Spokane brews a Nicaraguan cup of excellence

One of Nicaragua’s finest coffees is now being roasted in Spokane.

Simon Craven-Thompson, of Cravens Coffee, was invited to be part of an international jury of 22 coffee experts last spring to judge the finest coffees in Nicaragua. The Cup of Excellence competition was designed to help coffee buyers find the best coffees produced each year in several coffee-growing countries, including Columbia, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Brazil.

To pick the tastiest cup, Craven-Thompson and the other judges slurped and spit their way through 60 coffee samples over five days. Called “cupping,” it’s akin to wine tasting. Judges ranked the samples based on a long list of criteria including acidity, sweetness, flavor, balance and aftertaste.

Winning coffees in the Cup of Excellence competition are then sold to the highest bidder during an Internet auction. Craven-Thompson said the money raised goes directly to coffee farmers. Cravens Coffee purchased 10 bags – that’s 1,500 pounds – of one of the highest ranked organic, fair-trade coffees and recently began roasting the beans. The coffee, called Nicaragua Telpaneca, can be found at Rosauers, Tidyman’s and Yokes for $8.99 for a 12-ounce bag.

Cravens Coffee also recently moved into a new roasting headquarters at 115 N. Magnolia St. The new roasting room alone is about 25 percent bigger than the previous operation.

And although they have some room to stretch out, new bathrooms (the coffee-drinking staff previously shared one privy) and more room for coffee bean storage, they won’t be storing roasted coffees. “We’ll always roast to order,” said Becky Templin, who co-owns the business with her husband Craven-Thompson. “We’ve been doing it for 12 years, there’s no sense in changing it now.”

Have a cup for Fair Trade Coffee Month

Speaking of Fair Trade coffees… one local roaster, Nectar of Life Coffee, has devoted its entire roasting operation to coffees that are certified organic and fair trade. (We overlooked the Spokane Valley company in our recent story about local roasters.)

Martin Jennings and his wife Hannah were inspired to start Nectar of Life in 2002 after they found there were few coffees available in Spokane that had the dual certifications of fair-trade and organic but still tasted great. “The bulk coffee we purchased didn’t possess the taste and aroma of a truly gourmet product. We were left with the classic American sentiment, ‘I can do better than that,’ ” Hannah wrote in an e-mail message.

They first learned about fair-trade coffees while Martin Jennings attended the University of California, Davis, studying viticulture and enology. He was the assistant winemaker at Arbor Crest Wine Cellars until June when Nectar of Life needed his full-time attention. Fair-trade practices are meant to ensure coffee growers receive a fair price for their products. October is Fair Trade Month.

Nectar of Life coffee is sold in white bags with a colorful hummingbird logo at area stores, including Yoke’s Fresh Markets in Washington and Idaho, some Rosauers and URM stores, Lorien Herbs and Natural Foods on South Perry, and at Global Folk Art in the Community Building on West Main Street in Spokane. For a complete list of retailers, go to www.nectaroflife.com. Nectar of Life can be reached at 979-5245.