Coffee Interview: 35 North Coffee Company

Recently, I interviewed the folks over at 35 North Coffee Company. They were nice enough to answer a few questions about their history, what they offer, and how they support social justice in Africa. Stay tuned, later in the week I will be reviewing three of their coffees. You can find their website at www.35northcoffeeco.com and follow them on Twitter @ 35NorthCoffeeCo Without further ado, please enjoy!

1. Can you give a short history of 35 North Coffee Co.?

35 North was born out of the desire to deliver seriously good coffee to people while maintaining social responsibility through Fair Trade Certified coffee & giving to organizations that help the needy.

2. What separates NCC from other coffee roasters?

We love this question. It is our "On Demand Roasting" schedule. We only roast the coffee once you order it. Furthermore we will only roast your order if we can ship it the same day, if not we will roast & ship the following business day. We do this so that we can deliver truly fresh coffee to customers. Try calling other coffee companies & telling them that you would like your coffee roasted just for you. Chances are they'd tell you to take a hike.

3. On your website, NCC has three goals, "1). Sell the freshest possible coffee at fair prices 2). Pay coffee farmers a fair wage 3). Help children who have been abandoned." Could you explain more about how NCC helps children who have been abandoned?

Sure, our chief roaster, Matt Hensley spent two years living & working with problems of injustice in South Africa such as human trafficking, drug addiction, child headed homes, abused children and many other things. While there he did some work for Baby Safe (www.thebabysafe.org).

In South Africa, a nation plagued by poverty & HIV mothers literally throw their babies in the trash. Baby Safe works to save these abandoned children as well as counsel at risk pregnant moms-to-be in order to show them that they can be good parents or to inform them of the adaption process so that these babies are not thrown away. We give a portion of our profits directly to Baby Safe.

4. If you had to choose you favorite NCC coffee, what would it be and how would you brew it?

We love our Broadway Blend we consider it our flagship. This is one of the most unique blends we have tasted, of course we are biased. It is a medium roast with Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Mexico Chiapas & Peru SHB. It has a medium-light body with medium acidity. The coffee gives hints of citrus, nuts & chocolate. It is a far cry from most of the over roasted "Dark" blends that are so prevalent on grocery store shelves these days. Of course it is "On Demand Roasted" so this makes it even better because the flavors have not gone away due to the coffee going stale.

5. What can customers expect when buying from 35 North Coffee Company?

Customers can expect a few things: "On Demand Roasting," or coffee roasted just for them. One of the freshest cups of coffee on the market. Smooth coffee filled with flavor.

6. If given a choice between Folgers and Maxwell House, what would you personally choose?

I think I speak for all of us here that we would choose to stay in bed. Is that an option or we required to choose one.

Many thanks again to the people at 35 North Coffee Company.

(I apologize for the formating oddities, Blogger doesn't like pasted text.)