Joebella Coffee Seeks to Ramp Up Fair Trade to Direct Trade
By Katy Budge
Even the most committed locavores among us usually draw the line at one thing: coffee. We’re willing to give up a lot of things, but not the ritual cup of joe. Thankfully, Joebella Coffee Roasters in Atascadero has taken some of the guilt out of that indulgence.
Joebella – named for owners Joseph and Isabel Gerardis – roasts only organic and fair trade coffee, a commitment they made not for its marketing appeal but simply because “it’s the right thing to do.” When coffee beans (or other commodities) are bought within a certified fair trade system, the farmers are guaranteed a certain price, have safer working conditions and have the opportunity to reinvest their earnings into community development projects. (For more information, go to www.transfairusa.org)
Both whole bean and ground Joebella Coffees are available at select stores, and also at the Templeton coffeehouse that the Gerardises opened a little over two years ago. Located on Rossi Road near the corner of Vineyard and Highway 101, the coffeehouse sports a cozy interior that Joseph (a carpenter by trade) constructed with primarily reclaimed materials and renewable woods. There are other select fair trade items available for purchase, as are large burlap coffee bean bags which come in handy as dog beds, protecting plants from frost, etc.
Though there’s always a wide range of javas available at the coffeehouse, there are usually four featured coffees on hand as well: dark, blend, decaf and a “single origin” roast from one particular country “where the taste of the origin is in your cup.” Each cup of coffee is handmade to order, whether it’s from the “pour over” bar, a French press, or a slow pulled espresso, so relax and watch the baristas work their magic.
The Joebella coffeehouse also offers tasty treats such as pastries and breakfast burritos from other local businesses, and some vegetarian soups have recently been added. There’s free wifi, and the coffeehouse has hosted several local events such as fundraisers, meetings, workshops and “cuppings.” Akin to a focused wine tasting, cuppings are a way to taste the differences – and even flaws – in different coffees side-by-side.
Not willing to rest on their organic and fair trade laurels, the Gerardises are also becoming more and more involved in “direct trade” coffee. This concept takes fair trade to the next level and, as the name suggests, means that Joebella would ideally roast beans purchased directly from a farmer, farm and/or community. As luck would have it, one such direct trade avenue serendipitously presented itself while we were conducting the interview for this article.
A local patron of Joebella brought in some friends of hers, Tsegaye Bekele and Donna Sillan, who were visiting from their home in the Bay Area. As it turned out, Bekele and Sillan have founded an organization (www.commonriver.org) to develop and support community efforts – education, primary health care, local business etc. – in Bekele’s home town of Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia. One of the methods of fundraising is to help sell coffee beans from the area, so suffice it to say that after brewing sample cups of the coffee, and within about 20 minutes of discussion, Joebella was a new outlet for Aleta Wondo coffee beans. As Isabel observed, “You can’t get any more direct trade than that!”
Joebella Coffee Roasters is located at 1121 Rossi Road, Suite C (near Trader Joe’s) in Templeton, and is open daily Monday- Saturday 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information, call 434-2479; a complete list of available coffees will be available at www.joebellacoffee.com.
