Producer

Local Coffee Roaster specializing in Organic, Fair Trade and Shade Grown Coffees.

We believe in sustainability. We roast only 100% organically certified, non-GMO coffees from Central and South America, Asia and Africa. We strive to purchase only shade grown coffees as this is the most sustainable method of coffee production. We prefer to purchase only Fair Trade Certified Coffees. Our farmer partners must be committed to preserving their culture and bettering the lives of their farmer members.

Our coffee beans from Chiapas, Mexico come from an organic co-operative formed over 20 years ago by 5 tribes of indigenous Mayan Indians concerned about soil degradation, contamination and erosion. In the 20 years since organic certification, these farmers have accomplished much for their people. They have built a hospital, a school and a state-of-the art milling facility to process their coffees. They created a women's center and formed a lending institution to help their entrepreneurs start-up. They've stemmed the flow of their young people migrating from their small town to the bigger cities looking for employment. The members of this co-op earn three times what other coffee farmers earn.

Our Ethiopian coffee beans are also special. Amaro Gayo is grown under the strict supervision of Asnakech Thomas, Ethiopia's only female coffee miller/exporter. Ms. Thomas returned to her native homeland with the single goal of improving coffee quality at her mill and within the community at large. Producing ecological coffee, giving jobs mainly to women and informing traditional communities about HIV and AIDS – her coffee conquers slowly the European and North American market... and she gives courage to women in Africa.

Part of what makes Radiant Joe Coffees so special is the roasting equipment that we use to have our coffees roasted. This style of roasting is singularly unique. Our coffees are NOT drum roasted. Rather, our roaster has designed and built their own roasters which use convection rather than conduction to roast coffee.

Their newest roaster, the Greenfield Model 64, can perfectly roast up to 120 pounds of coffee in twelve minutes flat. Their equipment is virtually maintenance free, doesn't pollute and is among the most efficient coffee roasters in the world. It is capable of duplicating roasts with an extremely high degree of repeatability and does not require a dedicated operator. It is a fully automated marvel of modern engineering.

The addition of this roaster to their production department gives them just over one million pounds per year roasting capacity. Their focus is solidly on wholesale. They are certified as an Organic Food Processor by the State of California and Global Culture. They hold certifications for food safety as described by the US Department of Agriculture's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and the US Food and Drug Administration's Harmonization Food Safety Standard (HFSS).


Certified Low Acid

Be careful what you read. There's quite a bit of misinformation regarding low-acid coffees and their effects on health. Here's what we learned:
The vast majority of people looking for low-acid coffees are doing so because of specific issues they're having when they drink coffee. Mostly the problem is heartburn, acid-reflux, GERD, and indigestion.
Low-acid surprisingly has very little to do with Ph levels. There's lots of information online about how to adjust the Ph level of coffee by using additives. This is utter and complete nonsense.
Chlorogenic Acids are what cause stomach problems. It also makes coffee bitter. What you're looking for is a coffee that's low in Chlorogenic Acid. Bad news is that there aren't that many coffees like this available. This is primarily due to the fact that over 95% of this country uses drum roasting "technology". Drum roasting has been around for a couple hundred years. It's an old fashioned, old-school, inconsistent, and expensive way to roast coffee. It also produces copious amounts of Chlorogenic Acid.
For the past four years, hundreds of customers have reached out to tell us that they normally cannot drink coffee due to stomach problems, but they can drink ours. This pushed me to find out why? I stumbled across a study done by Dr.Takayuki Shibamoto, Distinguished Professor at the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology. Dr. Shibamoto has been studying the effects of coffee on human anatomy for over 30 years. His published study found that Chlorogenic Acids in coffee are responsible for upper GI issues as well as bitterness in coffee.
Using Dr. Shibamoto's study, we approached an independent laboratory and had our coffees tested. We were not surprised to find our coffees have some of the lowest levels of Chlorogenic Acids in the industry. How'd we accomplish this feat? Our engineer invented, designed, and manufactured a computer controlled high-tech marvel of a modern coffee roaster. Instead of using hot steel to roast coffee, we use hot air.
Our technique doesn't produce much in the way of Chloroginic Acid. Actually, magnitudes lower than other coffees.

But don't take our word for it. Get a bag. Brew a cup. Become a believer.