River Bottom Roasters takes away the winter chill

Warm Your Heart While You Fill Your Coffee Cup

Written by V. CRAIG CAMPBELL JR.

Jackets, scarves, and gloves are the wardrobe essentials – bundling up to ensure Jack Frost doesn’t chill you to the bone. Winter has arrived and it’s delivered no better of a time to make sure you’re staying warm from the inside out. Nothing a hot cup of joe can’t fix. This is where this season has quickly become our RBR Crews’ favorite. During the colder months, we get to fill up the cup on crisp mornings for our local community, but with each cup, we get to give back to our international coffee community. Here’s how your cup makes a difference – let’s take a little coffee journey.

Our Ethiopia Natural is a light/ medium roast with a lighter body but it has intense juicy sweetness, and clean aftertaste. The taste of berries is front and center, followed with a milk chocolate and caramel finish. Can you ask for anything more? This warm cup is perfect to start the day or for a midday pick-me-up. While you sip, know that each cup you brew makes a difference in the coffee community. Established in 1999, the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union has quickly become the largest Fair Trade coffee producer in Ethiopia. The OCFCU was formed when 23,691 members of 35 small cooperatives came together with the goal of exporting their coffee directly to the specialty market. All six of their Oromia Highland Coffee varieties are grown by indigenous farmers in the southwestern rainforests of Ethiopia at fair trade prices.

Next up, our first direct bean trade with a coffee farmer! El Salvador Cabal has a soft, creamy, nutty flavor which is elevated at a medium roast profile. As the coffee cools, this pairing brings a cup like you’re having a dollop of peanut butter with a drizzle of honey and touch of blueberry jelly. This toasty cup warms you to the core, but has a big impact on your heart too. We are grateful to have this partnership with the Hernandez family. For decades they have been at the mercy of the El Salvadorian state and only getting 90 cents a lb. We are able to increase their price yield by almost 4 times which will greatly enhances their family and community. Craig even had the chance to roast with the family at our RBR roastery shop. Each of our warm cup coffees knock the chill out of winter, but who knew each sip made such an impact. These are just the stories behind two of the half dozen single origin coffees we have available at any given time. Our coffees seek to make a difference in both our local and international coffee communities. Grab a cup and warm up with us this winter!

Sharing a cup of coffee with the Hernandez Family at the Hagerstown roastery.

V. Craig Campbell Jr. is the head roaster/owner at River Bottom Roasters.