Hello, James here from Highwood Coffee. We wanted to let you know how we’re doing.

First off I’d like to thank a few people for sending us some amazing feedback about our coffee. We’ve had lots of praise through Instagram shoutouts. Which is awesome to see. We have had some constructive criticism too which we take seriously. (It’s the only way we’ll grow)

Stuff like; Label, Packaging, Roast date, Volume (the amount of coffee we roast)

First I’d like to address the coffee we roast and maybe why it seems like we always have the same thing. We’re considered a “Micro” roaster at this point (150lbs or less per month)

We have partnered with a consultant who owns his own roastery and pay consulting fees for our own profiles like Chimbu, Hygge and others. We also pay fee’s on every bag for our time share on the roasting equipment. Eventually when we’ve sold enough coffee we will buy the same brand of roaster and start our own coffee shop. We see this as a 5-10 year plan. In the mean time we have partner farms that we deal with and basically stick to those coffee’s so in reality we might make new profiles but it’s really all the same coffee. Once we grow some you’ll notice that we’ll start to bring in more variety. Again keep in mind that we consider shipping as one of our highest carbon footprint activities. So we would prefer to ship with others in higher volumes. Some roasters including roasters which use the bellwether system do a LOT of shipping!!

• Labels, We’ve been asked to attempt to include more information on the label or on the back of the bag as to where our beans come from. You’ll see more effort on our part in coming months to give more information on the bag. We also want to point out that we have all of our farmer profiles in our blog.

• Packaging, We have gone from a cheap bag to zip-loc increasing our costs on packaging about 1150% (NO JOKE) as soon as we’re able to sell 10,000 bags of coffee a year we’ll buy printed bags.

• Roast date, This has been a non-issue for us. We roast 25 bags at a time and we sell them out. We will not roast more until their sold or given to charity this goes for light roasts, decafe (our lowest volume sellers) Our fresh guarantee is 8 weeks or less, If the coffee isn’t sold in 8 weeks then we put the coffee on sale. If it’s not sold yet then we put it in a bin and we contact one of the charities that has emailed us in the previous weeks or months. For a silent auction or plain old give away. We test a bag from each batch every week for our own consumption which we take video and pictures of the brew process to analyze. For our espresso machine it seems like the best point is about the 12-13 day mark. If brewing espresso on day one. it’s buzzy and foamy.. The first few days is only good via French press. Then pour over, then espresso machine. Frankly we still get slightly thick foamy results at the 6 week mark. Which when comparing with the grocery store is still infinitely fresher when you read the dates. (The reason why we started roasting our own is we would buy local roasters at co-op and found them to be a 8-12 months old. Even Costco had 10-12month old coffee. We decided it was time to start my coffee shop dream by roasting our own coffee knowing it would be much fresher than our competitors)

  Lastly. We 100% do intend to use roast dates on any coffee sold in stores. If our coffee is picked up for wholesale we will be marking the bag. At the market or delivered to your home you likely will never see a roast date because it’s roasted and sold within a few weeks. We roast 2-3 times a month for reference.

The last thing we wanted to write about is since the first quarter is over we’ve placed our tree order.

Why tress?

Well they do a whole lot more than simply improve our carbon footprint.

AIR

Trees help to clean the air we breathe. Through their leaves and bark, they absorb harmful pollutants and release clean oxygen for us to breathe. In urban environments, trees absorb pollutant gases like nitrogen oxides, ozone, and carbon monoxide, and sweep up particles like dust and smoke. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide caused by deforestation and fossil fuel combustion trap heat in the atmosphere. Healthy, strong trees act as carbon sinks, offset carbon and reducing the effects of climate change.

WATER

Trees play a key role in capturing rainwater and reducing the risk of natural disasters like floods and landslides. Their intricate root systems act like filters, removing pollutants and slowing down the water’s absorption into the soil. This process prevents harmful waterslide erosion and reduces the risk of over-saturation and flooding. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Association, a mature evergreen tree can intercept more than 15,000 liters of water every year

BIODIVERSITY

A single tree can be home to hundreds of species of insect, fungi, moss, mammals, and plants. Depending on the kind of food and shelter they need, different forest animals require different types of habitat. Without trees, forest creatures would have nowhere to call home.

- Young, Open Forests: These forests occur as a result of fires or logging. Shrubs, grasses, and young trees attract animals like black bears, the American goldfinch, and bluebirds in North America.

- Middle-Aged Forests: In middle-aged forests, taller trees begin to outgrow weaker trees and vegetation. An open canopy allows for the growth of ground vegetation preferred by animals like salamanders, elk, and tree frogs.

- Older Forests: With large trees, a complex canopy, and a highly developed understory of vegetation, old forests provide habitat for an array of animals, including bats, squirrels, and many birds.

SOCIAL IMPACT

From arborists to loggers and researchers, the job opportunities provided by the forestry industry are endless. We don’t just rely on trees for work, though. Sustainable tree farming provides timber to build homes and shelters, and wood to burn for cooking and heating. Food-producing trees provide fruit, nuts, berries, and leaves for consumption by both humans and animals, and pack a powerful nutritional punch.

HEALTH

Did you know that hospital patients with rooms overlooking trees recover faster than those without the same view? It’s impossible to ignore that feeling of elation you get while walking through a calm, quiet forest. Trees help reduce stress and anxiety, and allow us to reconnect with nature. In addition, shade provided by tree coverage helps protect our skin from the ever-increasing harshness of the sun. 

CLIMATE

Trees help cool the planet by sucking in and storing harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into their trunks, branches, and leaves — and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. In cities, trees can reduce ambient temperatures by up to 8° Celsius. With more than 50% of the world’s population living in cities — a number expected to increase to 66% by the year 2050 — pollution and overheating are becoming a real threat. Fortunately, a mature tree can absorb an average of 22lbs of carbon dioxide per year, making cities a healthier, safer place to live.

Trees play an important role in the water cycle, grounding the water in their roots and releasing it into the atmosphere.

That’s all for now on the Q1 update. If you have any questions or comments please do email us at sales@highwoodcoffee.ca

Thanks again from Sara,James,Soren,Cameron