WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsAn effort to distribute fair trade coffee is Positively Wisconsin
Member Center:
MADISON (WKOW) -- When coffee is your business, you bring the world to you. Anyone else would look at bags of raw coffee beans and see only a commodity. At "Just Coffee," however, the owner sees so much more.
"It's an incredibly long hard process, and I think it's worth more than what people have been getting paid," said co-founder Matt Earley.
Earley and the others at Just Coffee make regular trips to visit the farmers who are doing all that hard work. They even bring their customers along.
"Because when people see how their decisions affect other people's lives they want to help," he said. "That's just how we are as people.
It turns out that those people are willing to pay a little more for an outstanding cup of coffee... to the tune of $1.2 million last year. "We were hoping to do 40-grand worth of business, so it got out of control really fast."
That's why they're busy roasting every day, all day. A serious-looking flame heats the air in the roaster to about 600 degrees Fahrenheit. That's what it takes to turn green beans that are hard as rocks into coffee that's dark, aromatic, and crushable.
When you're working around what's essentially a jet engine all day, sound can be an issue. That's why they built a room out of old refrigeration panels to keep the noise down.
The noise, however, is worth it when you see the final result. "It's a slow roast to get good dark coffee that people really like," said Dave Miller.
The smell is unbelievable. It's the result of a world-conscious effort that's positively Wisconsin.
Just Coffee does business in 30 different states, though it's primarily focused in the Midwest. It offers about twelve different varieties of coffee at any one time, and it does business with thirteen different countries on four different continents.
Online reporting by Roland Beres.
Follow Roland on Twitter @beres_wkow
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
Police say the 12-year-old victim landed on her back during a free fall ride at Extreme World and is in critical condition. She was unconscious when she was taken by Medflight to UW Hospital. More>>
A baby and mom are doing fine after an emergency delivery at a Madison fire station.
Firefighters say they were just wrapping up dinner when they heard a page. A woman was going to give birth and she was headed their way. More>>
William SorensonDane County Sheriff David Mahoney said a man who died as the result of a shoot out with sheriff's deputies in the Town of Dunkirk had called a friend before the violence and said his goodbyes, telling the friend he "intended to die." More>>
There is grieving among the ranks of Madison city workers over the death of a man as the result of an officer-involved shooting in the town of Dunkirk. More>>
The American Red Cross is assisting a Waterloo family who is without a home after a fire Thursday. More>>
A fixture of past UW football team trips to play UNLV in Las Vegas may be missing this year - the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. More>>
Authorities in Dodgeville say they were called to Centennial Park where they began separating the teams and breaking up the fights. Once they had both teams calmed down, they were told about a person in the stands who had punched one of the coaches. That person was taken from the stands and arrested. More>>
A 39-year-old Verona man is accused of offering a woman fifty bucks if she would find him an 8-year-old girl to have sex with. More>>
photo by Brian FlanaganThe owner of Matt Kenseth's NASCAR team is transferred following surgery More>>
Officials broke ground for the new building project. More>>
