Equal Exchange Coffee
NOT JUST YOUR LOCAL COFFEE ROASTER
EQUAL EXCHANGE is committed to working directly with co-ops worldwide to bring you the best beans from small-scale farmers. For 30 years, they've created their own path, staying true to their values, even when Fair Trade standards have weakened around us.
Equal Exchange believes that, together, we can continue to build a more equitable and sustainable way of bringing delicious coffee to your table, in a way that supports the most vulnerable small-scale farmers. The results are delicious.
Click here to purchase coffee in our online store
REGULAR $10.35/LB
ORGANIC BLACK SILK ESPRESSO
Blend of Full City, Vienna & French Roast
Dense, velvety, dark, with multi-layered sweetness.
ORGANIC BREAKFAST BLEND
Medium & French Roast
Flavors of sweet vanilla custard, caramel and delicate cocoa.
ORGANIC NICARAGUAN
French Roast
Rich, intense brew with chocolate aroma.
ORGANIC COLOMBIAN
Full City Roast
Intense, with refined citrus-like acidity, full body and firm balance.
ORGANIC ETHIOPIAN SIDAMO (sih-DAH-mo)
Full City Roast
Complex, with heavy body, hints of vanilla, black pepper, raspberry.
ORGANIC FRENCH ROAST
French Roast
Rich, full-bodied, classic, elegant.
ORGANIC GUATEMALAN
Medium Roast
Soft vanilla aroma, refined acidity, light, smoky aftertaste.
ORGANIC LOVE BUZZ
Full City & French Roast
Sweet, sultry, smooth with unexpected bite and lasting finish.
ORGANIC MEXICAN
Vienna Roast
Smooth texture, mild acidity, super chocolate-y flavor.
ORGANIC MIDNIGHT SUN
French Roast
Bold, syrupy body and striking acidity.
ORGANIC MIND, BODY & SOUL
Medium & Vienna Roast
Highlighting chocolate and spice.
ORGANIC ITHACA ONE WORLD
Medium Roast
Citrus aroma, caramel flavor, smooth texture & bittersweet finish.
ORGANIC PERUVIAN DARK ROAST
French Roast
Malt-like aroma with sweet, syrupy chocolate flavor.
ORGANIC SAN FERNANDO SELECT
Vienna Roast
Sweet, dark chocolate, maple, caramel. Creamy texture, smoky finish.
ORGANIC ROAST 25
Vienna Roast
Dense, velvety mouthfeel with aroma of cinnamon & molasses.
FRENCH VANILLA
Medium Roast
Smooth, soothing aroma, rich irresistible vanilla flavor.
HAZELNUT CRÈME
Medium Roast
Aromatic, nutty, light, with rich hazelnut taste.
DECAF $13.65/LB
ORGANIC FRENCH ROAST DECAF
French Roast
Rich & full-bodied with mellow acidity & sweet flavor.
ORGANIC BREAKFAST BLEND DECAF
Medium & Vienna Roast
Easy drinking, with undeniable sparkle and liveliness.
ORGANIC PERUVIAN DECAF
Vienna Roast
Vibrant,with round, syrupy body. You’ll never know that it’s decaf.
Choosing, Keeping & Brewing
Coffee, like wine or cheese or chocolate, is a matter of individual taste. The way you handle your coffee is as individual a matter as the bean or blend you prefer. But with ever more coffee connoisseurs refining the enjoyment of this versatile beverage, a few guidelines may be useful.
Finding Your Flavor
Take the opportunity to try the different brews — as many as eight
choices on any given day — offered in our stores, so you can compare and
discover what you like best. Experiment and enjoy! Roasting (see below)
is what coaxes character out of the initially bland bean. In choosing
coffee, consider the following:
Aroma: Does it smell good to you? The fragrance of coffee is what
stimulates your taste buds. Does it evoke butter, flowers, nuts, honey,
earth, leather, spice? The smell of coffee, developed by roasting, is
liberated by brewing.
Body: How does the coffee feel in your mouth? Typically, the
"weight" — the body — of a given coffee may be described as light,
heavy, rough, thin and so on.
Acidity: In coffee, this is a desirable quality, particularly in
central American coffees and some from East Africa. (Note that it’s
offset by the use of milk or cream.) Without tipping over into sourness,
acidity is a matter of taste, balanced in some brews by a touch of
bitterness.
Roast Distinctions
Roasting is a progressive process, not unlike caramelizing vegetables,
that requires temperature and time factors, coupled with the skill and
attention of the roaster.
Medium: The lightest we offer, suitable for
customers who like a bright but less heavy cup of coffee. Some roasters
may call this "half city" or "New England."
Full City: Slightly darker than medium and
adaptable to different foods. A Full City roast produces beans that are
at their most complex and most flavorful." Some may call this
"American," "breakfast," or "brown" roast.
Vienna: This is darker still than Full City, with
the oils of the beans emerging more. The result is a bit spicy, with
rich, chocolate-inflected body. Sometimes called "high" or "Continental"
roast.
French: Our darkest roast. A bold, intense coffee, with bean oils fully emerged, low acidity and full body.
Brewing & Keeping
The freshest coffee, made with clean-tasting, fresh water, is likely to be the most enjoyable. Start with cold water. The type of grind you choose depends on what brewing system you use. We recommend drip-style, French press or an espresso-maker. Two tablespoons of ground coffee to six ounces of water is a typical ratio, but the strength of coffee you like is a matter of preference. To assure freshness, buy your beans in small quantities and grind only what you will use in a day. At home, store them in an airtight container, out of direct light and in a cool, dry place. While it’s not ideal, fresh-roasted coffee can be stored in the freezer (not the refrigerator) if you take care to make the container as airtight as possible. There’s no need to thaw your beans before grinding, but if they do thaw out, don’t refreeze them.
Categories
Varietals
As with wine, a varietal coffee is one made from a single type of bean
and named for its country or region of origin. Varietal wines are mostly
made with the grapes they’re named for, but the percentage, while high,
can vary, by law. Each of our varietal coffees, on the other hand, is
100 percent a single type of bean.
Blends
Our blended coffees consist of a mix of beans or roasts carefully
orchestrated to result in a delicious original coffee. As its name
states, our very popular house brew — One World Blend — is such a
coffee, concocted of Latin American beans, from Mexico, Nicaragua and
Peru. Mind, Body & Soul is another, made of all Mexican beans but
incorporating two different roasts.
Flavored
Flavoring is applied to coffee beans right after roasting. Hazelnut is
probably the most well-known flavored coffee. The other one we carry is
French Vanilla. When you want something a little special, try one of
these excellent coffees.
Decaffeinated
Our decaf coffees are processed naturally, using a state-of-the-art
method. Semi-liquid carbon dioxide and a small amount of water is
applied to the beans so that the caffeine is removed but the flavor
remains.