For the month of August our staff and guests to the La Marzocco Cafe have been delighted with the coffees and menu items offered by Campos Coffee of Sydney, Australia. As our fourth Roaster in Residence in our monthly changing line-up, we want to say thanks to the entire Campos team for a successful and seamless month. Campos provided Seattleites, and those who traveled from beyond, a true representation of the Australian coffee scene with their high-quality coffees, toast, and signature affogato.
Looking ahead to September, we are pleased to welcome Counter Culture Coffee as our next Roaster in Residence! Headquartered in Durham, NC, Counter Culture focuses on sourcing quality coffee, roasting, sustainability and education. Counter Culture does not operate their own cafes, but offer exemplary coffee education and support to their wholesale partners and to the public by operating training centers that span 11 cities across the country.
Counter Culture’s residency at the La Marzocco Cafe is shaping up to be filled with fun events, education, and special guests. They will be hosting a launch party on Wednesday, August 31st where they will be introducing themselves and sharing free coffee with the Seattle community. As an extension of what they do in their training centers, representatives from Counter Culture will be hosting Friday Tastings each week at 10 am. One of their featured coffees, Idido, comes from a small village in Ethiopia where Counter Culture has been purchasing and forming relationships for a decade. Special guests will arrive throughout the month including USBC Champions Lem Butler (2016), Laila Willbur (2014), Katie Carguilo (2012) and the 2013 World Brewers Cup Champion Erin McCarthy. Each will be serving the signature drink/brew method that won them their title.
For the past 20+ years, Counter Culture has strived to build their business with a continued focus on sustainability. In their 2015 Transparency Report, Counter Culture Founder and President, Brett Smith states, “As part of our efforts to build a business through the lens of sustainability we first made it a part of our vision statement. By clearly stating, “Counter Culture is committed to real social, environmental and fiscal sustainability” we made it real. From the supply chain, to the building materials used in our facilities, to employee benefits, we have tried to filter our decisions through the sustainability lens.”
By sharing their Transparency Report, Counter Culture holds itself accountable to push for environmental, fiscal and social improvements. In the report, they share details such as their annual carbon offset, Free On Board pricing, dollars donated to employees to support their own sustainability projects, and set goals for future years–a degree of transparency that is unique in the coffee industry. To read more about it, go to the sustainability section on their website.
Counter Culture takes over the cafe beginning Tuesday, August 30th. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more details as they emerge!
Thanks again to Campos Coffee for the huge effort that was put into making their residency a success. We’ll be serving their menu through Monday, August 29th.
