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What do you do with all that Burlap?
What do you do with all that Burlap? Short answer; it never goes to waste. 99.9% of all the coffee we import arrives in large burlap or jute bags. Since the Fresh Roasted Ideas blog is all about exploring the uses of coffee bi-products. I thought it would be neat to share some of the things we do with all that material. Makers love them, so we reserve some of the choice patterns for purchase at the store. We have donated big stacks to a local Girl Scout troop for making projects. Ground Cover – as...
Coffee Pallet Bookcase
This is our new series where we share how we give new life to commonly discarded items that pass through our coffee roastery. If you like the upcycled and repurposed life then you will love these little Fresh Roasted Ideas. The "Borrowed Tools" Pallet Bookcase I walk by it every roast day, standing there dutifully doing its work. The Borrowed Tool Bookcase is just that; a bookcase made with minimum tools and a discarded pallet. In our case a coffee hauling pallet. The pallet was heat treated, clean and remember, I'm not a structural engineer, but a coffee roaster. The...
Fresh Roasted Ideas
Announcing Fresh Roasted Ideas A blog and newsletter re-focus on the “whole-bean”. In addition to our regular updates, we invite you to join the conversation about what happens after the brew and before. Our industry has an abundance of bi-products that seldom get put to good use, and we are changing that on a small scale and hope to inspire others as well. Topics like coffee pallet work benches or our “Infinity Chicken Coup”, named such because once completed it’s instantly producing more than it costs (that’s the idea anyway) and our adventures building, crafting and growing all...
Miraculous
While roasting some beautiful beans the other day I was stuck in my own head as often is the case. Looking at the miraculous coffee bean. It’s really not a bean at all, but a seed of the coffee cherry. I was imagining all the potential it has in it’s current state as well as the potential it had further into it’s past. Thoughts turned to the cracking & popping of the beans about to hit their ideal condition in the roaster and I proceeded to get the cooling area ready to receive them. The door opened and whooshed...
Quiet Moments:
Quiet Moments:If you are like me, you might at times feel like a gerbil in its wheel. Everyday’s household chores and work, children and family activities, being available for everyone and having to cope with it all, is a heavy load for a person to carry. Our days are filled with obligations while our nights seem too short and restless. I find myself looking for time alone, just to take a breath and try to relax . It is odd that relaxation and coffee go hand in hand but, for me it is the ideal pair. It is a sweet...