Sabbath Roasters' Generous Gesture - 'Cause That's What Coffee People Do!

Ruth Ann withTrevor Graham, Evan Kamrath
 of Sabbath Coffee Roasters (l to r)

Ruth Ann was cupping at COCAGI cooperative's cupping lab in Rusizi, Rwanda on June 17-18. "The grinder issue kind of smacked me in the face this time," says Ruth Ann. We were preparing for the second day of cupping. Dativ had 10 offer samples of Agasaro women-grown microlots for the team to cup. I watched uncomfortably as Dativ prepared the cupping using the 'wrong tools for the job'." Several pieces of the lab equipment are old or damaged, but the grinder, in particular, was not only broken, it was not the right type for cupping. "I decided to see if I could find some help among Artisan's roasters and followers who often express interest in helping in tangible ways." 

Ruth Ann made a post, sharing the details of Dativ's labors and the broken Rancilo "Rocky" espresso grinder with a paddle-lever that pushes the coffee into the hopper. Trevor Graham and Evan Kamrath at Sabbath Roasters in Clawson, MI, happened to see the post and within 24 hours, they contacted Ruth Ann via IG direct-mail. "I was thrilled!" comments Ruth Ann. Before she returned to Detroit, Sabbath had arranged for a Mahlkoenig X54 to be delivered to Artisan's office. It now waits in Ann Arbor, MI for Ruth Ann's next trip to Rwanda.

THANK YOU SABBATH for your generosity and getting the job done!

Some context: this was probably Ruth Ann's 5th or 6th visit to the cooperative over the past 6 years. It was probably her 4th time cupping coffee with Dativ, the head cupper. A collegial friendship develops over such a long period, so empathy for a friend was a big part of the motivation here, but there was more. 

1. Time savings for Dative. "As I watched her patiently using the grinder I became curious about how much time it was taking. I used the stopwatch and found each cup was taking 2 minutes to grind. 10 coffees x 5 cups/coffee + 10 purges = 60 grinds. 60 grinds * 2 min/grind = 120mins or 2 hours! That's a long time to spend on grinding to prepare a cupping. 

2. Ability for the Cooperative to taste and appreciate their coffee. Part of the ethos and values of many organizations in specialty coffee, Artisan Coffee Imports included, is to help farmers understand how good their coffee is... or isn't. The more they can accurately evaluate (cup) coffee right there at the farm, the more they are able to do everything else better in their coffee business. "This grinder will have positive ripple effects on all of COCAGI's functions: cultivating, processing, and educating farmers," says Ruth Ann.

While the new grinder will mostly be appreciated by Dativ and all the members of COCAGI cooperative, Artisan and Artisan's customers, like Sabbath, will also benefit. Artisan and many other guests who visit COCAGI will love the fact that Agasaro's women-grown coffee is being prepared with proper equipment. To the extent the cooperative staff are able to improve quality, we'll all be able to enjoy even more of the fruity, apricot jam with lemon and clove flavors on cupping tables in Rwanda and the US!