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Business Gifts

Looking for a delicious gift for your corporate customers? Are you looking to send an employee appreciation gift? Maybe you want to send a special thank you. Whatever the reason, we have you covered!

Red Cedar Coffee Co.’s seasonal gift sets are filled with our most popular in-house roasted coffee. Curated to make your gift recipient feel special, each gift set is carefully assembled, wrapped with a bow, and comes with a personalized note card bearing your message.

Download our Corporate Gifts Brochure to shop a selection of popular corporate gifts.

PICK YOUR GIFT

Pick a gift or let us help you find the perfect gift for your recipients! We can provide a quote to keep you on budget.

NOTE CARD & ENVELOPE

Send a gift that reflects your company’s brand. Each gift set will include your personal message in a note card.

ORDER EARLIER DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

The holiday season is hectic! We recommend starting to consider holiday gifts during the fall to give yourself enough time to review your recipient list.

Contact us

Get started by reaching out at info@redcedarcoffee.com or by phone at (440) 260-7509 ext. 3.

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Hello Pumpkin! A brief history of pumpkin spice.

We are entering the season of Pumpkin Spice everything. Adding this savory spice blend to a coffee or espresso just wakes up the senses to the fall.

This fall seasonal flavor has such a following that we were curious about the origins of this combination we decided to investigate.

What is pumpkin spice?

Pumpkin Spice is an aromatic spice blend of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon. While no pumpkin is typically used in this spice blend, the combination is typical for pumpkin pie, so the combination is commonly referred to as pumpkin pie spice.

Coffee and spice trade

The spices found in pumpkin spice were originated on a small group of islands in Indonesia, referred to as the “Spice Islands.”

During antiquity, the region around Indonesia traded to acquire these valuable spices. Ships embarking on the Spice Trade would pass through Yemen, specifically the port of Mocha, on their way to Europe and North Africa.

It was in Yemen where coffee was first grown commercially. Coffee shared the same cargo holds as spices as both became more widely traded.  

Interestingly, the coffee blend Mocha Java is considered the first blend and its name is a nod to coffee bring brought from the port city of Mokka in Yemen to the island of Java in Indonesia.

The Dutch East Indies Trading Company was established by the Dutch for trading spices. In the 1500s and 1600s the Dutch began planning coffee trees on the island of Java in Indonesia. The sheer size of the farms soon meant that Java was the largest coffee producer. Soon, coffeehouses began to spring up in cities like London and Vienna.

Pumpkin desserts in the US

In the 1700s and 1800s, pies in colonial America were often made with squash and fruit unlike the typical savory meat pies of England.  During this time pumpkin were typically consumed as roasted or baked, and to be enjoyed in soups or stews.

In Amelia Simmon’s cookbook, published in 1796, included a recipe for pumpkin pudding. This recipe included cream, sugar, nutmeg, and ginger—not unlike the ingredients of today’s pumpkin spice drinks.

By 1929, Libby’s, began offering a pureed canned pumpkin for making pumpkin pie at home. In 1934, McCormick branded this spice combination as “pumpkin pie spice”.

With the end of sugar rationing after World War II, the demand for pumpkin began to soar. However, most pumpkins grown in the US were for fall decorations and not the edible variety.

Pumpkin and coffee pairing

In 2003, Starbucks was given the credit for creating the pumpkin spice latte as part of their fall seasonal drink offerings. Part of the reason why the pumpkin spice latte was developed during this time was because it was still a novelty flavor.

Now, the demand for pumpkin spiced desserts has expanded to countless desserts including pumpkin scones, pumpkin breads, and pumpkin muffins.

So, sit back and enjoy a cup of pumpkin spice knowing that it is part of a long culinary tradition.

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Decaf Coffee and Roast Style

Ever notice a color difference between roasted decaf coffee beans and caffeinated coffee beans? If you have been enjoying regular coffee and have made the switch to decaf, you might be surprised that the decaf coffee bean looks darker than other caffeinated coffees you have enjoyed.

Swiss Water Processed decaf coffee beans are very different from other coffee beans. While there are several ways to decaffeinate coffee, Red Cedar Coffee Co. only roasts those that have been decaffeinated by Swiss Water Processed.

The decaffeination process takes place in British Columbia, Canada, before the green coffee beans arrive at Red Cedar Coffee Co.  To decaffeinate the coffee beans, the green coffee beans are soaked in hot water for around 8-10 hours to remove the caffeine. During this time the coffee beans swell, become porous, and the caffeine molecules move out of the swelled coffee bean. By using water, much of the flavor profile of the coffee bean remains. This process is chemical-free and removes 99.9% of caffeine from the bean. The newly decaffeinated green beans are dried and prepared for shipping to coffee roasters.

The decaffeination process affects the composition of the coffee bean. When we open a bag of green Swiss Water Processed decaf coffee prior to roasting, the coffee beans appear uniform in color but darker than green caffeinated coffee beans.

The bean density also differs between Swiss Water Processed decaffeinated coffee beans and regular coffee beans. Decaffeinated coffee beans have less density and are lighter because the caffeine compounds have been removed. The density changes impact how the decaf coffee bean can take heat during the roasting process. For this reason, there is a limit to how much heat a decaf coffee bean can take during roasting.

The outside color of the decaf coffee bean can be misleading. Therefore, we always check the internal color of the coffee bean for quality control. For each roast we pull a sample to evaluate color based on the Agtron scale. Coffee samples are ground and compared to a numerical scale—referencing how dark or light a coffee bean is. You can be assured that your decaf has met our specifications before it is packaged.

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What is Fair Trade?

Coffee is grown in over 50 countries, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. This area is known as the “Bean Belt” or “Coffee Belt.” It is estimated that there approximately 25 million coffee producers worldwide.

WHAT IS FAIR TRADE?

Fair Trade is a movement that began in the 1970s as Max Havelaar in the Netherlands. The goal of the fair trade movement is to protect and impower producers. In 1988, Mexico became the first coffee origin to sell as fair trade.

Fair trade coffees are typically grown by members of a cooperative. The members are guaranteed a minimum price to protect them from the volatility of the coffee market.

Producers must meet social, economic, and environmental standards in order to maintain their fair trade certification.

THE IMPACT OF FAIR TRADE

Fair trade’s goal is to help provide a more sustainable livelihood for producers and to expand business partnerships.

Fair Trade USA reports that since 1998, sales of Fair Trade Certified coffee has generated over $600 million on financial benefits to coffee producers.

Once the coffee is sold, most of the proceeds go directly to the coffee producers. A small portion, however, will be used for the Community Development Funds.

The Community Development Funds provide the cooperative an opportunity to financially back quality and equipment improvements (i.e., depulpers, solar dryers, farm renovations) or social projects (such as education, clean water projects and health care).

RED CEDAR COFFEE CO AND FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED

Red Cedar Coffee Co. has been roasting Fair Trade Certified coffees since 2008.

Our Fair Trade Certified coffees carry the Fair Trade Certified seal on the front label.

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Explore the world with single origin coffees

Contrary to what some suggest, there is no one “coffee” taste. Rather, there are endless taste based on geography.

Single origin coffees are beans that are sourced from a coffee farm, cooperative or region. These coffees differ from blends which are a combination of beans from different regions or countries.

Similarly, to the wine industry, single origin coffees offer a distinctive taste based on where the coffee is grown, factors including soil, climate, and processing method all affect the taste. In the wine industry, this is referred to by the French word terroir, the taste of place.

Coffee shares many similarities to the wine industry. Like the definition above, coffee can be impacted by environmental changes and the taste can change year over year.

The taste of coffee can also be impacted by how the coffee producer processes their crop after the harvest. For instance, Costa Rica is known for their honey processed coffees, Sumatra for giling basah, and Kenya for washed coffees.

We will use the Coffee Flavor Tasters Wheel to discuss flavor in the coffee industry. The goal of this Tasters Wheel is to help create a tool that coffee roasters, importers and producers could use to discuss and evaluate coffee.

Single origins provide a great opportunity to compare the unique characteristics of coffee from around the world. Look for single origin coffees that have been roasted as a medium roast as that roast style highlights the uniqueness in the coffee.

We have outlined some of the broad characteristics of coffee depending on where coffee is grown. Each region, however, does have a wide variety of tastes which is why we are presenting two coffees in each regional category for comparison.

AFRICA

Pleasant acidity and full rounded body. Often described with wine and fruit notes.

Ethiopian Harrar: Wine-like fragrance, hints of blueberry

Tanzanian Peaberry: Bright, smooth, sweet, delicate

LATIN AMERICA

Smooth and well balanced. Chocolate or caramel notes are often present.

Guatemala Antigua (Central America): creamy, smooth, caramel

Organic Peruvian (South America): Light bodied, flavorful, elegant

THE PACIFIC

Full body, earthy with herbal characteristics. These are some of the most distinct coffees.

Sumatran Mandheling (Indonesia): Earthy, full bodied, distinct

Java Estate (Indonesia): Lively, rich, malt, sweet

If you would like to explore the taste possibilities in coffee, we would recommend trying different single origin coffees.

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The honey process, explained

Have you noticed coffee has changed? Coffee has changed…specifically, the way the coffee has been processed at the farm/micro-mill.

Coffee has traditionally been processed one of two ways, washed process or natural process. Both provide unique flavor profiles.

When clean water is abundant coffee producers may use a washed process to separate the fruit from the coffee bean.

Where water is lacking, a producer would use the natural process and allow the coffee to dry under the sun naturally.

Times have changed due to innovations in processing equipment at the farm and coffee roaster’s request.

Costa Rica has led the innovation by combining elements of the washed and dry processes. This new process is called the honey process. By adjusting equipment such as depulpers at the mill, producers can choose how much fruit they want to remove off the coffee bean. These changes can also impact the way the coffee tastes once it’s been brewed.

Many ask if honey is used in the honey process. The answer is no. The name “honey process” comes from the honey-like fragrance (called “miel” in Spanish) of the fruit drying on the coffee bean.

We are pleased to offer three outstanding honey processed coffees:

  • White honey: most of the fruit is removed off the coffee bean. White honey processed coffees may be described as lighter and brighter. (Example: Costa Rica Finca Dragon)
  • Red honey: about half the coffee fruit remains on the coffee bean throughout the drying process. Red honey coffees will have more body compared to the white honey, and you may notice fruitier notes when you brew your coffee. (Example: Costa Rica Pie San)
  • Black honey: the coffee cherry is peeled but the fruit remains on the coffee beans. Depending on weather condition, it can take 7-14 days for the fruit to dehydrate off the coffee bean. Since the bean is absorbing sugars during this time the coffee will be full bodied, complex and with natural sweetness. (Example: Costa Rica Finca las Torres)

These honey processed coffees are available at the Red Cedar Coffee Co. retail store and online at RedCedarCoffee.com.

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World Coffee Research

World Coffee Research

Red Cedar Coffee Co. has been a proud supporter of World Coffee Research for years. We feel that it is important to support coffee producers who are the foundation of our industry and who work hard to provide a product that enriches our lives.

World Coffee Research (WCR) was founded in 2012 when Central and South America were experiencing an epidemic of coffee rust (“la roya”), which eventually put 1.7 million people out of work.

Part of the challenge of growing coffee is that across all varieties there’s very little genetic diversity. In addition, relatively few research dollars go to studying coffee which is why coffee is sometimes referred to as an “orphan crop.”

Some coffee producing countries have research facilities where coffee producers can contact for help. Other coffee producing countries do not have these research facilities. Typically, the information gained from these research institutions are not shared with other country’s research institutions. 

This is where World Coffee Research can help. They work with all coffee research institutions to help share their research worldwide.

World Coffee Research is currently conducting an international multilocational variety trial to understand coffee “genetics x environment’ interaction. The hope is that more information may be gained from these trials to see if coffee producers can choose varieties that are optimized for certain growing environments.  

As a result of our support for their study Red Cedar Coffee Co. had the opportunity to try several coffees from a trial in El Salvador which tested one coffee variety (F1 hybrid Centroamericano) from two environments with two approaches to fertilizing.

This is just one example of how our support for this cause helps us be on the cutting edge of coffee education.

More information on World Coffee Research may be found here.

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Meet the Coffee Producer Recap: Finca las Torres

On Saturday, September 9, 2017, Red Cedar Coffee Co. welcomed Esteban and Luis Ureña from Rivense del Chirripó in Costa Rica. This was part of Red Cedar Coffee Co.’s 12th Anniversary Celebration. The Ureña family owns a micro-mill along with five coffee farms.

For the last couple years, Red Cedar Coffee Co. has purchased coffee directly from their farm, Finca las Torres. Each February Anne visits this farm and micro mill for harvest and the coffee selection process.

Red Cedar Coffee Co. invited Esteban and Luis to the coffee roastery and launch of their coffee at the Anniversary Party. Not often are coffee producers able to see what happens to their coffee after it has left the farm.  It was an exciting visit for Esteban and Luis as it was their first time leaving Costa Rica.

To give a sense of coffee in Costa Rica, most coffee is consumed at home or in small cafeterías (coffee shops). By Costa Rican law, 2% of export grade coffee must be held in country for domestic consumption. Most coffee consumed in country is what the coffee industry calls second or third quality coffee, and most of this coffee is roasted dark or with sugar. This means no coffee is wasted from harvest.

The Ureña family is innovative compared to many other Costa Rican producers. They own their own micro mill which means they can insure their coffee is of highest quality. They have a coffee roaster for sampling their harvest. The family drinks the coffee they grow every day. They cup their coffee harvest which is how coffee professionals evaluate the crop, processes and pre-export evaluation. This visit to Red Cedar Coffee Co. was an opportunity for them to see the other end of the supply chain and to interact with our retail and wholesale customers.

Esteban and Luis learned a lot about the US coffee market during their stay with Red Cedar Coffee Co. Cooking with coffee and crafting coffee infused beverages were new ideas. The opportunity to spend time with a wholesale coffee roaster (Red Cedar Coffee Co.) also provided additional insight into the US coffee market. They also had a chance to sightsee Cleveland.

We would like to thank everyone who came to our Anniversary event and who made Esteban and Luis feel at home.

  

 

 

 

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Celebrating 12th Anniversary with Meet the Coffee Producer Tasting Event

Red Cedar Coffee Co. will host their 12th Anniversary celebration on Saturday, September 9, 2017, between 10am-1pm in their Berea, Ohio, Tasting Room.

During the celebration, we will release our new limited edition direct trade Costa Rica Finca las Torres from the Chirripó region of southern Costa Rica.

Produced by Régulo Gerardo Ureña and his family, Finca las Torres is located between Cerro Chirripó, Costa Rica’s highest peak, and Cerro de la Muerte which is the highest peak on the Inter-American highway.

Our 12th Anniversary is an exciting time and we have brought the Ureña family to our Tasting Room for our Finca las Torres release. Anne returned to Finca las Torres in February and worked with Luis and Esteban Ureña during the harvest and the processing of the harvest.

We are pleased to have Luis and Esteban at our Tasting Room so customers will have the unique opportunity to meet the family behind one of our direct trade coffees and more importantly Luis and Esteban will be able to join in on the celebration as we release their coffee.

During the coffee tasting Finca las Torres will be brewed using the Chemex, as a drip coffee and as a single origin shot of espresso. The three brew methods will provide customers an opportunity to taste how the flavor and aroma changes based on how the coffee has been brewed. This event is free and open to the public.

12th Anniversary Celebration and Meet the Producer Event

Finca las Torres Release

Saturday, September 9, 2017

10am-1pm

Red Cedar Coffee Co. Tasting Room

This event is standing room only.

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Costa Rica Harvest 2017

In February, Anne visited our direct trade partners in Costa Rica during harvest. This year’s visit was special for Anne as she spent time at Finca las Torres in the Chirripó region of southern Costa Rica and participated in the harvesting and processing of the same coffee that will be in our Tasting Room this fall.

Finca las Torres is located about four hours south of San Jose off the Inter-American Highway. ICAFE, Costa Rica’s Coffee Institute, has designated this coffee production region as Brunca. This area is more accurately defined however as the Chirripó micro region. Here the coffee is grown at high elevation (around 1500-2000 meters) and has a distinctly different flavor in the cup when compared to the low elevation production in the Brunca region.

Anne worked at the micro-mill during the morning with Régulo and Luis. The coffee which was drying was carefully raked on the raised African beds. Coffee which had been drying on the patio was then collected into Grain-Pro bags to continue the drying process.

The activities in the afternoon centered on the farm. Coffee that is picked during the morning is collected by mid-afternoon. The coffee is measured and each picker’s yield is recorded. By late afternoon the coffee cherries are brought to the micro mill.

During the evening the coffee cherry is de-pulped and laid onto raised African style beds. Café Rivense del Chirripó micro mill specializes in honey processed coffees. The coffee skin is removed during the de-pulping process but the fruit remains on the bean. The idea is to have the honey dehydrate on the bean—the honey must hold onto the coffee bean—which will mean the cup of coffee will have more sweetness.

The balance of the trip was spent at farms in Tarrazu, Central and West Valley. Anne cupped coffees at the farms and arranged for Red Cedar Coffee Co. to bring fantastic coffees to your table.

Anne with the Ureña family

Measuring the coffee harvest

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