, 94 Celcius was born. From the start, Marc-Alexandre envisioned 94 Celcius as an opportunity to build community and to positively contribute to people’s lives around the world. Marc-Alexandre is particularly passionate about helping women in coffee harvesting countries that lack resources to sustain their own ventures. As a result, he launched the “Femmes Productrices” initiative that assists female farmers with developing sustainable businesses. In their first 18 months of business, 94 Celcius has helped six female founders achieve independence as entrepreneurs.
One of these farmers is Francisca Chacon, owner and operator of Las Lajas farm in Costa Rica. Following the devastating earthquake that hit the country in 2008, Francisca worked extremely hard to salvage her harvest. A student of agronomy, she studied a production technique used in Africa to dry the coffee beans inside their fruits without using water. This innovation allowed for a quick return to producing high quality, certified organic coffee.
94 Celcius roasts their coffee rigorously using real-time monitoring of their roasting curves, allowing them to obtain extremely consistent roasts and achieve specific tasting notes. This month, 94C contributed a vibrant Ethiopian roast, offering notes of pineapple, wild berries, and chocolate milk.
Secret Sip Coffee Club is so pleased to have partnered with 94 Celcius to bring you this month's secret roast, and what we believe to be, one of Canada’s best coffees. To learn more about 94 Celcius, check out their website below: