Desert Sun Coffee Roasters launched in Durango's Bodo Park

by Indiana Reed/Journal CorrespondentFour Corners Business JournalJanuary 14, 2005, 05:49 pmDURANGO - Some businesses might not be worth beans, but Desert Sun Coffee Roasters is all about them - little green coffee beans, that is.Housed in a small industrial space in Bodo Park, Desert Sun is carving out a local business niche popularized by Starbucks. Roasting specialty coffees for regional wholesale and retail sale, Desert Sun has focused on organic and Fair Trade coffees, as well as preparing signature blends for coffee houses such as Durango Joe's."I'm interested in relationships," said Desert Sun founder Glenn Lathrop, who sought an entrepreneurial venture and began investigating the coffee roasting business more than two years ago."I thought it would be more retail-oriented," he said, noting he had been a clothing buyer for Gardenswartz, though he has a business degree from Cornell University. "So you start the process - what kinds of businesses are for sale, what things can you do ... what made sense to me and what kept my interest? The idea of coffee roasting just was an idea that dawned on me."Once the seed - or the bean, as it were - was planted, Desert Sun blossomed, launching sales late last year. Though Lathrop studied coffee roasting at The Coffee Institute in San Francisco, and met with roasters and suppliers to discuss the art, craft and logistics of the business, the truth of the industry is that it's a learn-as-you-go proposition. As Lathrop explained, there's no manual that specifies exact time and temperature for the roast of each specific type of bean."I will learn every day that I roast because there are so many things going on that I'm constantly reading and researching and talking to people and trying different things, and expanding where my depth of knowledge is," said Lathrop, who keeps a minute-by-minute log of his roasts. "I've just scratched the surface. It's exciting and yet there's a place in there too that I have to dial myself enough so that I have really good product and be really careful about what I put out there (in the marketplace)."Roasting is done daily on-site in a German-made, 12-kilo Probat drum roaster, which can roast approximately 25 pounds at a time. Each roast takes between 12 and 18 minutes, and though Lathrop does not yet have the demand, he could run the Probat eight hours a day and supply coffee throughout the region.Currently, Desert Sun is offering packaged coffee beans for sale at Guido's Favorite Foods, Sunnyside Market and in Bayfield, Misty's on Mill Street, and supplying specialty blends for Durango Joe's. Bank of the San Juans also offers the brewed coffee to bank customers."The whole 'do business locally' is a strong premise for me," said Lathrop, citing Durango Coffee Company as the only other local roaster. "It's amazing to me how many coffee shops ship their coffee in from somewhere else. I want to be that alternative... I'm interested in working with people who want to work with me to develop a great tasting coffee."Lathrop, who initially "did it all" within the business, has recently separated the sales and roasting aspects of Desert Sun, both for efficiency and customer service. Lathrop will continue to perfect the roasts."You can ruin a bean through the roasting process by baking it, by roasting it too quickly or too long," he said, acknowledging that the consumer plays a role as well. "What I might deem to be the best tasting level of roast for a particular bean may not be what the consumer wants or prefers, so there's a lot of balancing that goes on."Lathrop purchases beans from throughout the coffee growing regions of the world - those higher-level locations around the Equator that receive a great deal of rain. Two types of coffee are grown - Robusta and Arabica - the Arabica being the higher elevation, higher quality crop. The less expensive Robustas are traditionally purchased by the large coffee distributors recognized on grocery store shelves. Lathrop, and specialty roasters like Desert Sun, purchase only the Arabica beans.Just like any contract traded on the Chicago Board of Trade or the Mercantile Exchange, coffee is a commodity, and the purchase price varies dramatically. The impact of futures trading, however, hasn't yet significantly impacted Desert Sun, as, until the company grows dramatically, Lathrop hasn't needed to play the futures markets."There's a beauty to being small - that piece of being able to control and measure your growth and have time to figure things out," said Lathrop, grateful for the opportunity to slowly build the business. "It's giving yourself some space and time to grow in a way that makes sense."Similar to any dried bean, green coffee beans have an extended shelf life of two or so years, so they can be purchased in bulk and stored. However, Lathrop endeavors to purchase only current season harvests, and is walking the fine line when deciding how much raw product to purchase - and, in turn, how much to roast. Educating the public to explore the more exotic blends and varieties - such as Tanzanian, Brazilian or Ethiopian - is one of Lathrop's challenges."A lot of people, if they've never had really good coffee, (think) it's bitter, almost astringent," said Lathrop, assuring that there's a better way to do coffee. "You can actually drink (good) coffee in a black state and it doesn't have to be all that. It's fun to introduce that to people."The beans are harvested at various times of the year - for example, the South American harvest is currently getting under way. Weather and other issues that affect all crops, play a role in coffee production as well - and such fluctuations are thus reflected in the pricing. Lathrop works through several coffee importers that service the specialty industry.He also noted that smaller coffee roasters will often band together to purchase a particularly high quality - often very limited - bean crop at auction. The price can be too dear for a solitary roaster, and the quantity, though not necessarily significant to the large manufacturers, is often too large for a single outfit.Further, for the specialty roaster, the risk in investing in such expensive - and perhaps exotic - beans occurs on the other end as well. Will the consumer buy? Oftentimes, less experienced consumers are hesitant to experiment. Expensive roasted beans could sit on the shelf and go stale.To encourage coffee drinkers, Lathrop offers samples and welcomes tours of Desert Sun Coffee Roasters - to watch a roast and enjoy a "cupping," or a coffee tasting. He also strives to further education on proper coffee preparation. No matter the cost or quality of the beans, a consumer can ruin that perfect cup."It's interesting to see where the industry can go, and it's going to start to go, because as the consumer knowledge goes up and the palate becomes more experienced, consumers want and demand better and better product," said Lathrop. "It's almost like the wine industry. Consumers can now discern quality."A growing majority of Desert Sun's coffee bean inventory is organic, as well as from the "Fair Trade" end of the business. Essentially "Fair Trade" refers to paying the coffee farmers a sustainable amount for their coffee, which, according to Lathrop, is the minimum amount that it costs to produce it."Fair Trade is about the relationship between the importer and the farmer," said Lathrop, who is roasting Fair Trade coffee from Sumatra, Bolivia and Peru, for example. "It's knowing where your coffee comes from ... And a lot of it is working with the communities, so they understand that they're producing this high end coffee."According to Lathrop, many villagers and farmers in coffee producing nations are unaware of the superior quality of their beans, as they sell all of it and only consume the proverbial dregs. Organizations such as OPTCO (the Organic Products Trading Company) are working with these communities to enhance their market knowledge.Desert Sun has also launched a partnership with Café Femenino, which involves women in every aspect of the coffee production cycle - to the extent that Lathrop's wife Kim had to sign the contracts."They have an agreement that says I will give a certain amount of money from sales to an organization locally that supports women," said Lathrop, suggesting the Women's Resource Center."Am I doing it because my marketing is forcing me to go there, or am I doing this because I have core beliefs that I want to be a part of it?" said Lathrop questioning whether he can make a living on just the Fair Trade coffees. "But it's a heck of a lot easier to get excited about this Bolivian Colonial Caranavi (for example) that I know where it comes from."Additional information on Desert Sun Coffee Roasters is available at (970) 946-4610, or www.desertsuncoffee.com.