High service roasters do more than just roast coffee
Social and environmental issues are regularly championed and emphasized by retailers, roasters and coffee-related media.
Many retailers and quality roasters go above and beyond the necessary and practical issues of business survival and growth by extending their reach into community enhancing projects, both local and global.
Of course, many other (non-coffee) businesses are also intimately involved in helping to make their communities and the world a better place in which to live. But my perception is that the specialty coffee world does a better and more consistent job of heralding and promoting that kind of involvement among its ranks. Several truly high service roasters seem especially devoted to issues beyond their bottom lines.
Locally — that is, in Wisconsin and the Midwest — there are some quality roasters who not only provide excellent, fresh-roasted coffee to their retailers but who also make it known that part of their businesses involve bettering their communities.
Alterra Roasters, for example, is a Milwaukee roaster that has experienced impressive growth since opening its first café in 1994. With at least nine Alterra cafés and many retail outlets, the company focuses not only on roasting quality coffee but also on partnering with community organizations that promote the arts, education and environmental issues, primarily in the Milwaukee area.
Alterra's support of Second Harvest of Wisconsin is noteworthy. This organization distributes millions of pounds of food each year to people who need it in our state. The company donates a small portion of its sales to the cause and, perhaps more importantly, has raised awareness for Second Harvest's efforts to feed hungry ...