Happy New Year and welcome to our new BLOG. To visit or purchase Back Alley Coffee here is our link: www.backalleycoffee.com/shop.htm.
Many have asked how I got into roasting coffee. It began years ago with my passion and desire for coffee that was memorable and delicious. I purchased a small home use air roaster and began buying green coffee from some of the online sources. The coffee that my wife and I enjoyed was excellent. Eventually our friends began asking for some of my coffee and they to became hooked on the fresh roasted flavor of quality beans. It was at that time that I decided that perhaps I could make this a business. This was an arduous adventure, my other business had nothing to do with this one. I had to learn about the many different governmental agencies that would be involved with my new business. I had to research suppliers for bags, labels, heat sealers, coffee suppliers, shipping needs, the list seemed to be endless. At times I felt like giving up but I had spent to much time and money to give up, so I pushed further. I left the old roaster behind and bought my first good sized roaster and put it in a small shop that I had at the back of my house. That is where Back Alley Coffee was born. It was not long before that shop became too small for my needs. I also had a complaint about the smoke from a neighbor. So I rented a small shop in 2006 and have been there since. At first the shop seemed enormous. I have since had to purchase a good sized shed to make room for the expanding coffee business. The town of Carbondale, Colorado has been an awesome place to start a organic coffee roasting business. Much help has been given by the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce http://www.carbondale.com/ . Their desire to see businesses succeed in our town and in the Roaring Fork Valley is shown by their attentiveness to details. People like Charla Combest and Randi Lowenthal at the Chamber of Commerce have truly helped my coffee roasting business grow. Another business that has help me to grow is Blue Tent Marketing. Moira Meyers who is employed by Blue Tent Marketing was instrumental at the very beginning helping me to design, build and get my web site opened to the world. Without these needed team players I would still be selling coffee to my friends. I now sell organic coffee to people around the United States. This is but a brief overview of what I call the basic shell of my business. I will now discuss what makes Back Alley Coffee something special, a place where you might want to buy fresh roasted organic coffee from places like Guatemala, Peru, Kenya, to name a few.
For any business to grow and succeed there has to be passion, desire, and vision.
Back Alley Coffee has become my passion. It started with the love for excellent coffee. It is my passion. If a person doesn’t truly love coffee, his coffee offerings will show his lack of concern. Taste will not hold much weight. Knowing this, I embarked on a learning process that was very intense, reading everything I could get my hands on. Researching the internet. I began experimenting with different coffees trying to find the best farms with the best coffee. I roasted coffees at different degrees of darkness and began developing what I felt were the very best in what a coffee had to offer. My loyal customers must have agreed with my work because my business began growing. It was around this time that I began looking at organic coffee and the farms that were out there. I have to admit that I looked into organic coffee first because public trends seemed to be heading in that direction. But after learning much about organic coffee, I decided that it was the way to go. I now offer an all organic line with the exception my Kenya coffee (to read more about why I carry Kenya coffee go to www.backalleycoffee.com/coffee-beans.htm). I have located organic coffee farms that rival all others in taste. Will my learning process ever end? With the complexities coffee I would say no. Coffee is truly my passion.
What is my desire concerning Back Alley Coffee? My desire is to offer the very best organic coffee available. I have often told my supplier that if a coffee has received higher cupping mark I wanted it, even if it cost more. I have always reasoned that a person would gladly pay a little more for quality. I know I would. Is there opportunity to pay a little less for green coffee and make a few pennies more per bag? Absolutely. The cost of such a decision though would jeopardize my reputation and business. Because of this, my desire is to offer the very best organic coffee and never compromise.
Vision is always an important aspect of any successful business. I know exactly where I want my business go. Growth is always good but growing too fast can be hazardous. My business is slowly growing and in the near future I will add another roaster in my shop. I plan on always being a part of the roasting process and will mainly be concerned about quality of product.
Thank you for buying my product and have a very Happy New Year!
