Every cup of coffee tells a story, and at Lore Coffee Roasters, we're here to share those stories. What better way to kick off our blog than by sharing the origins of Lore—how we found our name through the discovery of our mission. Our name is a reflection of that purpose.
Transition
It was October 2022 when I lost my job. Ten months prior, I moved my pregnant wife and 8 month old daughter (along with two cats, a beagle, and everything we owned) from Nashville, Tennessee to Sandpoint, Idaho: somewhere we had never been. We trusted God. We had just moved (again) forty-five minutes north, to Bonners Ferry, where we were living mostly off-grid, in a yurt. Our 8 month old was then 18 months old and our son was 6 months old. I was at a point where I knew I had to figure out a career path. I knew that I wanted to work in the coffee industry. I hoped that I would someday be able to start my own coffee roasting business, but I didn’t know when the time would be right or if it would be feasible. Being unemployed and needing to find a long term solution, I contemplated pursuing other career paths. Nothing stuck, so I knew I had to give coffee a serious consideration.
Opportunity
I knew there was a huge opportunity in North Idaho, given the lack of specialty coffee roasteries or cafés in the area. Furthermore, I saw a huge, untapped market that had yet to be cared for by the specialty coffee industry online and in every community that it exists. I knew the industry, I knew coffee, but I didn't know business. I needed someone to help me run a business, so that I could focus on curating a coffee program that would be approachable to the person who has yet to encounter specialty coffee, while being undeniable to the Q-grader scoring my coffee at the World Brewers Championship.
Partnership
I approached a single person with the opportunity to join me on this quest. I had only known Graysen for ten months at the time, but I knew I could trust him. We were the same age and I knew he was hungry. I saw in him something that I had seen in the past, in the few people I knew who were able to make something out of nothing. I believed in his raw talents and I knew he would be successful at whatever he set his mind to. He just needed the right vehicle. I needed someone to fill in my gaps, someone I could rely on, and someone who would push me. I needed someone to lock arms with and God showed me that Graysen was the guy.
Discovery
There was one thing that had to be overcome, Graysen hated coffee. Well, he thought he did. It is remarkable how much Graysen trusted me. I mean, he really trusted me. He knew nothing about coffee. He had never tasted the coffee I had been drinking for so many years and had no idea what he was in for. Yet, he took a chance on me and the vision I laid before him. After we acquired our IKAWA Pro sample roaster and received dozens of green coffee samples from various specialty coffee importers, we were able to start tasting coffees together. To say it simply, Graysen and his wife Rachel’s minds were blown. They were able to experience light roasted, high altitude, single varietal coffees, of a multitude of processing methods, from around the coffee growing world, and they loved it. Most importantly, they got it. They could see what I was trying to convey, which was that there is so much more to coffee than the effects of caffeine. The coffees we were trying didn’t taste bitter or like smoke. They were sweet and tasted like fruit. There is depth within a particular coffee and my friends could see that. This is when we started to understand our mission as a business. Coffee has a story to tell and so many people who have yet to hear it.
Process
Coffee is made three times: at the farm, in the roasting machine, and through brewing. What makes specialty coffee special, is the collective understanding that the coffee is only as good as the preparer before and after you, unless you are a barista or a person brewing coffee at your home. In which case, you are at the final phase of preparation. As a roaster, I depend on the farmer’s ability to grow pristine coffees and the quality control measures he applies toward harvesting and processing. From there, I rely on the international freight industry to transport coffee to the ports of America and then to our roastery. Fortunately, we are able to rely on specialty coffee importers to handle the majority of these processes, which makes them another important cog in the coffee machine. By the time a particular coffee reaches the roastery, we’re tasked with determining the optimal roast profile for its particular qualities, along with our goals for the coffee. Once this is determined and achieved, it is up to our baristas and customers to take the baton and complete the final lap.
Journey
At the end of this process comes a moment of understanding. Through the experience of this final phase, one can recognize a Pink Bourbon varietal, shaped by the terroir of the mountains in Huila, Colombia, and the traditional washed processing method it underwent, using only taste and smell. Furthermore; one gains an appreciation for the attention to detail applied by every person who had a hand in preparing the coffee up to this point, and learns to appreciate coffee more than he had before this cup of coffee. This is the story we are attempting to tell, and the journey that we are on.
This is why we are Lore. Specialty coffee is a comprehensive deep dive into where coffee comes from and why it is the way it is. Specialty coffee is experiential and there is a story to know. You’ll never fully understand it through reading a blog or watching a video. We only hope to add to that experience through these blogs. One must taste and see.
-Nicholas Carter, Head Roaster and Co-Founder of Lore Coffee Roasters