Email from Vermont Coffee Company

This is a response that we recieved for Paul Ralston, a member of The Vermont Coffee Company. We were very thankful for the answers he gave us. He gave us a better understanding for the coffee industry.

Response:
Hello Michael, Evan, and Aidan,
Thank you for your interest in coffee. I'll do what I can to answer
your questions. Are you all Spanish speakers? Spanish is the
language of coffee, so you are on the right track.

Question 1: Approximately what percentage of the coffee that you
sell is Fair Trade?
Answer: We purchase coffee from all across the coffee lands. All the coffee
we purchase (100%) is certified organic, and all (100%) is purchased
following fair trade guidelines.

Question 2: Approximately what percentage of the coffee that you buy and sell comes from Guatemala, and how is it sold(i.e. espresso, roast, etc.)?
Answer: We purchase a lot of Central American coffees, including Guatemalan.
We also buy coffees from Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
About a third of our coffees come from Central America and Mexico. We
also use coffees from Africa (Ethiopia), Indonesia (Java, Timor,
Sumatra), South America (Peru, Bolivia, Columbia), and the Islands
(Dominican Republic). All in all, we roast between 5,000 and 6,000
pounds per week.

Question 3: How many pounds of coffee beans do you sell in a week? What kind do you sell the most?
Answer: About 20% of that weight is lost in the roaster as
the moisture in the green beans evaporates. That means we sell between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds.
After we import the coffee beans, we bring them to Vermont where we
blend and roast them. Almost all the coffee we sell is a blend of
three or more countries of origin. Blending allows us to mix and
match the different flavors of the different beans. Our best selling
blend is our DARK Roast.

Question 5: How much coffee do you personally drink a day? Do you drink your own coffee?
Answer: The DARK is also my favorite; I usually
drink two cups a day.
If you are ever in Middlebury, stop by and say hello.

Paul Ralston
Check out our web site...
vermontcoffeecompany.com
Vermont Coffee Company
1197 Exchange Street, Suite 3
Middlebury, Vermont 05753
802 398-2776