Om ungefär en månad, kommer alla ni kaffesugna människor få levererad kaffelådan för mars. Vem bättre än Right Side Coffee och Friedhats för att välkomna in våren?

För er som inte känner Right Side Coffee,  så är dem är ett litet rosteri i Barcelona med stor fokus på kvalitet, passion och integritet. Bakom står Joaquin Parra, SCA Spanish Roaster Champion 2013-2017 och hans partner Lara San Miguel.

Vi fick bekanta oss för första gången med Right Side Coffee Roasters igenom ett par vänner när vi jobbade på en kaffebar i Lissabon. Redan vid första sippen blev vi riktigt förbluffade av kaffets kvalitet med en rostning som framhävde de rätta karaktärerna. Ett kaffe som satt sig på minnet av att vara otroligt sött och välbalanserat! 

Inte lång tid efter fick vi uppleva denna känsla på nytt när vi reste igenom Spanien och gjorde en kaffepaus på ett litet café i Léon. Där blev det en uppenbarelse att detta var ett självklart rosteri som skulle få vara med i våran framtida kaffeprenumeration.

När vi kontaktade Right Side fick vi ett välkomnande och härligt bemötande av Lara San Miguel. Hon delade med sig av det spännande konceptet bakom Right Side Coffee Roasters, vilket vi här under kommer att dela med oss av till er.

Det finns inget bättre sätt att läsa detta än med deras egna ord tycker vi, så här kommer det hela på engelska!

How did Right Side Coffee start? What was the vision behind it?

Joaquín Parra is the founder and Head Roaster of Right Side Coffee. Although Joaquín's interest in the coffee bean didn't flourish until he was 17 years old, his family had already been involved in the industry for some time. His family business is a green coffee importer so around 2005, when the manager of the cupping lab, Jon Wilassen from Norway, introduced him to the world of identifying flavors in coffee and describing it, which soon became a bit of an obsession for him. Having taken apart coffee roasting machines in order to examine how they work, and spending hours teaching himself how to roast, as well as conducting infinite trials and cuppings to train his palette, Joaquín met Javier García, a Spanish barista. In 2011, together they reached the world barista championships that were held in Bogotá: they came fourth. Then, Joaquín thought that Spain was not offering this quality to the general public so he started Right Side Coffee as a pioneer in the market, offering only single-origin coffees of the highest quality. His day-to-day work has brought many awards to Joaquín, being the winner in roasting in all the 'SCA Championships ' held in Spain to date and giving him the opportunity to participate in international championships.

We love your philosophy around coffee, can you tell us a bit more about it?

At Right Side Coffee traceability, as well as social and environmental sustainability are of great concern to us - our goal is to achieve full transparency in how we trade and acquire each and every lot. It's important to us that every person, being one link in the value chain, receives a fair return for the work they put in. We do not pay prices that are dictated by the stock market but make sure the amount we pay, reflects the quality of the lots that we buy. In some cases, that can amount to 5 or even 10 times the price at world market level.

Right Side Coffee does solely direct-trade, what are the joys and challenges that this brings?

Helping the producers economically is a big deal for them and a serious commitment to ourselves. Working together, we want to achieve extraordinary flavors in our customer’s coffee cups so all the process is a challenge itself. Achieving this goal requires continuous work, from the moment the producers harvest the cherries and process the coffee, to the roast, quality control, and, finally, the extraction. We do care about each step on the way.

What does Right Side Coffee look for when choosing the coffees?

We select unique coffees from a hand full of producers that grow, pick, ferment, and dry our lots at the origin. By prioritizing this direct trade approach we are able to adapt our processes to each lot, enhancing original flavors and ensuring a satisfying brew of the utmost quality that can be appreciated in every sip. We don't offer blended coffees. That way, we can highlight the unique work of every single producer. The consumer gets the chance to develop a more accurate understanding of how a particular variety is grown and processed in a certain region. We work hand-in-hand with coffee farmers to establish long-term relationships in order to contribute to a more secure and flourishing future. This form of direct trade also allows us to build up a communication base to work on and improve the quality of the coffees year after year.

Your position is as Quality Control Manager, what does that exactly mean?

Our roastery is an oasis where we are focused on our production routine, developing our coffees as best as possible, working with them continuously since we first start offering them on our menu to adapt their potential depending on the roast profile: Filter or Espresso. In addition, we have been making several improvements to our machinery to get maximum control and consistency in each roast. Finally, all our weekly production undergoes cupping quality control.

Hoppas att detta gav dig en extra inblick i Right Side Coffee Roasters och att du ser fram emot mars kaffelåda lika mycket som vi! För att vara med och smaka på deras kaffe, boka upp din kaffelåda igenom att klicka här.

Snart kommer vi även att få lära känna Friedhats Coffee Roasters i Del 2 av Månadens Kafferosterier!