Vashon Coffee Company is now Blossom Coffee Roasters
We are so lucky to have so many artists on our little island. Art comes in many forms of course… working with wood, working with metal, working with food and working with coffee. There are many options for coffee on island and off, so it takes a pretty special group of people to make coffee that can stand out from the crowd. Blossom Coffee Roasters, formally Vashon Coffee Company are the artists I speak of.
The Blossom Coffee Roasters Story
Blossom Coffee Roasters began out of a shared vision and desire from Dawn and Pat Loraas nearly 20 years ago: to provide people with an experience of a sweeter, more impactful and better tasting cup of coffee. But they knew this experience would only be possible by being able to source high quality green coffee and establish a roast philosophy that sought to enhance and not mask the delicate qualities and flavor those coffee’s have. Out of that vision Dawn and Pat began the company in 2003 on Vashon Island in Washington. To this day our company’s operations remain on the Island and is now made up of two roasters, two logistics and account managers, a delivery guy, a director of coffee, and a sometimes-present cat all there to coordinate together to deliver those experiences every week. So wherever you experience Blossom, we hope you will see, sense, and taste the experience we work hard to create for you.
Their Commitments
Back in 2003 it was hard for us to find the kind of green coffee regularly we so desperately wanted to provide, but from the beginning we sought to preserve our commitment no matter the costs. This is because we believe that every beverage created with coffee – whether a blended mocha or straight black cup, it all starts with the green. Coffees that are grown and harvested to maintain quality and consistency from cherry ripeness (color) to density then processed to continue that quality creates a coffee that is sweet, clean, and flavorful from cup to cup.
Our commitment to seeking out quality green coffee consists of establishing good importer and direct to producer relationships, along with tasting hundreds of coffees each year from those relationships. We do this in search of purchasing the one, two, or few coffees that fit what we are looking for. On average we will taste about 500 coffees a year from all over the world. During this, not only are we able to find small, one bag micro-lots, picked and processed intentionally that have gone on to win multiple Good Food Awards, Best Espresso Awards, and place in regional and national brewing competitions. But also, we buy larger quantities that are more affordable for the consumer and profitable for the producer, all to offer a great coffee to more people for an extended time.
From here our commitment to our roasting philosophy starts with our team’s dedication to education and palate development. We perform weekly cuppings of coffee samples and our current production roasts. We do this to not only narrow down our selections for what we think will taste great whether in our Dark Side of the Moon blend, or as a single origin offering, but also we cup regularly to train our palates to always seek out the nuances and subtleties of our coffees. That way we can curate roast profiles that enhances those qualities of the coffee for your enjoyment. For us, serving memorable coffee experiences starts with establishing processes and then funnels down to the knowing the nuances and subtleties, and that’s why we commit to our practices each week.
Their Hope
One of reasons why we chose Blossom as our name is because we believe that everyone deserves to blossom in this life we live no matter what they are doing or where they are. We simply hope that wherever or whenever you drink our coffee, whether on your way to the office for work, finishing up schoolwork, or building cabinetry as a contractor we hope to be helping you blossom in the small way we can. So hone your craft, try new things, or pursue ideas that excite you, either way, you deserve to blossom.