Jonny's Java Coffee Inc.

Why everyone needs to pay more for coffee

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:05:30 -0500

From the outset in North America, high end coffee didn’t have a chance to fetch a fair price. The bar was set remarkably low from day 1. Independent cafes serving some of the finest coffees produced in the world have been expected to compete on the same level as coffee shops serving low grade commodity coffee. When a $4 cup of coffee just seems like a rip off because you can get a $1 cup of coffee down the street, there should be a reason. There is a reason. We pay considerably more for our coffee than they do for theirs. Your typical everyday “grocery store” coffee and most large chain coffee shop coffees are bought off of the “c market”. As I am writing this, the commodity market has valued coffee at $1.60 per pound. That’s where the vast majority of coffee is sold. There are roasters out there that are completely bypassing the commodity market and going straight to the producer. By doing this the roasters can pick the highest quality coffees the farms have to offer. They also pay the farmers a healthy premium for these coffees, always, without exception a higher price than the market. It has happened too, that the roaster will give the farmer MORE than the price they have agreed upon. This type of purchasing model is crucial to help farmers make more money and produce better coffee. This also creates an upward spiral. Farmers make more money, they can invest more into infrastructure, they improve quality, they can get more money for their better coffee. Why should these farms make more money? Coffee grows between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Other than the state of Hawaii, these are some of the poorest countries in the world. Buying commodity coffee ensures that the legally lowest amount of money goes to these farms as possible. Buying high end coffees from reputable roasters ensures that the most amount of money goes to these farms for the best coffee.

But there’s a problem. They still don’t make enough money. Coffee farmers only make money at harvest. They get paid once a year. Cafes also find it hard to make enough money. The level of knowledge that is required to do coffee well gets into terms of career level knowledge, but financially it is hard to make it anything other than a job. So what needs to happen? Prices NEED to reflect the level of quality and craftsmanship that goes into the products. This needs to start on the front lines. Cafes need to charge an appropriate amount for the products they serve and this increase needs to move down the line to the farms. Prices in the cafes need to fluctuate as well as different coffees come in and cost different prices. There is an outcry from the industry that this needs to happen, but no one wants to be the first person to stick their neck out there.

This price increase doesn’t come out of greed, but out of necessity and because it’s the right thing to do.

Spending too much on convenience.

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:48:00 -0500

How much is too much? Specialty coffee often gets slammed by consumers as costing too much money. They’ll scoff at spending over $20 per pound of whole bean coffee. With pod coffee now becoming more and more of the norm, it’s time to check your spending. I was at Superstore here in Winkler looking at something completely unrelated when I walked by a Tassimo display. I got curious so I looked at a package of coffee. It cost $6.98 for 12 servings. After taxes, that comes out to $0.65 per cup. Not bad right? Wrong! You’re paying, often more than specialty grade prices for inferior grade coffee that’s already stale. You are paying a massive premium for convenience. If you have a few minutes in the morning, you can do a much better job, with much better coffee. For around the same price as one of these brewers, you can purchase an Aeropress and a hand mill. Spend a little more and you can get a cheap electric burr grinder. Then you can make freshly ground, high quality coffee for LESS MONEY!

Here’s a look at off the shelf pricing for both systems with a few different coffees.

Tassimo
Maxwell House $26.99lb
Gevalia $24.45lb
Carte Noir $32.89lb

Keurig
Van Houtte $37.14lb
Starbucks $35.90lb
Timothy’s $27.86lb

Remember, this doesn’t take into account the cost of the machine, which can range from $90 up to $120

These are the coffees we have on our shelves at the moment. We sell them in 3/4lb bags, but here I’ve priced them according to poundage.

Intelligentsia Coffee
Finca Malacara: Los Inmortales, El Salvador $22.70lb
La Tortuga, Honduras $22.70lb

Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
Eusebio Usnayo, Caranavi, Bolivia $24.04lb

Detour Coffee Roaster
Finca El Limonar, Guatemala $20.03lb

Now you have the facts. You can make a better informed decision. Pop in if you have any questions for us. We are happy to help.

Jeff.

Our buddy Jerret and Tom Penner from @dominionoutdoors shooting...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:41:19 -0600

Our buddy Jerret and Tom Penner from @dominionoutdoors shooting some guns!

Darrell Mansfield drinks Jonny’s Java….. You should...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:51:34 -0600

Darrell Mansfield drinks Jonny’s Java….. You should to.

Canadian Idol winner Brian Melo drinks Jonny’s Java...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:27:02 -0500

Canadian Idol winner Brian Melo drinks Jonny’s Java Coffee…. I think you should to!

Here are some photos of the family we were able to help and...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:53:53 -0500

The Dila family outside their home

Her beautiful granite countertop kitchen

Mr. and Mrs. Dila

The whole family shares this bed.

Here are some photos of the family we were able to help and build a house for. This is the Dila family. Thank’s to BenjaminCole Brown for the pictures.

A few pictures from our visit with Derwin. Jonny’s Java...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:10:19 -0500

Happy Land!

A few pictures from our visit with Derwin. Jonny’s Java sponsor child.

Dominican Republic 2011

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:00:43 -0500

So as you know (or read in the previous post) all our tips on our debit machine go to two places. 1.) Derwin Daonil Depris Vasquez. (sponsor child) and 2.) An organization called “Coffee Kids” (coffeekids.org) Aelea (my wife) and myself (Jon) recently had the opportunity to visit Derwin while doing some work in DR. We spent a few weeks in Sosua, doing most of our work in Agua Negra (Black Water). The area of Agua Negra is very appropriately titled. This shanty town resides between the bottom of a mountain and the ocean shore. When it rains, due to all the garbage and sewage, the water that flows through town is black. The houses are not very high off the ground and built mainly of scrap aluminum sheets that are found in garbage piles and possibly some cinder block walls if they’re that fortunate. Consequently most of the homes flood during every single rainfall, sometimes up to 4ft! In this area, joined with Absolute (absolute.org) we’ve built many homes, raised them about 4ft off the ground, cinder block all through out, paved the floor and plumbed in a washroom. This time around we built a larger home to house two families. After that we spent some time working with stateless Haitians in a garbage dump just outside of Puerto Plata.
Two days left in DR, we had the house completed, so we rented a car and 4.5 hours and 5 toll booths later we arrive in Santo Domingo to hang out with Derwin. We were going to meet at the project, so that was our first stop. He greeted us at the door wearing a big smile, button up shirt and dress shoes, holding a welcome balloon for each of us. Clearly this whole experience was a little overwhelming for him as he quickly became shy. We gave him some time as we toured the project and when he warmed up, we presented him with gifts we had brought for him and his family. We spent the day together, went for lunch and rocked some rides at “happy land”…(which he earned by showing me the dance he performed at a competition where he won 1st place!). The day came to a close and it was time for the 4.5 hour/5 toll booth ride back to Sosua.
If anyone has the opportunity to visit their sponsor child I would highly recommend doing so, it was a great experience.
I’d like to thank all our customers who support Derwin and the Jonny’s Java vision.
We’re excited to continue to support the community that supports us and the the world that we live in as more and more opportunities arise.

Thank you;
Jon Plett,
Jonny’s Java Coffee
“the world is bigger than us”

Your tips @ Jonny's Java

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:24:26 -0500

So as many of you may already know, we use the tips we receive on our debit/credit machine to sponsor a young boy from the Dominican Republic named Derwin. A few days ago, our fearless leader (@jonplett) was in the DR managing a humanitarian project and had a chance to visit Derwin. Stay tuned right here for a more detailed account about the visit, and about Jon and Aelea’s ongoing work with Absolute Leadership Development.

An amazing video from Intelligentsia. Check it out.

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:45:28 -0500

An amazing video from Intelligentsia. Check it out.