{"title":"April '26","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"plum-runner","title":"Plum Runner","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEver Trujillo farms Finca La Esperanza in Tarqui, a small region on the west side of Huila, Colombia, sitting between Pitalito and La Plata above the Magdalena river valley. His farm sits near the top of the local mountain range at 1,900 meters elevation. The coffee is a variety called \"Colombia,\" a hybrid developed by Colombia's national coffee research center, Cenicafé, in the late 1960s. Researchers crossed Caturra with Timor Hybrid to create a plant that could resist coffee leaf rust, a fungal disease that threatened producers across the country. It was released widely in the early 1980s and became one of the most commonly planted varieties in Colombia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Colombia variety grows well in full sun and at high planting densities, which contributed to heavy use of synthetic fertilizers and agrochemicals across much of the country after its release. Ever takes a different approach. His trees grow under the shade of high canopy trees, at a lower planting density, where the cooler conditions at 1,900 meters slow down the ripening process. He picks cherries at full burgundy color, floats them to remove low-density fruit, ferments for 48 hours, fully washes the coffee, then dries it on raised beds under the canopy. It is a traditional Colombian process, done carefully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTarqui sits tucked away enough that it rarely gets the attention of better-known Colombian coffee regions, but Phil Sebastian has been sourcing from producers here for years. The region's elevation and the care taken by growers like Ever show that the Colombia variety, when farmed with this much attention, can produce coffees with real character and a strong sense of place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian in Calgary, Canada in 2007. Phil came in with an engineering background and has put it to use in ways most roasters haven't, designing their own roasting machine and writing the software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian has focused his energy on the cafes and on sourcing green coffee from Central and South America. They've been working together on the business for close to 20 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil \u0026amp; Sebastian pay well above the industry average for their green coffee and invest directly in projects at origin. Phil travels to Africa for green coffee buying, while Sebastian handles Central and South American sourcing. Their view is that quality erodes without constant effort to maintain it, and that paying fairly and sharing knowledge with producers is part of what keeps the supply chain working at a high level. Since around 2012, they've also shifted toward sourcing from producers who use less synthetic inputs and more shade-grown, lower-density farming, which aligns with what Ever Trujillo is doing in Tarqui.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074384982076,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/Plum_Runner_250g_web.png?v=1773712468"},{"product_id":"smooth-operator","title":"Smooth Operator","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFernando \"Fer\" Vindas grew up with coffee farms in his family but didn't set out to be a farmer. He trained and worked as a veterinarian. When his father passed away in 2006, Fer and his siblings had to decide what to do with the family land. Fer chose to take it on, and along with running the farms, he started milling his own coffee. He named the micromill Cerro Alto, which translates to \"High Hill,\" after the terrain where the farms sit in Costa Rica.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis background in veterinary science shapes how he runs the operation. Fer approaches the mill with the same measured, methodical thinking he brought to his medical work: tracking variables, running controlled processes, and not cutting corners. That precision shows up in the consistency of what comes out of Cerro Alto. The farms sit at high elevation in Costa Rica's Central Valley, where cooler temperatures slow cherry development and give the beans more time to build density and sweetness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson, one of the two founders of Phil and Sebastian, first tried Fer's coffee in 2020 and has since spent time at the farm and mill in person. That on-the-ground relationship is how Phil and Sebastian sources much of their coffee, especially in Central and South America, where co-founder Sebastian Sztabzyb travels regularly to buy green coffee and maintain direct ties with producers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil and Sebastian in 2007 in Calgary, Canada. Phil came in with an engineering background and applied it directly to the roasting side of the business, eventually designing their own roasting machine and writing the software that runs everything from roast profiling to order fulfillment. Sebastian brought a focus on the business and cafe side, while also taking on sourcing trips to Central and South America to buy green coffee. Both have been running the company together for nearly 20 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir sourcing approach is built around paying above the industry average for green coffee and investing directly in projects at origin, rather than buying through intermediaries at arm's length. Phil travels to Africa to buy coffee, Sebastian covers Central and South America, and both have long-term relationships with the producers they work with. For a roaster based in Calgary, that level of direct sourcing is uncommon, and it's central to how they maintain consistency across their lineup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074387963964,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/Smooth_Operator_Web_250g.png?v=1773712504"},{"product_id":"honey-haze-espresso","title":"Honey Haze Espresso","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFerney Cruz farms Finca El Prado near the crest of the mountains above Tarqui, a small town on the western side of Huila, Colombia, overlooking the Magdalena River valley below. His farm sits at 1,900 meters, where cooler temperatures slow cherry maturation and allow more complexity to develop in the bean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFerney grows the Colombia variety, a cultivar developed by Cenicafé in the late 1960s by crossing Caturra with Timor Hybrid to combat leaf rust outbreaks threatening national production. It was widely planted by the early 1980s for its disease resistance, compact size, and reliable yields. When adopted at industrial scale, the variety was often grown in full-sun, high-density systems that leaned heavily on fertilizers and agrochemicals. Ferney farms differently: his Colombia trees grow under tall canopy shade, at lower planting density, in healthier, more balanced soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFerney harvests only when cherries reach a deep burgundy colour. He then ferments them in closed tanks for 12 hours before de-pulping, followed by a second fermentation in mucilage for roughly 50 hours. After washing, the parchment dries slowly on raised beds under shade. That two-stage fermentation builds the clean sweetness and structure this coffee is known for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian in Calgary in 2007. Phil came from an engineering background and put it to direct use in the business, designing their roasting machine and building the software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian brought a focus on entrepreneurship and finance alongside a drive to source directly in Central and South America. Both travel to origin regularly to buy green coffee and build relationships with producers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil \u0026amp; Sebastian pay well above the industry average for green coffee and invest in projects at origin. Their sourcing model is built on the idea that producers need to be economically healthy for quality to improve over time. On the roasting side, they hold themselves to a standard they describe as competing not just against large chains, but against the best specialty roasters anywhere. That's a harder bar to clear, and it shows in how they approach selection and quality control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074388062268,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/Honey_Haze_Spro_web_250g.png?v=1773712540"},{"product_id":"mystic-melon","title":"Mystic Melon","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinca Hartmann is a family farm in the Santa Clara region of Panama, started when Alois Strasil Hartmann first passed through the area in the late 1800s and found land worth staying for. His son Ratibor \"Chicho\" Hartmann built the farm into a coffee operation over the following decades. Before he passed in 2016, Chicho gave his five children a choice: divide the land and go their separate ways, or keep it intact and work as a team. They chose to keep it together, with each sibling focusing on what they do best.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe farm sits at 1,300 meters, which is on the lower end for specialty coffee. The Hartmanns make up for elevation with variety selection and careful farming. They grow caturra and typica, chosen specifically because they perform well at that altitude. During harvest, the team walks the farm daily, identifying which plots have the most ripe cherry and picking those first. Sorting is strict, with underripe and overripe cherry pulled out before processing begins. Their natural process (where the coffee fruit dries around the bean) starts on raised beds, continues in dark room dehydrators, and finishes in mechanical dryers for larger harvests. That layered approach is what keeps the cup clean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson, who sources Phil and Sebastian's African coffees and has visited the Hartmann farm, describes it as some of the healthiest coffee trees he's seen. That attention to the plants from the ground up carries through to the cup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil and Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil and Sebastian in Calgary in 2007. Phil came from an engineering background and applied it directly to the roasting operation, designing their roasting machine and building custom software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian brought a focus on entrepreneurship and finance, and the two split their sourcing responsibilities by region: Phil travels to Africa to buy green coffee, Sebastian handles Central and South America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil and Sebastian pay well above the industry average for their green coffee and invest directly in projects at origin. The goal isn't just to source good coffee but to keep the producers who grow it in a position to keep doing so. On the roasting side, their standard is set against the best specialty roasters in the world, not just large chains, which means they're constantly re-evaluating their own work rather than treating past quality as a ceiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074388095036,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/MysticMelon250g.png?v=1773712577"},{"product_id":"doppelganger-espresso","title":"Doppelganger Espresso","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFernando \"Fer\" Vindas trained as a veterinarian, but when his father passed away in 2006, he and his siblings had to decide what to do with their family farms in Costa Rica. Fer took over and made the call to start milling their own coffee. He named the micromill Cerro Alto, which translates to \"High Hill.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFer's science background shows in how he runs the farm and mill. His approach is measured and precise, applying the same methodical thinking to coffee processing that he once used in veterinary practice. The consistency in his work is a direct result of that mindset.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoppelganger is Phil and Sebastian's darkest espresso roast, built to pull well in any machine, from a manual espresso setup to a super-automatic. The beans are roasted to a chocolate brown, not the oily black you'd expect from a dark roast. The goal was a coffee that holds up well with milk and works just as well as a straight shot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil and Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil and Sebastian in Calgary, Canada in 2007. Phil came from an engineering background and has used that training hands-on in the business, designing their roasting machine and building software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian has focused on the business and finance side while traveling to Central and South America to source green coffee directly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth founders travel to origin to buy green coffee themselves. Phil covers Africa, Sebastian covers the Americas. They pay above the industry average for their green coffee and put money into on-the-ground projects at origin. Their sourcing relationship with Fer Vindas at Cerro Alto is a good example of how that works in practice. Phil first tried the coffee in 2020 and has visited the farm and mill multiple times since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074388848700,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/Doppelganger_Spro_web.png?v=1773712743"},{"product_id":"lights-out-decaf","title":"Lights Out Decaf","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis decaf comes from a group of smallholder producers in the Garzón region of Huila, Colombia. Huila is one of Colombia's most productive coffee-growing departments, sitting in the southern Andes where the Magdalena River valley creates the elevation and climate that Arabica coffee needs. Garzón sits within this area and has built a reputation for producing sweet, full-bodied lots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil \u0026amp; Sebastian sourced this coffee as green (unroasted) beans and had it decaffeinated in Colombia using the ethyl acetate (EA) method, also called sugarcane decaf. The process works by steaming the green coffee to open its pores, then soaking it in ethyl acetate, a solvent derived from fermented sugarcane, to draw out the caffeine. The beans are steamed again to remove any remaining solvent before drying. Because the solvent comes from sugarcane rather than synthetic sources, the process is considered a cleaner and more sustainable option compared to older chemical decaffeination methods. It also tends to leave the coffee's original character intact better than most alternatives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil \u0026amp; Sebastian chose this particular lot because it was already tasting chocolatey, round, and sweet before decaffeination. The EA process was applied in-country in Colombia, keeping the supply chain shorter and the carbon footprint lower than shipping green coffee elsewhere for processing. The finished coffee is roasted to work both as a filter brew and as espresso.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian in Calgary, Alberta in 2007. Phil came from an engineering background and applied it directly to the roasting operation, designing their own roasting machine and writing custom software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian brought a focus on the business and cafe side, along with green coffee buying in Central and South America. Both founders travel to origin to buy coffee directly, with Phil handling sourcing in Africa and Sebastian covering Latin America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhil \u0026amp; Sebastian pay above the industry average for their green coffee and invest in projects at origin with their producing partners. On the roasting side, Phil's engineering background means quality control is built into the process rather than checked at the end. They openly describe their goal as raising the bar not just against large coffee chains, but against other specialty roasters globally, including holding their own past work to the same scrutiny. For a Calgary-based operation, that's an unusually specific and ambitious target to set publicly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Phil \u0026amp; Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their \"Hartmann Honey\" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe \"hoarded\" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phil \u0026 Sebastian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44074388881468,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/Lights_Out_Decaf_web_250g.png?v=1773712793"},{"product_id":"smoke-mirrors-house-dark","title":"Smoke \u0026 Mirrors, House Dark","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSmoke and Mirrors is Bright Jenny's house dark roast, sourced from Mexico. While the specific farm or cooperative behind this coffee isn't something Bright Jenny has published, their sourcing philosophy is straightforward: pay a premium, source as directly as possible, and make sure the farmer sees more of that money. The idea is simple: better pay at the farm level means better coffee coming back to the roaster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDark roasts have a reputation for being heavy, oily, and one-dimensional. Bright Jenny roasts this one to avoid that. The goal is a dark roast that holds together without tipping into bitter or ashy territory. It works well black, and holds up with cream without losing its character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is also the coffee Dave Upshaw, Bright Jenny's founder, has admitted to reaching for himself when he wants something dependable. That's worth something.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Bright Jenny\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC, after bouncing through a few careers that didn't quite fit: real estate agent, aspiring paramedic, craft beer industry. He kept coming back to coffee. His first roaster was a popcorn maker. His second was a drum he built himself using a BBQ, a stainless steel drum, and a modified rotisserie. No computers, no roast graphs, just heat, smell, the sound of the cracks, and his own instincts. That contraption is still sitting in the Bright Lab if you want to go look for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe learned what most people learn from that kind of setup: how to pay attention. The early coffee probably wasn't technically perfect, but his customers came back, and that's how Bright Jenny got its first loyal following. Over the years the operation grew considerably, along with a few memorable setbacks: a roaster fire involving a shop vac and burning chaff, a near-miss towing their first trailer cafe into Kal Lake, and a rebranding forced by a legal threat from an unnamed billionaire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough all of it, the priority has stayed the same: good coffee and good people in the same room. Dave spent a year in Edmonton as a stay-at-home dad while his partner Jenny completed her doctorate. His team kept the cafe running without him. He came back with a new favourite coffee and a renewed appreciation for both his kids and his staff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Bright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: \"yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts.\"\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bright Jenny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128820199484,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/SmokeProductCover_3cc8595e-9217-4b3e-b8bf-9960a4c0e735.jpg?v=1773941372"},{"product_id":"worka-chelchele","title":"Worka Chelchele","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Banko Chelchele washing station sits in the Gedeb district of Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe zone, where 396 smallholder farmers bring their coffee cherry to be processed. Farmers in this area grow their coffee at elevations between 1,900 and 2,100 meters above sea level, which puts it among the higher-grown coffees you'll find from Ethiopia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter farmers deliver their cherry to the station, the coffee goes through a full washed process, meaning the fruit is removed before the beans are dried. The beans then dry on raised beds, which allows air to circulate evenly around them. This approach to processing tends to produce cleaner, more defined flavors compared to natural or honey-processed coffees, and it's a good fit for Ethiopian beans grown at this altitude, where the raw material is already working in the coffee's favor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Bright Jenny\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC after bouncing through a few different careers first. He spent time as a real estate agent, tried to become a paramedic, and worked in the craft beer industry before committing fully to coffee. He learned to roast on a popcorn maker, then built his own drum roaster out of a BBQ and a stainless steel drum with a modified rotisserie. That machine still lives in the Bright Lab if you want to see it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave's sourcing philosophy is pretty straightforward: coffee quality starts at the farm, and roasters are just trying to get out of the way. Bright Jenny pays a premium and sources as directly as possible so farmers see more of the money, which Dave figures gives them the means to keep improving the coffee. The company has had its share of chaos over the years, including a rebranding after a legal threat from a billionaire and a shop vac that caught fire in the roastery, but the throughline has always been the people, both the team behind the counter and the customers coming through the door.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Bright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: 'yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts.'\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bright Jenny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128821575740,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/WorkaChelcheleProductCover_2x-100.jpg?v=1773941411"},{"product_id":"blend-altura","title":"Blend Altura","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Café con Altura program works with smallholder farmers in Nariño, Colombia, one of the country's most extreme growing regions. Farms here sit in the shadow of the Galeras volcano, with producers working at elevations that push the upper limits of where coffee can viably grow. The altitude slows the cherry's development, giving the beans more time to build density and sugar before harvest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter picking, the coffee goes through a washed process: the fruit is removed, the beans are fermented to loosen the remaining mucilage, then dried in the sun. Done at this elevation, drying takes longer and requires careful attention to keep the bed consistent. The program is built around supporting producers who are working in genuinely difficult conditions, helping them get fair value for coffee that takes more effort to grow and process than what comes off lower-lying farms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Bright Jenny\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC after bouncing through a few careers that never quite fit. He got his start in coffee at Starbucks while studying for his real estate license, worked as a realtor for three years, tried paramedic training, then spent time in the craft beer industry. Coffee kept pulling him back. He taught himself to roast on a popcorn maker, then built his own drum roaster out of a BBQ and a modified rotisserie. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBright Jenny has grown from those early DIY days into a full roastery and cafe operation, but the personality hasn't changed much. The holes in the counter are still there. The smoke-and-mirrors dark roast is still on the menu. And Dave will still tell you a story if you ask how any of it started.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave's sourcing philosophy is straightforward: coffee quality starts at the farm, and roasters are just trying to bring out what's already there. That means sourcing as directly as possible and paying a premium so farmers can reinvest in quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Bright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: \"yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts.\"\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bright Jenny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128823738428,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/BlendAlturaProductCover_2x-100.jpg?v=1773941448"},{"product_id":"swiss-water®-decaf","title":"Swiss Water® Decaf","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis decaf comes from the highlands of Acatenango, Guatemala, a volcanic region sitting between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level. The altitude and rich volcanic soil slow the growth of the coffee cherry, which tends to produce denser beans with more developed flavour. Acatenango sits in Guatemala's south-central highlands and has become one of the more recognized growing regions in the country for producing clean, well-structured coffee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter harvest, the coffee goes through the Swiss Water® Process to remove caffeine. Unlike chemical solvent methods, Swiss Water® uses hot water and a carbon filter system to strip caffeine while keeping the soluble compounds that carry flavour intact. The result is a cup that retains a lot of what makes the original coffee worth drinking. The process is also certified organic and takes place at the Swiss Water facility in Burnaby, British Columbia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDecaf has a reputation problem, and most of it comes from how the coffee is processed and sourced. Starting with good green coffee from a region like Acatenango and using a gentler decaffeination method makes a real difference in what ends up in the cup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Bright Jenny\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC, after bouncing through a few careers that never quite fit. He got his real estate license, worked as an agent for three years, tried paramedic training, and spent time in the craft beer industry. Coffee kept pulling him back. He taught himself to roast using YouTube, a popcorn maker, and eventually a drum he built from a stainless steel cylinder and a modified BBQ rotisserie. No computers, no roast graphs, just heat, smell, and sound. That original roaster is still sitting in the Bright Lab if you want to go look for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBright Jenny sources as directly as possible and pays a premium for green coffee because Dave sees quality as something that starts at the farm, not the roaster. The roastery's job, in his words, is to get out of the way and let the best version of the bean come through. That same DIY, figure-it-out approach that started with a backyard BBQ roaster still runs through how they operate today, just with better equipment and fewer near-disasters. (Though there have been a few of those too.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Bright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: \"yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts.\"\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bright Jenny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128825770044,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/SWDecafProductCover_2x-100.jpg?v=1773941486"},{"product_id":"santa-clara","title":"Santa Clara","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSanta Clara is a family-run estate in Antigua, Guatemala, currently overseen by Ricardo Zelaya, a fourth-generation producer. The farm sits on the slopes of Volcán de Agua, where the volcanic soil and elevation create consistent growing conditions year over year. Antigua is one of Guatemala's most established coffee-growing regions, and Santa Clara has been producing coffee there long enough that the Zelaya family's name has become synonymous with the estate itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe farm uses shade-grown practices, meaning coffee plants grow under a canopy of trees rather than in open fields. This slows the development of the cherry, which tends to produce more concentrated flavors in the cup. Santa Clara also maintains natural forest on the property and runs an eco-conscious wet mill, managing water use and waste during the processing of the harvested coffee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the coffee that started everything for Bright Jenny. Dave Upshaw purchased Santa Clara as Bright Jenny's very first coffee back in 2015, and it has stayed in the lineup ever since. That kind of long-term relationship with a single estate is rare, and it means the roasting approach has been dialed in over nearly a decade of working with the same coffee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Bright Jenny\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDave Upshaw started Bright Jenny in Kelowna, BC, after bouncing through a few careers that never quite fit. He got his start in coffee at Starbucks while studying for his real estate license, spent three years as a realtor, tried paramedic training, and worked in craft beer before landing back in coffee. When he decided to make coffee his career, he taught himself to roast using YouTube tutorials, starting with a popcorn maker and eventually building a drum roaster out of his BBQ and a stainless steel drum with a modified rotisserie. That original drum still lives in the Bright Lab at the roastery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBright Jenny's sourcing philosophy is straightforward: quality starts at the farm, and the roaster's job is to get out of the way of a good bean. Dave buys as directly as possible and pays a premium to make sure producers are getting a fair return, reasoning that better-paid farmers can invest in better coffee. The relationship with Santa Clara is the clearest example of that approach in action, a single estate they've been buying from since the beginning, year after year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBright Jenny is another roaster we love for how seriously they take their craft without taking themselves too seriously. The result: a panel of excellently roasted and delicious coffees that fit a broad set of tastes. The owner (Dave Upshaw) himself considers their dark roast, Smoke \u0026amp; Mirrors, among his favourites, to which Dave says: \"yes, coffee nerds are allowed to like dark roasts.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Dean, Director of Coffee\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bright Jenny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128827211836,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/SantaClaraProductCover_56830955-995a-4d72-91ca-5ffdb16b2fbe.jpg?v=1773941522"}],"url":"https:\/\/stillwatercoffee.ca\/collections\/april-26.oembed","provider":"Stillwater Coffee Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}