THIS IS COFFEE
The Brooklyn Roasting Company sources and serves superb and sustainable coffees from the world’s most renowned growing regions. We favor third-party-certified coffees in order to help guarantee a living wage for historically impoverished farmers. We celebrate the strong local character of Brooklyn and its rich coffee-roasting heritage.
BRC supports sustainable, environmentally friendly farming and trade practices that provide tangible benefits for farmers and other workers all along the coffee supply chain.
While there is no way for any one company to effect radical change in an industry that has historically exploited both the land and the workers who depend upon its bounty for their survival, we are doing what we can to raise wages and improve conditions at the lowest rungs of the coffee ladder. We work with Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, to ensure that we are making progress toward our goal.
We know that many of our customers just want a great-tasting cup of coffee, but we consider the education of those who are willing to listen to be part of our responsibility as wholesalers and retailers. We try to make this information readily available for the asking.
We take great pride in roasting our selections to exacting standards to ensure strict quality control. Education and training of our staff, wholesale customers, and consumers is a top priority; we enjoy sharing the knowledge and experience that guides us in our painstaking selection of super-premium, connoisseur-quality coffees. Being informed about coffee can be an end unto itself, but it also helps make that great-tasting cup possible.
NAVY YARD PRODUCTION FACILITY
Located in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 123 once housed the power plant for the entire facility. The Navy Yard began operations in 1806, long before the advent of electric power; while many Navy Yard buildings predate Building 123, constructed in 1900, we are proud to be in the building that literally kept the lights on for the thousands of workers whose efforts were instrumental in our nation’s maritime victories in two World Wars. A two-story brick building with soaring ceilings, ample light, and plenty of room for our state-of-the-art roasting and quality control equipment, Building 123 provides a home base for some sixty employees working at all levels of our operation, including roasting, packaging, sales, and training. We are happy to invite existing and prospective clients interested in seeing the nuts and bolts of our day-to-day operations firsthand.
OUR ROASTING PROCESS
Modern engineering and computer technology makes it possible to control all of the parameters of an individual roast on a micro level. We operate two Loring roasters, the 1/2-bag Kestrel and the full-bag Peregrine. Both are fully programmable; we use Cropster software to enable us to track and control the progress of every roast and ensure consistency. The Loring roasters are also environmentally friendly: it’s 80% more efficient than any other roaster of comparable scale. Every high-fidelity roast is tailored to the unique characteristics of each individual lot of green coffee.
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality control begins with the selection of only the finest coffees from trusted suppliers with whom Brooklyn Roasting Company has cultivated lasting relationships. We visit growers when possible and seek detailed knowledge of every grower’s farming practices, working conditions, and commitment to quality and sustainability. When selected green coffees arrive at our facility, they are checked for moisture content using a Sinar MCal Moisture Analyser. We look for a moisture content of 11-13%; beans that fall below that threshold may be too old and are rejected. The green beans are cupped and various roasts are assayed, cupped, and subjected to near-infrared spectrometry to determine the ideal production roast. The coffee is bagged and canned on-site. Our quality control continues at our retail locations. Rigorous sieve grind analysis, constant cupping of available roasts, and fastidious maintenance of roasting and grinding equipment help to ensure that our customers always receive the very best.
OUR COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY
Our coffee is packaged in reusable cans of tin-steel, the most easily sorted and recycled packaging material. We use recyclable, multiple-use plastic bins rather than disposable cardboard for shipping. Even the furniture in our cafes is either vintage or built in-house from reclaimed building elements.
We are staunch supporters of NYC’s Transportation Alternatives, and a lot of us ride bikes (with helmets)! We love our neighborhood, our city, and our planet, and we do what we can to “leave the campsite cleaner than we found it” whenever possible. On a global level, we are also proud of our commitment to fair trade, sustainable farming practices, and sound environmental principles.
The vast majority of our coffees are certified by Fair Trade USA. We also work closely with the Rainforest Alliance, helping to ensure preservation of precious natural resources.
NAVY YARD PRODUCTION FACILITY
Located in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 123 once housed the power plant for the entire facility. The Navy Yard began operations in 1806, long before the advent of electric power; while many Navy Yard buildings predate Building 123, constructed in 1900, we are proud to be in the building that literally kept the lights on for the thousands of workers whose efforts were instrumental in our nation’s maritime victories in two World Wars. A two-story brick building with soaring ceilings, ample light, and plenty of room for our state-of-the-art roasting and quality control equipment, Building 123 provides a home base for some sixty employees working at all levels of our operation, including roasting, packaging, sales, and training. We are happy to invite existing and prospective clients interested in seeing the nuts and bolts of our day-to-day operations firsthand.
OUR ROASTING PROCESS
Modern engineering and computer technology makes it possible to control all of the parameters of an individual roast on a micro level. We operate two Loring roasters, the 1/2-bag Kestrel and the full-bag Peregrine. Both are fully programmable; we use Cropster software to enable us to track and control the progress of every roast and ensure consistency. The Loring roasters are also environmentally friendly: it’s 80% more efficient than any other roaster of comparable scale. Every high-fidelity roast is tailored to the unique characteristics of each individual lot of green coffee.
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality control begins with the selection of only the finest coffees from trusted suppliers with whom Brooklyn Roasting Company has cultivated lasting relationships. We visit growers when possible and seek detailed knowledge of every grower’s farming practices, working conditions, and commitment to quality and sustainability. When selected green coffees arrive at our facility, they are checked for moisture content using a Sinar MCal Moisture Analyser. We look for a moisture content of 11-13%; beans that fall below that threshold may be too old and are rejected. The green beans are cupped and various roasts are assayed, cupped, and subjected to near-infrared spectrometry to determine the ideal production roast. The coffee is bagged and canned on-site. Our quality control continues at our retail locations. Rigorous sieve grind analysis, constant cupping of available roasts, and fastidious maintenance of roasting and grinding equipment help to ensure that our customers always receive the very best.
OUR COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY
Our coffee is packaged in reusable cans of tin-steel, the most easily sorted and recycled packaging material. We use recyclable, multiple-use plastic bins rather than disposable cardboard for shipping. Even the furniture in our cafes is either vintage or built in-house from reclaimed building elements.
We are staunch supporters of NYC’s Transportation Alternatives, and a lot of us ride bikes (with helmets)! We love our neighborhood, our city, and our planet, and we do what we can to “leave the campsite cleaner than we found it” whenever possible. On a global level, we are also proud of our commitment to fair trade, sustainable farming practices, and sound environmental principles.
The vast majority of our coffees are certified by Fair Trade USA. We also work closely with the Rainforest Alliance, helping to ensure preservation of precious natural resources.
(above, BRC’s co-founder Michael Pollack at origin in Colombia)
OUR FAIRTRADE COMMITMENT
Brooklyn Roasting Company has committed ourselves to the mission of Fairtrade. While many of our competitors tout a “direct trade” approach, the lack of clear definition and external auditing body makes the decision clear who to support. Fairtrade certification ensures that the farmers that grow our coffee are paid a living wage by ensuring that a fair minimum price is set for green coffee at Fairtrade certified coops above the conventional market price. Fairtrade supplements this minimum price with premiums that are dedicated to investment in development projects geared towards developing a more sustainable and equitable world economy. When we purchase coffees from any of the world’s great coffee growing regions, we favor Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified beans over those without these third party certifications.
Brooklyn Roasting Company staff often travels to origin to meet with the members of the coffee co-ops we source from. By developing and maintaining a direct relationship with coffee farmers all over the world, we can assure that the coffees we offer our exceptionally and sustainably grown and harvested. We also can take these opportunities to cup and select only the best of the diverse crops.
Coffee farmer at Colombia Santa Barbara Estate, 2013
(above, BRC’s co-founder Michael Pollack at origin in Colombia)
Coffee farmer at Colombia Santa Barbara Estate, 2013
OUR FAIR TRADE COMMITMENT
Brooklyn Roasting Company has committed ourselves to the mission of Fair Trade. While many of our competitors tout a “direct trade” approach, the lack of clear definition and external auditing body makes the decision clear who to support. Fair Trade certification ensures that the farmers that grow our coffee are paid a living wage by ensuring that a fair minimum price is set for green coffee at Fair Trade certified coops above the conventional market price. Fair Trade supplements this minimum price with premiums that are dedicated to investment in development projects geared towards developing a more sustainable and equitable world economy. When we purchase coffees from any of the world’s great coffee growing regions, we favor Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified beans over those without these third party certifications.
Brooklyn Roasting Company staff often travels to origin to meet with the members of the coffee co-ops we source from. By developing and maintaining a direct relationship with coffee farmers all over the world, we can assure that the coffees we offer our exceptionally and sustainably grown and harvested. We also can take these opportunities to cup and select only the best of the diverse crops.
THE ARBUCKLE LINK
Brooklyn Roasting Company’s 25 Jay Street cafe started life as a warehouse and freight station for Arbuckles Coffee, the most popular and innovative coffee brand of its time. Under the direction of brothers Charles and John, Arbuckles patented an egg-and-sugar glaze for coffee beans that prolonged freshness, created a state-of-the-art coffee roaster, began the practice of packaging coffee in convenient one-pound packages, bought a baker’s dozen of packaging equipment patents that made the company unstoppable in terms of daily production, and employed crafty advertising to make the name Arbuckles a synonym for coffee the same way Xerox came to mean copy machines and Kleenex came to mean tissues. Preceding the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge by two years, the Arbuckles moved here from Pittsburgh in 1881 and were soon multimillionaires with an impressive string of waterfront factories and warehouses starting at Jay Street. Younger brother John (1839-1912) was the family inventor, personally responsible for several patents during his lifetime, including ones for the coffee roaster design and the company’s signature coffee glaze. Before Arbuckles, coffee was traditionally sold green and by the pound. Beans often spoiled before they could be roasted, and if they made it to the fire fresh, they were easily burnt in the roast and robbed of their flavor. The Arbuckles called their new bean Ariosa – A for Arbuckle, rio for Rio, and sa for Santos or South America, as Rio and Santos coffees made up the Aroisa blend. By improving roasting quality and then keeping the roasted bean fresher longer, the Arbuckles were able to expand into far-away markets, becoming the preferred coffee in the western states.
Cowboys, ranchers, housewives and Native Americans alike all caught on to the Arbuckles brand, eagerly seeking out the company’s angel-marked coffee crates and one-pound blocks (and the complimentary peppermint stick inside served cooks well as a way to bribe their cowboys into taking a turn at the coffee grinder). This popularity meant big business for Arbuckles salesman like Mose Drachman, hired in Tucson in 1894 and assigned to the territory of Arizona for 21 years. “Father certainly sold a world of coffee. The evergrowing West was gulping up the Java and most of it was Arbuckle’s,” wrote Drachman’s daughter Rosemary. “Some months Father’s commissions would amount to over $200, which for those days was tremendous.” Arbuckles was often called “the coffee that won the West,” and most never knew there was any other kind of joe to be had.
Despite his fabulous success, John Arbuckle retained a “common touch” that he prided himself on but that exasperated New York’s high society types, who reportedly labeled him “hopelessly middle class.” Undeterred, Arbuckle devoted himself to many charitable projects, one of which was providing “poor man’s yachts” — floating hotels docked within steps of Brooklyn Navy Yard, where his factory workers and their families could eat, exercise and afford to live modestly while avoiding the unsanitary conditions of the city’s slums and tenements. Charity, in fact, was a motivating factor in one of Arbuckle’s major business challenges — taking on the sugar monopoly in 1897. Arbuckle disliked the duties on sugar, claiming they were an unfair tax on the poor, and he also disliked the fact that Henry Havemeyer, head of Havemeyer Sugar, refused to offer Arbuckles Coffee a discount on the product, despite being one of Havemeyer’s best clients. Arbuckle took matters into his own hands by buying 10 Jay Street and opening his own sugar factory. Incensed, Havemeyer responded by going into the coffee business with the Lion brand, and a costly rivalry was on. After almost 20 years of corporate maneuvering, biting advertisements and $25 million in total losses for both companies, Havemeyer retreated from the coffee business and Arbuckle emerged victorious.
Despite the company’s dominance at the turn of the 20th Century, Arbuckles Coffee dissolved relatively quickly after the death of John Arbuckle in 1912. Their final market splash was with the Yuban brand, John Arbuckle’s private blend that had previously only been served at company holiday parties and gifted to his friends and family throughout the year. In his honor, the company made it a public offering in 1913. Yuban was largely successful, but not successful enough to keep the business at its former heights. The surviving family members sold off a number of Arbuckle brand names, including Aroisa, to General Foods in 1937. In 1944, General Foods returned to buy Yuban, and the Arbuckles brand was no more. General Foods retained the Yuban brand, and it is still available for purchase today as a Kraft product. The Arbuckles name, however, was largely forgotten until 1974, when Tuscon restaurant owners Pat and Denney Willis teamed up with Ken Arbuckle, who claimed to be a direct descendent of the brothers. They brought the Aroisa blend back to market, right down to its bright red lettering, the flying angel and the free peppermint stick inside. The new Arbuckles became the first coffee roaster in Arizona to be USDA Certified Organic, and it also became the state’s first Fair Trade USA roaster.
******
The Arbuckles started buying property on the block now home to Brooklyn Roasting Company in 1897. By 1906 they owned the entire block and razed the former buildings. After John Arbuckle died, this building (then a part of 20 Jay Street) was used as a bonded liquor warehouse in the 1940s, bought by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1948 and leased as a warehouse to Abraham & Straus, then Brooklyn’s leading department store (ask your grandmother if it was before your time…a Macy’s currently occupies its formerly grand headquarters on Fulton Street). A&S kept the space for several decades before going out of business in 1995. The building fell into disrepair and was rediscovered in the 2000s, when an influx of artists and creatives identified the light, water and airy warehouse space of DUMBO as an overlooked gem in the Brooklyn landscape. Creativity demands caffeine, so…. Brooklyn Roasting Company opened its doors in November 2009, installing a custom-built roaster and employing part of the space to store heavy sacks of green coffee beans — thereby returning the space to its original purpose.
Sources:
— “Before Starbucks: Arbuckle Coffee,” January 9, 2012.
— DUMBO Historic District Designation Report, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, December 18, 2007.
— “Arbuckles: The Coffee That Won the West,” by Francis Fugate, 1994.
— “Ridin’ the Rainbow: Father’s Life in Tucson,” by Rosemary Taylor, 1944.
— Arbuckles Coffee official web site.
–Brownstowner, Walkabout: The Arbuckle Coffee Company’s Sugar and Coffee War
THE ARBUCKLE LINK
Brooklyn Roasting Company’s 25 Jay Street cafe started life as a warehouse and freight station for Arbuckles Coffee, the most popular and innovative coffee brand of its time. Under the direction of brothers Charles and John, Arbuckles patented an egg-and-sugar glaze for coffee beans that prolonged freshness, created a state-of-the-art coffee roaster, began the practice of packaging coffee in convenient one-pound packages, bought a baker’s dozen of packaging equipment patents that made the company unstoppable in terms of daily production, and employed crafty advertising to make the name Arbuckles a synonym for coffee the same way Xerox came to mean copy machines and Kleenex came to mean tissues. Preceding the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge by two years, the Arbuckles moved here from Pittsburgh in 1881 and were soon multimillionaires with an impressive string of waterfront factories and warehouses starting at Jay Street. Younger brother John (1839-1912) was the family inventor, personally responsible for several patents during his lifetime, including ones for the coffee roaster design and the company’s signature coffee glaze. Before Arbuckles, coffee was traditionally sold green and by the pound. Beans often spoiled before they could be roasted, and if they made it to the fire fresh, they were easily burnt in the roast and robbed of their flavor. The Arbuckles called their new bean Ariosa – A for Arbuckle, rio for Rio, and sa for Santos or South America, as Rio and Santos coffees made up the Aroisa blend. By improving roasting quality and then keeping the roasted bean fresher longer, the Arbuckles were able to expand into far-away markets, becoming the preferred coffee in the western states.
Cowboys, ranchers, housewives and Native Americans alike all caught on to the Arbuckles brand, eagerly seeking out the company’s angel-marked coffee crates and one-pound blocks (and the complimentary peppermint stick inside served cooks well as a way to bribe their cowboys into taking a turn at the coffee grinder). This popularity meant big business for Arbuckles salesman like Mose Drachman, hired in Tucson in 1894 and assigned to the territory of Arizona for 21 years. “Father certainly sold a world of coffee. The evergrowing West was gulping up the Java and most of it was Arbuckle’s,” wrote Drachman’s daughter Rosemary. “Some months Father’s commissions would amount to over $200, which for those days was tremendous.” Arbuckles was often called “the coffee that won the West,” and most never knew there was any other kind of joe to be had.
Despite his fabulous success, John Arbuckle retained a “common touch” that he prided himself on but that exasperated New York’s high society types, who reportedly labeled him “hopelessly middle class.” Undeterred, Arbuckle devoted himself to many charitable projects, one of which was providing “poor man’s yachts” — floating hotels docked within steps of Brooklyn Navy Yard, where his factory workers and their families could eat, exercise and afford to live modestly while avoiding the unsanitary conditions of the city’s slums and tenements. Charity, in fact, was a motivating factor in one of Arbuckle’s major business challenges — taking on the sugar monopoly in 1897. Arbuckle disliked the duties on sugar, claiming they were an unfair tax on the poor, and he also disliked the fact that Henry Havemeyer, head of Havemeyer Sugar, refused to offer Arbuckles Coffee a discount on the product, despite being one of Havemeyer’s best clients. Arbuckle took matters into his own hands by buying 10 Jay Street and opening his own sugar factory. Incensed, Havemeyer responded by going into the coffee business with the Lion brand, and a costly rivalry was on. After almost 20 years of corporate maneuvering, biting advertisements and $25 million in total losses for both companies, Havemeyer retreated from the coffee business and Arbuckle emerged victorious.
Despite the company’s dominance at the turn of the 20th Century, Arbuckles Coffee dissolved relatively quickly after the death of John Arbuckle in 1912. Their final market splash was with the Yuban brand, John Arbuckle’s private blend that had previously only been served at company holiday parties and gifted to his friends and family throughout the year. In his honor, the company made it a public offering in 1913. Yuban was largely successful, but not successful enough to keep the business at its former heights. The surviving family members sold off a number of Arbuckle brand names, including Aroisa, to General Foods in 1937. In 1944, General Foods returned to buy Yuban, and the Arbuckles brand was no more. General Foods retained the Yuban brand, and it is still available for purchase today as a Kraft product. The Arbuckles name, however, was largely forgotten until 1974, when Tuscon restaurant owners Pat and Denney Willis teamed up with Ken Arbuckle, who claimed to be a direct descendent of the brothers. They brought the Aroisa blend back to market, right down to its bright red lettering, the flying angel and the free peppermint stick inside. The new Arbuckles became the first coffee roaster in Arizona to be USDA Certified Organic, and it also became the state’s first Fair Trade USA roaster.
The Arbuckles started buying property on the block now home to Brooklyn Roasting Company in 1897. By 1906 they owned the entire block and razed the former buildings. After John Arbuckle died, this building (then a part of 20 Jay Street) was used as a bonded liquor warehouse in the 1940s, bought by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1948 and leased as a warehouse to Abraham & Straus, then Brooklyn’s leading department store (ask your grandmother if it was before your time…a Macy’s currently occupies its formerly grand headquarters on Fulton Street). A&S kept the space for several decades before going out of business in 1995. The building fell into disrepair and was rediscovered in the 2000s, when an influx of artists and creatives identified the light, water and airy warehouse space of DUMBO as an overlooked gem in the Brooklyn landscape. Creativity demands caffeine, so…. Brooklyn Roasting Company opened its doors in November 2009, installing a custom-built roaster and employing part of the space to store heavy sacks of green coffee beans — thereby returning the space to its original purpose.
Sources:
— “Before Starbucks: Arbuckle Coffee,” January 9, 2012.
— DUMBO Historic District Designation Report, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, December 18, 2007.
— “Arbuckles: The Coffee That Won the West,” by Francis Fugate, 1994.
— “Ridin’ the Rainbow: Father’s Life in Tucson,” by Rosemary Taylor, 1944.
— Arbuckles Coffee official web site.
–Brownstowner, Walkabout: The Arbuckle Coffee Company’s Sugar and Coffee War