Batdorf & Bronson is a company based out of both Olympia, Washington, and right here in Atlanta. The two branches work very closely with one another, right down to performing calibrations via Skype to ensure identical taste across the United States. The company has a commitment to ethical and responsible coffee. Not only do they use fair trade coffee, they also order coffee directly from the plantations where the beans are harvested. Additionally, they use 100% renewable energy, including natural gas and solar energy.
If you haven't heard of Batdorf & Bronson, you may have heard of their coffee shop in downtown Decatur: Dancing Goats. The name comes from the story of how coffee was first discovered. According to legend, an Ethiopian goat herder noticed his flock dancing energetically after eating little red cherries.
Batdorf & Bronson coffee is also brewed at some of my favorite places around Atlanta: Highland Bakery, West Egg Café, Bakeshop, Murphy's, Miller Union, Watershed, Ria's Bluebird, Alon's, and Aurora, to name a few.
Batdorf & Bronson also supplies coffee to Cacao, an Atlanta-based chocolatier.
The tour was led by Jason Dominy, Batdorf & Bronson's Head of Bean Knowledgy (yes, that's a real word) and all-around coffee enthusiast. No, "enthusiast" seems like a bit of an understatement. This dude has a tattoo of a coffee bean; I think it's safe to say he pretty much lives and breathes it.
Jason's passion for the subject at hand made it interesting and relevant to everyone in the room...even the one or two people who said they don't drink coffee!
We learned about the entire process from harvesting to roasting, which included an explanation of equipment that I had never seen before.
Yep, the roaster had an Elvis figurine on it. I'm telling you - these guys have personality!
I was really excited to learn about the burlap sacks that the coffee comes in. Sounds silly, I know, but trust me...they were beautiful.
Best of all, guess what they do with the bags once the beans are used? They sell them to benefit Coffee Kids, an organization that provides resources like healthcare to the coffee plantations. Affordable burlap and a good cause? I might need to make myself some new patio furniture pillows...
We finished up the tour in The Lab where Jason, an award-winning barista, demonstrated serious hand-brewing skills.
We concluded our tour with the most incredible iced coffee I've ever had.
If you live in the Atlanta area and enjoy coffee and/or learning about socially responsible agriculture, I highly recommend this tour. The next one is Wednesday, August 10th at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $25, and the roastery smell alone is worth that price! Be sure to check out Atlanta Culinary Tours' website for more information.
Have you ever toured a coffee roastery? What kinds of things did you learn?
6 comments:
Your grandparents, your mother, your aunt Carol and I toured a coffee roastery in the Dominican Republic over 30 years ago (yikes? that long ago?). The presence of such lovely young things distracted the workers and a whole batch of beans was inadvertently over-roasted. The manager gave the workers hell for that. I felt badly for them, and sort of proud at the same time. I learned I am more beautiful than a coffee bean.
Risa and I toured a farm in Kona where we got to see the stuff grown. Even got to pick off a cherry, pop it open and eat the bean raw. It doesnt taste all that good but its just interesting. The hand-pour-over-drop method (pictured) is becoming more popular and I like the iPad keeping time. Part of me wants to get the stuff for that method but I already have 4 different ways to make coffee. :).
Costa Rican is fantastic. I typically get that whenever I can.
The Clever Dripper used in that photo is less than $20 (probaby closer to $15) and uses standard Mellitta style filters. With proper technique (easy to master) it delivers results that are in between French press and vacuum pot in terms of body (closer to French press but without sludge.) Easy to use, easy to clean up and very consistent. Highly recommended. I use a manual pourover with very specific technique when time permits but the Clever is so easy that I leave one at work and one at my GF's house for all of my home-away-from-home coffee.
Thanks for such a great recap post, and kind words about the tour! And yes, Owen's right, the Clever Dripper cost is around $15, the scale can be bought for about $25, the filters bought at your local grocery store. A good burr grinder will run you about $100, but after than you can make great coffee all the time one cup at a time, and a stellar iced coffee, too.
Again, thanks for such a nice post, you are welcome at the Roastery anytime!
How neat! I would love to tour roastery (is that what it's called?)
Jessica, email me at jdominy@batdorf.com, and we'll set up a tour for you because of your connection to Julia!
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