One of the more seldom discussed side effects of developing a great office coffee culture is the thirst for more – more flavor, more variety and more opportunities to get caffeinated.
This thirst has fueled a real boom in the artisan coffee industry, bringing more and more small, independent coffee shops into the cities. And with these independent coffee shops come a collection of brilliant ideas, contacts at different estates and different techniques.
Locally roasted coffee offers “more” to your favorite coffee drinkers in so many ways we have highlighted four of our favorite perks to choosing locally roasted coffee for your break room.
A matter of freshness
When it comes to choosing coffee, any expert will tell you that the fresher your beans are the better your brew will be. Finding a great source of locally roasted coffee is one of the best ways to guarantee your coffee is at the absolute peak of freshness. Local coffee roasters are more likely to visit the estates their beans come from, take extended tours through regions to pick the very best coffees to fulfill their vision of an ideal finished product.
Local roasters order what they need, roast what they can sell and use in the ideal timeframe and ensure that beans they are distributing never travel so far that they are past their prime at the point of brewing. Batches are smaller, which means roasters can have tighter quality control and more finite delivery options. This means fresher coffee for the coffee enthusiasts in your life.
Local coffee tastes great
Naturally, the flavor of your coffee is in part down to the freshness of the beans you are using to brew it. Locally roasted coffee has a great taste advantage because of its freshness, but there is more to the great flavor of locally roasted coffee than beans so fresh they are almost warm.
You see, your local NJ coffee roasters are used to serving some of the best coffee available to the people in your area – they know their audience and have honed their craft to produce roasts that appeal to the palates of local people. What’s more, they are used to brewing coffee with the same water you are using – and because a good cup of coffee is over 98 percent water, being able to produce roasts, that yield optimum flavor with your water is a huge advantage.
Support the local community
Whether you are buying your coffee as an individual or as a business with a presence in the area, developing a relationship with your local coffee roasters is well worth the time you will invest. By getting to know the area’s coffee vendors – and, of course, sampling locally roasted coffee around the neighborhood – you are engaging with the local community in an important way.
Coffee is an innately social substance, trying the wares of local merchants gives you a direct personal connection to the people in the community. By investing your coffee dollars into those same local businesses, you support the community you are part of, which speaks volumes to those who drink coffee with you, wherever you enjoy your daily cup of Joe. With one simple decision to stock your office break room with locally roasted coffee, you provide a bump to the local economy and give your firm a nonchalant public relations boost.
Enjoy the variety
No one wants to risk getting coffee that is subpar, which is part of the beauty of those national brands we all love so much. National brands are great for reliability. Companies like Starbucks, who started as an ordinary shop providing great locally roasted coffee to the heart of Seattle, offer a wide selection of roasts that are readily available and give predictable results with whatever coffee brewing system you choose to use. But, variety is the spice of life, and being able to explore new coffee frontiers is a huge part of the joy that coffee can bring into your kitchen or break room.
The beauty of working with local coffee roasters is that you are able to sample your way through the seasons, trying amazing batches of artisan coffee. Because local roasters are not beholden to mass market distribution agreements, shareholders or any of the other potential pressures that national names fall victim to, they are free to produce experimental roasts, source beans from a variety of growers in different regions and even offer bespoke roasts for loyal customers.
If you are ready to savor the flavor of locally roasted coffee without trekking across town, or setting foot out of the building, contact our team of experts at Corporate Essentials. With close to two decades of experience in the office coffee business, we have great connections to local coffee roasters and are well placed to help you bring a taste of the neighborhood into your break room.
