Zero Prophet Coffee LLC
a microroaster in Washington CT
since January 2007
uses a Diedrich HR-1
As much ZPC coffee as possible is certified by one of the organizations known by these three labels; if it’s not, if we carry it, it is probably organic anyway, just not certified. This is because the coffee importers ZPC relies on always look for shade-grown, organic, bird-friendly, cooperatively-owned, equitable-profit-sharing growers, whether they’re certified or not. Why wouldn’t they be certified? A lot of coffee comes through direct trade with small holders and coops that are not certified because they’re too small. And for some reason, the available coffee from India, Kenya, and some other places is never certified, so coffee importers go there in person to find out how things are done. Their reports are readily available on the web. ZPC gets most of its green beans from Sweet Maria’s, the Coffee Project, and Coffee-Tea-Etc. More information on all the coffee ZPC roasts can be found at those sites & links are in the blogroll. Contact info is at the top of the List page, in case you’d like to write with questions or want to make an order. Everything is roasted fresh to order and packaged in simple, compostable bags (unfortunately we can’t mail you coffee or take payments on line, but if you’re located near us, we can work out something!).
NOTES ON ROASTING
Coffee is roasted to its optimum level, which varies from bean to bean, but Vienna roast (for most beans this is full city, or just into second crack) suits most of the beans we carry. Vienna roast is equivalent to northern italian espresso. A lighter roast suits pacamara, maragogype, and most beans from Brasil, Kenya & Ethiopia. A slightly darker roast (full city + to french roast) is dialed up for monsooned beans and some beans used in blends. On the List page, (e) denotes coffee that is especially well-suited for espresso.
Blends tend to mix complementary beans and roast levels & sometimes they’re designed for a specific method of brewing coffee (noted on the List). We like what some used to call Copenhagen, a blend of lighter and darker-roasted beans, which is also how one of the finer summits of coffee, Wiener Mélange, is created. Besides Vienna coffee-house style (think Demel), we’re influenced by copious espresso drinking in Italy, and such stateside standards as Peet’s. We did a summer job gig at Porto Rico Coffee on Bleecker Street back in the 80s and otherwise dropped so much $ over the years on micro and macro-roasters alike that the time finally came for some measure of self-control. This is it!
