Do you read our blog? Well, duh...

Do you drink our coffee? I should hope so if you're reading our blog.

Do you order coffee from our web store? We don't really know, so lets find out!

Just because you're kind enough read our blog and follow what we're doing from time to time (and because we want to see how many folks actually engage with our ramblings), we're going to offer you, our readers, a discount on coffee at our web store.

Order any coffee, at any quantity and any shipping/pick-up option and use the coupon code BLOGZ to get 10% off your order.

We'll keep this promotion running for 1 week, starting today.
Feel free to use it as much as you like and, by all means, share it with your friends, post it to Twitter, Facebook--whatever you like!

Happy shopping, and thanks for reading!

Raise your hand if you follow Blanchard's Coffee Co. on Twitter and Facebook.

If you didn't raise your hand you should get on the bandwagon. As much as we try to blog about every cool thing that comes down the pipes, some stuff slips through the cracks--but we rarely miss a beat on social media.

Perfect example: If you were following our Twitter and Facebook feeds Friday evening you probably saw something about a Saturday morning espresso tasting idea. That idea, by the time it was confirmed around 10:00pm Friday night, became known as PopUpEspresso, and if you didn't come out, you missed something pretty special.

For those of you that missed it--here's the story:
I put out a question on Facebook and Twitter around 8:30pm Friday night asking if there was any interest in an espresso tasting Saturday morning--I didn't have anything to do and I needed to be out of my house for a few hours, so I was looking for something interesting to get into.

Enough people expressed interest so I decided to run with it, and at 10:00pm, I announced on Twitter and Facebook that I would hold a PopUpEspresso. What is that you ask? Think of it like a surprise espresso bar. There is no set schedule, no set format--I announced the times and the rules Friday night for the next morning.

This time around, the rules were simple: Come, taste espresso and/or macchiatto, rate it, comment on it, stick around, socialize, ask questions and learn about coffee--if you want to purchase coffee beans, fine, otherwise, leave your money at home. The rules may be completely different next time (and there will be a next time) but they will always be posted ahead of time so you'll know.

This Saturday's event was a great success. We had a bunch of visitors, lots of new faces, and some great feedback on the several espressos we were testing out. Old friends and new friends stuck around, socialized, got highly caffeinated and learned tons of new stuff about coffee and what goes on at Blanchard's on a daily basis.

It is pretty exciting to see how energized an idea can become, even after only a short period of time, so we're already planning the next one! If you want to participate then keep your eyes open for our posts on Facebook and Twitter--it'll be here before you know it!

Camp Coffee

In partnership with Need Supply Co.--a Richmond, Virginia based specialty clothing company that is world renowned for its selection of vintage and rare denim and its consistent ability to be at the forefront of new urban trends--we have created a very unique coffee to offer to offer to customers at their Carytown location and in their webstore.

As you can see by the custom label to the left, Camp Coffee is Dark Roast blend of Indian Monsoon Malabar and Ethiopian Harrar--two very unique coffees that are full of character and flavor.

Often coffee blends are kept a secret as proprietary information but we felt like these two beans had such a fascinating story that it would be a shame not to highlight them in the description.

Together, these beans create a rich, hearty and balanced cup that almost begs for a seat by the fire on a chilly winter evening.

Camp coffee is only available through Need Supply Co. so visit them on Cary Street or pick up a bag from the webstore--you'll be glad you did!

Coffee of the Month News

Dear Coffee of the Month Customers

We hope you are having a lovely holiday season! This is always an exciting time at Blanchard’s Coffee Co. because we’re always extra busy filling orders for gifts, stocking the shelves at all of our retail locations, keeping our restaurants and coffee houses stocked with beans and, of course, staying wired on this year’s Holiday Blend!

This year, in addition to the seasonal sprint to the New Year, we’ve been putting a lot of thought into the Coffee of the Month program. As you may know, Coffee of the Month has been around since the very beginning of Blanchard’s Coffee Co. and many customers have been receiving their monthly special coffee since day one. From a logistical perspective, however, it has become difficult to give the program all it needs to be successful. In short, our wholesale business is growing rapidly and the pressure from that growth has led to COM getting short shrift—some of you have experienced this first hand in the form of order and billing problems and for that, we are terribly sorry.

We decided that we wanted to keep the BCC Coffee of the Month program around but it needed a new, more manageable format to ensure you get your coffee the way you want it, billed correctly and we don’t annoy our loyal customers with clumsy mistakes.

As of the end of 2011, Coffee of the Month customers will no longer be automatically billed and shipped coffee. We will, however, continue to feature a special coffee each month—January’s Coffee of the Month will be a Southern Coast Indian Estate coffee, which is a very interesting cup! We will feature the coffee of the month on our website, our blog and in an email newsletter. Existing COM customers will receive a 10% discount on purchases of the coffee and can order as much or as little as they like. This keeps our offering list fresh and interesting, rewards our loyal customers and takes away a lot of room for error on our part.

I understand this may be sad, annoying or even angering news for some of you and, if that is the case, I encourage you to please call me directly to discuss. Obviously, our number one goal is to make our customers happy and get them great coffee, so we will do everything in our power to make that happen. Please direct all questions, comments or hate-mail (I hope not…) to me at the following contact information:

Stephen T Robertson
Sales & Marketing, Blanchard’s Coffee Co.
804-516-5213
Stephen@blanchardscoffee.com

Thank you again for your continued patronage and support of Blanchard’s Coffee Co.—we truly couldn’t have gotten to where we are without it.

We wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year—and stay in contact with us at all of these places:

www.blanchardscoffee.com
www.blanchardscoffee.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/blanchardscoffee
www.twitter.com/drinkblanchards

Best wishes

Blanchard's Coffee Co.

Holidays, Camp Fire, Beer and Boxing Day!

If you guys hadn't noticed, the Holiday Season is fully upon us!
It is hard to believe the year is almost over--especially since we're looking at yet another week of California-esque weather--but according to my calendar, it is definitely December 20th.

First things first--Blanchard's Coffee Co. will be CLOSED on Monday December 26th 2011 in celebration of Boxing Day! Oh wait--we're not British...must've gotten caught up in all the hype about the Margaret Thatcher movie... Nonetheless, we will be closed on Monday the 26th of December to take a little breather (we've roasted a LOT of coffee in the past few weeks), but we will be back in action, albeit gorged on starch and gluten, on Tuesday to fill all of your coffee needs!

Speaking of coffee needs, here's an exciting piece of news: Need Supply Co. and Blanchard's Coffee Co. have partnered to create Camp Coffee--a truly unique coffee blend created to bring the essence of campfire or fireplace to your cup. If you're not familiar with Need Supply Co., it is a Richmond, Virginia based clothing company that is one of the top rated sources of designer and vintage denim (among many other things) in the world. We are extremely honored to be able to work with them to produce Camp Coffee. It is available exclusively at Need Supply Co. in Carytown or on their website.

In other exciting news, we'll be working with Hardywood Park Brewery today to brew a Coffee Stout using Blanchard's Cold Brew Coffee--this Coffee Stout will go up against similar stouts made with coffee from other local roasters and the winner will be the roaster used for a full run of the ale!
So... this is a call to all BCC fans who are also beer drinkers--head down to the downtown Capital Ale House on Wednesday at 5:30 and vote for Blanchard's! For more information, check out the Hardywood Facebook post.

It might seem hard to believe, but there is even more big BCC news on the horizon so stay tuned for that--in the meantime, have a lovely holiday and safe travels!

Holiday Hullabaloo!

Hello Coffee Lovers!

A few pounds heavier and still confused about what day we're actually on and what in tarnation is going on with the weather, we have survived Thanksgiving, only to be thrust head first into the always startling waters of the pre-holiday season.

Whether we're talking about coffee, shopping, decorating or frantically trying to wind down the year at work, this is a time of year when most of us are charging at full tilt towards the finish line--we at Blanchard's are no exception.

There is SO MUCH happening at Blanchard's Coffee Co.--most of it really awesome. Here is a little update on everything we can tell you so far, and I promise there is even bigger news in the works so keep checking in on us for updates.

Holiday Blend
It is here and it is delicious! A blend of African and Latin American Beans that fits the bill for a great coffee to enjoy leading up to your celebrations. This year, it happens to benefit a great organization here in Richmond called the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence--be sure to click on their link and read about all they do here in town.  We'll be donating a portion of proceeds from Holiday Blend to their organization which will hopefully continue in a lasting relationship after the holidays.

You can buy Holiday Blend at Ellwood Thompson Market, Taza Coffee & Creames, several area Martin's Food Stores, Crossroads Coffee (both locations), Libbie Market, The Blanchard's Coffee Co. website and hopefully more to come! Also, if you find yourself down in the Outer Banks for the holidays, you can pick up Holiday Blend at Waverider's Coffee in Nags Head.

Microlot
We were sad to see the Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry go so hopefully we'll be able to buy that entire crop again next year. We are, however, excited to announce we have bought the entire crop of another small farm in Nicaragua. The Las Nubes Cooperative is owned and operated solely by women of the community and they produced a crop of a little over 300 pounds of a special Caturra varietal. The coffee is a delicious full bodied, light roasted single origin with notes of butter and ripe cherry. This coffee will be available on our website, at Ellwood Thompson Market and several coffee shops including Taza Coffee & Creames, Crossroads Coffee (both locations) and Para Coffee.

Gift Boxes
Every year we offer holiday gift boxes for your gift giving pleasure--a nice, clean cut, black Blanchard's gift box snugly stuffed with three signature BCC coffees--this year we're featuring Dark as Dark, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and of course, Holiday Blend. You can order on our website or we are always willing to take your orders over the phone, in person, via email or even smoke signals, but be warned, sometimes its hard to read smoke signals because of all the smoke we make when roasting Dark as Dark!

We're already getting a ton of requests for custom gift box orders and this is Totally welcomed--if you have special requests, needs or large quantity orders please contact Stephen directly (804-516-5213 or stephen@blanchardscoffee.com) and he'll help you get exactly what you need for your holiday gift giving needs.

We hope to post again soon with even bigger, more exciting news (if you can believe thats possible!) but until then, enjoy the holiday season, stay warm, or cool, whatever we're on today, and don't drink too much egg nog!

Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry: Pre-Roast

Nicaraguan

Maragogype

Peaberry

(mara-go-hee-pay)

A Blanchard's Coffee Co. Exclusive Limited Offering

Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry: Post Roast

At Blanchard's Coffee Co. we are proud of every single coffee we offer, but sometimes we are fortunate enough to come across a coffee that is extra special and exciting. Our latest microlot offering is a perfect example of this. We caught wind of the Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry from our primary broker when we were snooping around for a new bean to feature.

As coffee geeks, we immediately got excited because we're already fond of Nicaraguan beans, but a Maragogype? Rare, delicious, unique--of course that made our ears perk up. And a Peaberry to boot? Hand picked, making up less than 3% of the overall crop--this is awesome! And could it be true? There are only 300 pounds of this coffee in the world? Surely we won't be able to get our hands on this prize, right? Wrong. We got our hands on it; all of it in fact, and we're roasting it for you until its gone.

So, what is so special about Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry you ask? Wait, back up, you're probably just wondering how to pronounce Maragogype. Well, the Maragogype coffee is a mutation of the Typica variety of Arabica coffee. The mutation was first discovered in Bahia, Brazil, so when you think pronunciation, think Portuguese. It goes something like this: mara-go-hee-pay and, if you can, you sort of roll the "R" in the first syllable.

Now that you can pronounce it, lets dig further into what this coffee is. So we know the Maragogype is a mutation of the common Typica bean--a mutation that creates a soft, more palatable, delicate coffee. The Maragogype trees are considerably more fickle and produce a much lower yield, thus making the coffee harder to farm and more rare. The Maragogype bean is often also called "Elephant Bean" because it is commonly much larger than its Typica relative.

Peaberries are another type of mutation that occur in many coffee varietals. The Peaberry occurs when a coffee cherry only produces one seed instead of two. This seed is rounded and takes up the entire seed chamber. They are most often found on the farthest reaching branches of the coffee tree and, as previously mentioned, make up less than 3% of the tree's yield. Add that to the fact that farmers must hand separate them from the rest of the crop and you get an incredibly rare and prized bean.

So, we've got a rare mutation of a rare mutation of an already lovely coffee; what does that mean in your cup?

Well, for this particular coffee it means you get a highly complex, delicate coffee that balances crisp lemony acidity with soft buttery texture. Your cup of coffee takes on characteristics of lemon preserves spread over brioche... wow, that makes me hungry!

This is a truly special coffee and I hope you get a chance to try it out. You can always find our coffees on our website but if you're out and about town, you can buy this coffee in bags or in bulk form at Ellwood Thompson Market. A few choice locations will be brewing the coffee as well--right now you might find a cup at Crossroads Coffee VCU and The Empress.

If you'd like to learn more about this or any coffee please feel free to come chat with us or send a quick email--we'd love to hear from you!