Despite the amount of coffee I drink, I’m just not a taste expert. So I asked Joseph of Joebella Coffee — an organic, fair trade coffee roaster in central Cali run by Joe and Isabel — how I could work on that.
“Try to say the first thing that comes to your mind. The first taste or aroma that comes to your mind, just blurt it out, and it’s usually right,” Joseph sez.
The problem is that for most coffee I like, the first thing that comes to mind is: Yum. Not terribly descriptive.
Luckily, Joebella coffees come with a lil flavor profile on the front. Joseph sent me some Ethiopian coffee, described as “wild, exotic, intensely concentrated, with subtle blueberry fragrance.”
The coffee was definitely wild, exotic, intensely concentrated, with subtle blueberry fragrance. Also, it was yum.
Most of Joebella’s coffee’s fair trade certified, though some coffee’s bought directly from farms or estates with verified working conditions and wages, like the Terruno Nayarita co-op in Mexico. I tried some of this coffee — It was yum :)
We talked a while about fair trade certification — details to be posted later. What seems a lil crazy to me is that Joseph and Isabel are putting in 7-day weeks, partly cuz Joseph’s still also working in construction. Balancing work’s been harder with the expanding biz — After just 2 years in business, Joebella’s roasting 300 lbs of coffee a week.
Will Joebella open its own coffee shop? “I would like to, but I’m taking my time as far as that goes,” Joseph sez. For now, you can buy Joebella Coffee by the cup at The Gathering Place in Atascadero, Shine Cafe in Morro Bay, Lazy Acres Market in Santa Barbara, New Frontiers Natural Foods in Sonvang, as well as Artisan Restaurant, Manor Grill, and Serendipity in Paso Robles.
Joebella Coffee. Atascadero, Calif. 805.461.4822.
October 14th, 2006 at 6:22 am
Wow, woke up this morning and there is a review of Joebella coffee on Greenlagirl,- cool. Thanks Siel. Just to clarify about the Terrunu Nyarita- we purchase those beans from an import broker who travels extensively to countries of origin, and has been to visit the co-op, and came back with a shining report of the efforts made toward social and environmental sustainability and QUALITY. Outside of the Fair Trade umbrella, Quality is an important part of the equation in order for these small holder farmers to receive their quality premiums, thereby improving the economic sustainability for themselves and their communities.
When we cup coffee, we do it with a spoon! Its a noisy, messy, fun time. Its also serious , important work for us to monitor quality control, and develop roasting profiles. There is a good description of coffee cupping here: http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm
Have the day you want! –Joseph–
October 16th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
I want a good day devoid of anything bad! Actually, it’s late at night, so I want that for tomorrow –
Thanks for the cupping link :) We’ll have to talk more about the whole quality issue soon –
August 10th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I know this article is a little old, but you may want to know that Joseph opened his first café in Templeton! See http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Joebella.Coffee.Roasters.805-434-2479
I was the Food Service consultant, so I’ve posted photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ASpaceInTime/JoebellaCoffee