Standing Stone Coffee Company Blog

The Beggar Folk playing in Pittsburgh, PA

Like most musicians that find their way to our coffee shop, I often have never heard of them, let alone heard them. And most of the time getting to know them is a pleasant surprise.

These wayfaring singer/songwriters must witness much along our backroads and small towns. And it shows in their passionate music.

Josh and Trista Lamb of The Beggar Folk are two of these musicians. But as they’ve surely seen on their journey, there is more than harmony to be found here.

Their music breathes a melancholy air into homespun themes, as the two Lambs bleat about family, death, and God.

The gentle waves of the violin accompany the guitar’s simple melodies. Yet above it all rises a lyrical grit. Like walking home in a cold rain.

Listening to the track, “Only Stories,” I felt familiar pangs of doubt and grief hearing the lament… “Poor fools have only heard stories of you / second-hand smoke of the jaded and bruised.” The song affirms a depth to their faith while the title suggests a lingering doubt. Like the rest of their self-titled album, this honest discourse punctuates the minimalist background.

The Beggar Folk’s music certainly isn’t a knee-slapping, hoot-and-holler kind of folk, but it’s full of life.

As our abbreviated mission statement encourages… come, have, share, Listen, learn, be

Only Stories
The Beggar Folk

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Once the wet or dry processing of the beans is completed, the workers will move the beans to the large cement patios to dry in the sun.  They continue to rake through the beans to help the drying process and to eliminate any molding that would occur.  When the beans have been dried to the core, they will begin their aging process until the farmers believe it is time for the beans to be husked.  There are several layers of husk to a coffee bean.  While the process is going on, the workers double in picking out the beans that has been damaged or is over or under ripe.  The last remaining layer will stay on until the beans are in the roasting process.

The coffee is then placed in storage to continue to age until an importer approves the beans and orders a cargo container.   Once the coffee is bought, the beans are then sorted through again, checking for quality, bagged and shipped.

The bags are never opened again until they arrive here at the roastery.  They time period between the farm and roastery is about one month, as it needs to reach port and go through customs.

When Thriving: Stewardship of Resources

Farmer at Nicaragua estate cultivating new dirt

In this 4 part series I’m asking the question “what does it mean to be truly human?”  In other words what are the things that make us tick, that make us thrive, that make our culture we live in?  I’m using coffee as a tool to aid in our conversation.  In Part 1 I talked about Creativity as a fundamentally human characteristic.

Tied closely with the creative uses of coffee is how we choose to use that coffee, the land it’s grown on, the people that grow it, the water that’s used to process it, the shipping methods to get it to us, the methods we use to roast it and store it, and even the cups we choose to serve it in.  Every one of those choices affects so many environmental and social systems around the world.  Coffee is the 2nd largest traded commodity in the world, next to oil.  Coffee therefore is known as

“black gold.”  And driven by the C-Market on the Stock Exchange located in New York and London, whole nations have risen and fallen because of it.  And not only is it the 2nd largest traded commodity on the world, it is also the 2nd most labor intensive product to produce, next to rice.  Your cup of joe in the morning has been

Nicaraguan workers drying coffee on raised beds

carefully brought to you by countless hands expanding the globe, even down to being hand picked one coffee cherry at a time from a tree on the side of a mountain.

What an incredible responsibility it is to care for everyone involved in this food chain from farm to cup.  What a great opportunity to pursue excellence at farm level to ensure that only the best coffee is produced without abuses to the land or the people on it.  That is the 2nd area that makes us human, Stewardship of the Resources we’ve been given.

When Thriving: Community

The 3rd area I’m going to mention is community.  Coffee culture isn’t only about creatively coming up with the best drink possible, and

SSCC in Action

stewarding the land and people in such a way to achieve a great drink, but it is then deeply enjoying it with your neighbor, your friend, your loved one.  There’s something transcendent about this warm drink nestled in your hand  that goes beyond caffeine, flavor particles and water.  It often becomes the conversation that happens while sipping that morning brew.  It is also a world-bridging connection point between the livelihood of the farmer in Kenya caring for a family of 4 to you in your office working to care for your family of 4.  It is a very tangible taste of our global, personal economy.  Coffee can help bring people together.

Our Tendency Toward Decay

Now, we all have to admit that the rosy picture painted above can and does happen, but we also have to deal with the fact, every day, that just like every area of creation is subjected to the famous 2nd law of Thermodynamics, everything is in the constant state of decay, so too is our humanity.  As we can clearly see in the last 100 years and beyond, what often comes out of us are not just the good things, but also destructive things.  Even if that’s not the way things are supposed to be, admittedly it is part of our humanity we face.

Lack of Creativity

Often times our creativity has been squelched by the economic machine.  The mindset of quick and easy has actually dulled and polluted our taste buds with microwaved foods and preservatives.  Cost cutting measures mean mass production and cheaper quality.  It has resulted in the devaluing of the good things we’ve been given.  “Food is fuel.”  Remember that saying?  ‘Grab and goes’ and ‘fast and easies’ have driven up our cholesterol, stress level, and national obesity rates.  As a result we lost the ability to taste, our health, and the simple joy and pleasure of food.  Unless it is extra salty, extra sweet or extra sour, most of us can no longer discern between nuances in what we consume.  It has taken me years of practice  cupping coffees (similar to the art of wine/beer tasting) to rediscover the nuances that my pallet can recognize.  It has caused a great food awakening in me that has opened my eyes to so many good things.  But it took a lot of work after my years of Ramen Noodles.

Click HERE to continue with Part 3 of the series. . .

Last night on Juniata’s campus lawn, I shared a moment of silence and remembrance with fellow members of the Huntingdon and Juniata communities.  It was a moment among thousands of similar moments yesterday as our nation mourned the events of September 11, 2001 and clung to a hope for peace abroad and safety at home.  Expressions of grief and statements of hope stood side by side, each incomplete without the other.

By no means is this an isolated occurrence.  Rather it seems to be our human reaction to the shock of any injustice, pain or wrongdoing on the large or small scale.  Most of the suffering in our lives and communities, however, is not a single, catastrophic event, but is a constant, aching presence.  Unfed children, damaged ecosystems and fractured relationships create ugly wounds in our world, our towns, our families and in us. At times we respond with courageous hope, other times with a defeated grief.

As I interact with my new community of Huntingdon, I am often encouraged by those who have responded out of their grief, hope, or more likely a mingling of the two.  A summer program provides meals for hungry kids. Numerous local farms commit to caring for the earth rather than exploiting it.  A single guy works holidays so his coworker can celebrate with her children.  These stories of hope reflect the beauty of community as it should be.

However, for each story of hope there is an unfed mouth, a toxic dumpsite, a lonely neighbor.  There is much to celebrate, but there is also much to mourn.

The paradox of grief and hope that marks our nation in light of 9/11 is just as present in our local Huntingdon community.  This dual response to pain undergirds Standing Stone Coffee Company’s approach to community development, particularly in our new grants and awards program which launched this month.  We encourage you, your family or your organization to apply for a grant or nominate someone for an award.  May these grants be used by ordinary folks unsettled by the pain of this community and may the awards celebrate the hope of another way.

For more information about grants and awards provided by SSCC, check out SSCC’s Community Development Program, or contact Lisa Hershey, Coordinator of Community Development, at hershey.lisa@gmail.com.

Now that the cherries are a vibrant ripe red (with the exception of the Brazil Yellow Bourbon), they are ready for the picking process.  At our select farms, the cherries are picked by hand.  Each farmer is meticulous about the cherries in which he is picking, as most of them will go over a tree an average of five times to make sure they are loading up the ripest of the fruit.  Once the farmers have picked for a full shift, they head back to the mill to receive their wages, which are based off of weight and quality.

With the ripe cherries in one place the processing begins.  The fruits are either laid out on cement patios to dry in the sun, or are soaked in water.  The decision of which process to use depends on the farm and the bean, although both techniques are used to remove the fruit and its pulp to get to the seeds.  Each cherry normally contains two seeds, which are the actual coffee beans.

Culture Making with Coffee

Art Sale in Courtyard

Recently I was asked to speak to our local rotary about the culture of and surrounding coffee.  This 4 part series takes that talk and turns it into a blog.

The niche of “coffee” in our society I believe is just an interesting microcosm of what many of us deal with in business and society.  The business of coffee, and the culture of coffee that surrounds it, I think brings out both the best and worst of who we are as humans.

Now, without going too deep I want to pose this question.  What does it mean to be truly human?  In other words what are the things that make us tick, that make us thrive, that make our culture we live in?  Ok, so that’s deep, but work with me.  I’m going to use coffee as an example here to help keep it lighter.

There’s a lot of things that make up our humanity of course, but for now I’ll focus on just three: creativity, stewardship of resources, and community.  In Part 1 of this series we look at creativity.

When Thriving: Creativity

One day one of my staff came up to me and said, what if we did something with blackberry and white chocolate in a drink.  I simply

Our Staff at Work

responded, “It sound’s like a good start. Go for it.”  A few days later I was working on some numbers in my office and she peeked her head in with a glass in her hand and a nervous grin on her face. “Try this.” Before I could even try it another barista popped in behind her and said, “try it, it’s great!”  Now, just so you know, I’ve told my staff I’ll try any creation they put in front of me.  So, I tasted it, and it was delicious.  But this is what got me.  She continued, “So, I thought about the berry highlights that are found in our espresso and I wanted to enhance that with the blackberry.  The white chocolate would smooth it out.  But then I thought if I blended it as a milkshake that causes the berry to come out even more.”  Needless to say, it’s now on our summer menu.

In just three years our staff have created over 60 signature drinks and 30 creative sandwiches, expanding all of our palettes.  Creativity is truly something to celebrate.  Human ingenuity is amazing.  When allowed to thrive, we come up with the most amazing things.  Some to make us more comfortable or safe.  Some to advance industry or science.  Some

Latte Art

to simply celebrate life and the gifts we’ve been given.

Coffee is known as being the most complex food on the planet, where when scientifically tested a single cup of coffee has over 800 distinguishable aromas and tastes.  As we receive the raw green beans in from a certain out of the way microlot on a small 2 acre farm in Ethiopia, we have the opportunity to take and craft roast that coffee in such a way as to bring out the best of what that bean has to offer.  Line it up next to a bean from a farm just on the other side of the hill from that farm and it may have a completely different flavor profile.  It’s amazing. We’re working with the classification “Specialty Coffee.”  It’s the best of the best, the top 1% of all coffee produced in the world.  And we get to serve it, and teach guests about it and celebrate it together.

Click HERE to continue to Part 2 of the series . . .

The Matt Dingo Trio, playing at Standing Stone Coffee Company's 3rd Year Anniversary Party

Sometimes it is difficult to find a seat. You squeeze through one of the side doors, or sneak in through the front door in between songs, look around, notice the instruments tuning, notice the busy baristas, notice the attentive audience, and hope to find a vacant nook to nestle in for the evening.  There’s one, at the bar.

Ask right and left, “Is this seat open?” But the music muffles typical responses, so nods will do.

Perched above the crowd, I focus in on the band. The Matt Dingo Trio playing for Standing Stone’s 3^rd Anniversary Party.

Three years, one instrument representing each year the coffee shop has been open.

First the drums begin, the steady rhythm keeping the pace and creating a solid foundation. Like the building itself, metal and brick and wood. Like the heavy burlap bags of coffee beans, resting in back. Like the owners, Greg and Jessie, as their vision for this place assembles with each small task, each tap of the snare.

Then the bass plucking away with low, occasional shifts. Like the seasonal menus, in tune with the changing weather. Like the new hire, becoming a member of the Standing Stone family. Like the regulars, stopping by at dependable times.

And finally the guitar playing melodies with the most flamboyant and contemporary fluctuations. Like mugs slowly and constantly draining, refilling. Like so many paninis each day being pressed, flipped, pressed. Like the new customer, whose name we do not yet know.

And these musical nights themselves, which instrument do they most resemble? Maybe I’m biased, listening to all three instruments in union, but these nights seem to contain a mix of it all.

Check out the Matt Dingo Trio in action!

For more information about Standing Stone Coffee Company’s music series, visit our website or suscribe to our email list for biweekly updates by sending your name and email address to greg@standingstonecoffeecompany.com.

"She's not only my ears," Jennifer says about Hattie, her five year old chocolate lab hearing dog. "She's my best friend."

My alarm clock rings at 8:00am.  After hitting the snooze button a few times I emerge from my slumber and head downstairs to brew a French press of our Organic Brazil Mogiana.  While I wait for the four minute timer to beep, alerting me the coffee is ready, I toss some oatmeal into the microwave.  As I am enjoying my breakfast, I hear a knock on the door.  It’s my new neighbors who have come to introduce themselves.  After their brief visit, my mother calls and I catch up with her as I sip my delicious, nutty coffee.

I find these morning events peaceful, far from stressful or extraordinary.  However, what if a hearing loss inhibited me from noticing my alarm, the coffee timer, microwave, door knock and telephone ring?  A calm routine could quickly turn into a fraught-ridden morning. 

Jennifer Warsing Hampton, a Huntingdon local who is severely to profoundly deaf, is all too acquainted with this reality.  For nine years she lived on her own with only visual alerts to devices such as alarm clocks, the doorbell and the smoke alarm.  “I used to lay awake at night worrying the power would go out and the smoke detector wouldn’t go off if there was a fire,” Jennifer recalls.  “I lived every day walking on egg shells.” 

 This was Jennifer’s world until four years ago when she received Hattie, a hearing assistance dog from the organization Dogs for the Deaf.  Hattie is trained to alert Jennifer to everything from microwave beeps and smoke alarms to someone calling her name or the doorbell.  With a tap of her nose, she alerts Jennifer and faithfully leads her to the source of the sound.  Hattie often goes above and beyond her duty, drawing Jennifer’s attention to sounds she was not even trained to recognize like a flock of geese flying overhead, Jennifer’s vibrating cell phone, birds in a nest or the ice cream truck.  On one occasion, Hattie led Jennifer to the other side of a park to a crying child who had fallen off the playground.  Hattie noticed and responded to the incident even before the child’s mother did!

 One of the first things Jennifer did after Hattie’s arrival was order a pizza and had it delivered to her home, a new possibility for her.  Jennifer recalls it being “the best tasting pizza in the world.” That year she tackled a full Thanksgiving dinner for the first time with Hattie’s help and friends and family began to visit often, something she previously avoided for fear of not hearing the doorbell.  “Hattie has allowed me to take what is a very isolating disability and turn it into a life full of possibilities.  All the sounds I was missing in my home, I no longer dread.  I can walk through my house and live within my skin in peace.  That is a feeling that is indescribable.”  

Jennifer is not the only one whose life has changed because of this friendship.  Hattie was rescued by Dogs for the Deaf from a shelter in California.  When she was adopted she was severely underweight and malnourished after being neglected by two different families.  Dogs for the Deaf cared for her as she regained her health and then trained her for eight months for her new life as a hearing assistance dog.  However, the relationship between Jennifer and Hattie goes beyond her specific training.  “Hattie has shown me the daily joys that life has to share.  I never know what she may hear for me and introduce into my life.  She’s not only my ears,” Jennifer says, “She’s my best friend.”

 Interested in knowing more about Hattie and Jennifer?  Check out these books that tell their story!

            + “Two Plus Four Equals One” by Kathy Nimer 

            +  “Partners with Paws” by Kyla Duffy and Lowery Mumford

Come with me as I take you on a journey through the process of coffee: from the farm to your cup!

Did you know that coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world, next to oil, earning $60 billion annually?  25 million farmers around the world depend on coffee as their staple income.  Americans alone consume 400 million cups of coffee every day.  For most Americans, including myself (at one time), probably take or have taken coffee for granted.  It is my job here at SSCC to provide you with not only just great coffee, but the knowledge of where your coffee comes from and why we highly believe in what we put in your cup.

Just as all great foods of the earth (i.e. fruits and vegetables), coffee begins as a seed that in time grows into a tree and eventually produces cherries.  Coffee beans are the seeds of these particular cherries.  Coffee trees are grown in regions between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, due to needing high humidity and a lot of rainfall.  Specialty coffee, which is what we serve at SSCC, is grown at elevations of 4,000-6,000 feet.  Each coffee tree can reach up to 20 feet high and produce as many as two crops of cherries each year.

Stay tuned for the picking and processing of ripe red cherries…

After purchasing 100 gallons of oil ten days prior, Kim’s text sent me spiraling down the stages of grief.  “No way are we using ten gallons of oil a day.  Sure our house is large and drafty, but we never have the heat above 65.  Okay, so maybe I occasionally turn the heat up to 67, but only because I’d like to enjoy a dinner or two without my burka and earmuffs.  You know, I bet it’s that dang oil company.  How can I know for sure they gave me the 100 gallons I paid for?  This sucks.  Not only does the winter rob me of the sun, my source of happiness, now it has its grubby, frost-covered fingers all over my savings account.”

As it turned out, an empty tank was not our problem.  Kim deduced something else was amiss when, 12 hours after filling the tank, the refrigerated milk still felt warm compared to the 36° air in the kitchen.  However, this winter’s bitter cold days, and even frostier nights, guzzle up $3.059 gallon after $3.059 gallon.

At the end of our mid-December fiasco, Kim and I were affected little by our brief arctic experience.  If anything, we came away with a few good stories.  (Be sure to ask Kim about her shattered wine glass.)  As two young and healthy women with no one to care for but a five month old puppy that was bred for the Swiss Alps, we are able to reflect on this experience with amusement.  But during these cold months, I cannot help but think about those caring for a five month old baby, an 88 year old parent or a spouse undergoing chemotherapy.  What about those in our community who no longer have a savings buffer due to their husband’s heart attack in the fall, being laid off last spring or an unexpected car maintenance bill two days ago?  What are we, what am I, doing to care for my neighbors who may need to decide between heat and groceries this month?

Dwelling on such issues can be overwhelming and paralyzing.  This is too often my response.  Others may be inspired to tackle a community need entirely on their own.  At Standing Stone Coffee Company we believe both responses are inappropriate.  We must take action, but action must me taken in a community context.  This is why we at Standing Stone Coffee Company are committed to partner with those already addressing the needs of our community.

We encourage you to partner with us this month as we raise awareness and monies for the local Fuel Assistance program.  As of January 17^th, you will notice information about this topic sprinkled around the shop.  Read, absorb and interact with this material.  We also will have a Donation Day on January 31^st when 15% of our sales will go directly to Huntingdon’s Fuel Assistance Program through the Center for Community Action.

Thank you for your interest in our community.  Stay warm.