In 2017 we got as lucky as we ever have and found a coffee roaster in our price range! Since then we have been doing our best on our ole beauty, a 1988 Probat L-12. Endless trial and error, testing, tasting, and putting out fires until we figured it out. Recently we hit our threshold and couldn't keep up on our roaster anymore. Almost a year ago I reached out to Mill City Roasters to inquire about upgrading. They were amazing, guiding us in the right direction on efficiency, quality, and scalability. After a flurry of annoying questions coming from me we decided on our brand new MCR-10 which showed up a couple of weeks ago. Not only can we...
Well, the day has come! Yesterday was our first day open at our brand new Fenwick café location, and I thought i'd reflect on it here! Nov 29th, 2023 is day one on Foss rd, our second home. This project never seemed like it was on our horizon until we were standing right in front of it. Before we knew it, our new roasting HQ turned into a bright, micro Black Sheep. Prior to yesterday we'd spent 45 fridays selling bread and coffee to this beautiful rural location to locals from our roasting space. We were immediately greeted and welcomed by "Fenwickians" and we felt an overwhelming sense of homeyness. With one full day in the...
This is our worst kept secret.. In the next couple weeks we are opening our second café location and new roasting headquarters! Opening another café was not something we thought we had in the cards but when the opportunity to open in the beautiful Fenwick countryside presented itself, we couldn't pass it up. Like our Welland location, our Fenwick shop will focus on community, quality coffee, and friendships. The biggest difference will be 2-fold: Firstly, aesthetically it is the opposite of Welland. It's bright, white, and features historical pieces from the original build that survived a fire 30+ years ago. Our goal is to feel like "Black Sheep" but show off another side of our personality. The second difference will...
The truth is "dark roast" is treated like a faux pas in coffee, like a dirty set of words. Dark roast coffee in specialty is new and complicated, so what should we do about it? To make it easy we need to figure out the "why" in specialty. If specialty coffee is synonymous with ethical sourcing and high quality, then why can't dark roast offer that? Truth be told, I'm not a fan of dark roast coffee but many people in my family and friends circle swear by it. As an industry we can leverage the popularity of dark roast coffee to introduce people to specialty. Maybe we can go as far as treating dark roast like a gateway drug...
Seriously? Coffee competition?
For those that don't work in coffee this may come as a surprise but coffee competitions are real, and a load of fun! What's the point? Well, specialty coffee is a relatively in industry in general, especially so in Canada. These comps help to build excitement and foster community amongst coffee professionals and enthusiasts.
On June 17th, Katie and I will be competing in our first coffee comp in The Barista League a friendly and fun event that focusses on Community, Accessibility, and Sustainability. We chose the name "The Brewlyweds" for somewhat obvious reasons.
If you want to come party with us, click here ♥️
