Rocket Ribs and BBQ and Rocket Smoked Coffee

Leo and Sally own the plantation in Colombia, and they roast the beans themselves. That is the whole pitch for Norte Cafe Roasters, and it is enough. Most people find them at the Minneapolis Farmers Market or on the shelf at a Hy-Vee, not at a cafe. There is no cafe to visit. There is a family, a farm in Colombia, and a small roasting operation moving single-origin Colombian whole bean into the hands of home brewers.

The dark roast is the bag one regular ships in five-pound increments as gifts, which is a specific enough behavior to take seriously. The medium roast is what people grind at home for daily drinking. A monthly subscription option exists for people who want to stop thinking about reordering. The 5lb gift shipping bags double as housewarming presents and care packages for relatives who only drink dark. The grocery distribution covers the Hy-Vee end of the Midwest, the farmers market covers the in-person end, and the subscription handles everyone else.

For home brewers who want to buy Colombian whole bean online or in person at the market, and to back a family-owned grower-roaster operation while doing it, this is the move. The grower-roaster combination is rare in the United States, and most claims of single-origin transparency are several links removed from the farm. Here they are not. Leo and Sally are the farm and the roastery, full stop. Anyone looking for a cafe to drop into is in the wrong place, and the Norte team is honest about that. The whole point is that the coffee shows up in your kitchen, not theirs. Order the medium roast, grind it that morning, and the chain from Colombian plantation to your cup is short enough to count on one hand.