The coffee process

It occurred to me that some people would like to know a little bit more about the coffee they're ordering. So here goes...

1. We start with the finest beans from Café Imports. Café Imports is a trusted partner in the coffee trade. They're more than just a coffee importer. They work with the coffee farmers from around the world to improve the communities in which the coffee is grown. Sustainability is their main goal, providing me with years of flavor and quality data on all the coffees that we order.

2. We roast on demand. You order, we roast. We don't have pre-roasted inventory laying around waiting for you to order. You see, coffee has delicate nuances that start to fade after about ten days. We want you to experience these! So, we ask our customers to drink our coffee in a timely fashion. Don't save it for special occasions. Please don't put it in the fridge or freezer. A cool, dark place in your kitchen cabinet will be just fine.

3. We ask for patience in receiving your order. Freshly roasted coffee must "rest" in a bag for a least 36 hours before being ground. If you order whole bean we will ship out a soon as is roasted.

4. All of our coffee goes out in a special bag with a one-way valve to let air out but not in. Air can decrease the freshness of your coffee so please try to close the bag as completely as possible.

Thank you for reading and enjoy your coffee. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask on the comment section below. Soon, I will be adding a recipe section to this blog for weighs and measurements for different coffee procedures. Stay tuned and remember that 'Life is too short to drink crappy coffee'.

Trimming fruit trees

In the late winter, it is always fun to dodge the cold rainy weather and freezing temperatures to find time to trim your fruit trees. In the early years of owning an orchard, this process didn't take that long. The trees were small and the decisions that we had to make regarding future fruit production and growth were not that pressing. However, in year 5, we are finding that the task is a bit more daunting. You see, fruit will only bloom from one year old wood, so we must remove up to a 1/3 of the tree and still leave fruiting branches that are strong enough the withstand the weigh of the oncoming fruit. Also, not every tree made it though the winter, so we remove the dead trees and count them for replacement. In year 5, this has become a lot of work, but is necessary to the productiveness of the upcoming season. We try to use the wine glass shape for all fruit trees to allow for the greatest level of air and light to penetrate the branches and fruit. We expect up to 50 pounds of fruit from most of the bigger trees(approx. 150), maybe more, fingers crossed. With the size of this job this year, you may drive by and see me in a parka, trimming trees! But I'll be wearing shorts still, because I don't wear pants! More to follow after bud break which should be around March 15th. See ya then & happy farming.

Winter Hive Update

Our girls are coming out of winter strong! 10 of 10 so far so good.

With so many snow days mixed with some unseasonably warm days, we were a little concerned about our hives. This is our first winter as new beekeepers and we have heard from many people that we would lose half our hives the first year. We planned well and erred on the side of caution, and they appear to be doing just fine.

On days it gets above 50 degrees, they are out and about, ready to get to work. Unfortunately, there is no pollen yet. I have been finding them congregating in the chicken feed pans and on the blueberry bushes where we throw our coffee grounds. Now I know their secret to staying so busy. They like coffee too!

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