FAFQ
In our short one month life span as a (legitimate) coffee roasting business, I've already noticed similar questions asked of me while sampling, delivering coffee, free form jazzercising etc., so I decided to do a Flog post to answer some of the most common questions I hear in the very simple form of Q and A. Give me a shout if one of these doesn't answer a question you may have about Folly or coffee in general!
Q: Where is your cafe located?
A: We are a wholesale coffee roaster, which means we don't have a cafe or storefront. We roast and deliver our coffee to retail partners including co-ops, grocery stores, cafes, and even a home and linen store (wudup Highcroft in Wayzata??). I'm trying to think of a new phrase for wholesale coffee roaster that encapsulates what we do better because right now it sounds like we're roasting mega sized discount batches of cheap coffee....wholesale coffee roaster...bleh
Q: I haven't heard of you before, when did you start?
A: January 5th. Folly's a baby!
Q: Silver Lake?
A: It's an hour west of Minneapolis. Hop on highway 7, fly through Shorewood, if you hit Hutchinson you've gone too far. Blink and you'll pass right by it.
Q: So what's different about Folly Coffee?
A: Instead of striving for optimal consistency so our coffees taste the same throughout the year and anywhere you drink it, we highlight the differences between beans and batches by profiling every bean differently and constantly rotating the origins. We buy some of the best beans on the market, and to over-roast these beans for the sake of consistency would be a tragedy!
Q: So does that mean it's a light roast or a dark roast?
A: We intentionally do not label our roasts on a scale of light to dark. We believe each bean has an optimal level of roast that brings out the most natural flavor of these high end beans without covering it up with the roast flavors, think burnt, charcoal, bitter etc. But, so I don't completely dodge his question, our beans are on the light end of the coffee roasting spectrum because this is where the best flavors and aromas are exposed. (For all you coffee nerds, we never reach second crack in the roast, dropping before 1-2 minutes after first crack depending on the origin and desired flavor profile).
Q: So what bean is the (insert House Bean, Classic Jo, or Winer here)?
A: We rotate our single origin beans based on the freshest coffee crops of the year and rotate. To find out the origin of the bean in the bag now, head to the folly site at www.follycoffee.com under the "Roasting Calendar" tab to read all about the current origin. The House Bean always has fruit forward beans, the Classic Jo has traditional flavors of nuttiness and chocolate, and the Winer has beans that complex and acidic like a good glass of wine. (Don't worry, if you asked me this in person I would also tell you the current origin...I'm not a robot)
Q: Where can I find it?
A: We are at a growing number of co-ops, grocery stores, cafes, and other retail partners that are updated weekly on the site at www.follycoffee.com under the "Where to find Folly" tab. (If your favorite store or cafe doesn't carry it, let them know!! Most stores don't know about us yet and any help to introduce them to the Folly deliciousness is greatly appreciated!!)
Q: This is whole bean....how do I brew this?
A: There are a number of fantastic brewing methods, but each one has a few key components that you need. A good grinder and a brewing mechanism. I have noticed a lot of people grinding their beans at grocery stores and refilling their coffee bags, which is a very easy way to do the first step. If you're looking to invest in a grinder, make sure you're buying a burr grinder to get good, consistent grinds. Any brewer that you're using coffee grinds will do, but there are methods that will produce a great cup of jo (I will do an entire separate post on brewing, but the easiest, most cost effective way to get a great cup is definitely French Press.)
