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Matthew DuPont pours beans into the roaster at Firecreek’s roastery on Dec. 1. (Photos by J. Daniel Hud) comparison: Single origin coffee in Flagstaff BY MITCHELL FORBES brought drinks into While there is a lot of hype about certain Burns said it is a lot of money for a cup of American mainstream culture, but Flagstaff- blends of coffee, certain individuals, such as coffee, but even he has pulled out the cash for what cDonald’s sells coffee for 99 cents a cup. based shops are now helping bring this town into freshman anthropology major Cailey Girard, he says is “the smoothest coffee you will ever have.” Cultured, a local café, has a coffee that the next era of espresso and coffee drinks that believe single origin coffee has a unique flavor the In addition to himself, Burns said he has sells for $9 for a single cup. If coffee is come from small batches of coffee that has been likes of Starbucks cannot match. personally sold about five cups of the expensive Mcoffee, why are places like Cultured selling cups roasted right here in Flagstaff. With those smaller “The flavors are just so different,” Girard said. single origin coffee. of coffee for nearly nine times more than what batches, though, come bigger prices. Firecreek is not the only roaster in Flagstaff One might wonder what makes the coffee McDonald’s sells coffee for? The answer partially Firecreek Coffee Company, a coffee bar that offers coffee and espresso drinks. Cultured so expensive. For starters, it takes four years from lies in a buzzword popping up in the coffee and roaster in downtown Flagstaff, prides itself is a frozen yogurt and coffee shop that opened the time Geisha is planted until it produces its first industry here in Flagstaff: single origin coffee. in “deliberate flavors,” said assistant roaster Cazo in Flagstaff in 2013, and although they do not crop. This means that the estate must babysit the Specialty coffee has turned into a big Seronde. roast their own coffee, they excel in offering delicate plant as it grows until it is harvested. business across the United States, going back Seronde, who was born and raised in locally roasted single origin . Cultured Burns says the extreme specialty coffee scares to the founding of Starbucks in 1971. Specialty Flagstaff, expressed the importance of single does not offer large-batch drip coffee. Instead, some people away, but for others, it adds more of coffee is a broad category of coffee and coffee origin coffee. According to Seronde, single origin they offer pour overs and French presses of a draw to Cultured. drinks that students and staff alike rely on daily coffees are beans grown on one plantation, their various blends of coffee. Someone looking Seronde was an echo of Burns, saying dark to make it through the day: the , mochas and with one farm manager. It is all a much smaller for drip coffee at Cultured is going to have to roasts can easily be burnt while light roasts tend to Americanos that power NAU and many other operation than that of beans used by Starbucks. shell out more than three dollars for that cup be under-roasted. Seronde added dark roasts are universities across the country. Firecreek takes single-origin coffee beans and of coffee. Starbucks’ specialty, as dark roasting allows all of roasts them in small batches, typically less than 25 However, if one has cash to spare, Cultured the flavors to be burned away, which is necessary pounds at once. has a single origin coffee available that is found for Starbucks whose roasts are blends of coffees Seronde pointed out that the coffee giant in one location globally. An extremely rare bean, from all around the world. Starbucks roasts beans in much larger batches the Carmen Geisha Panama, is a coffee where less While Starbucks still burns strong both on than Firecreek. than 300 pounds are available yearly. campus and with locations across Flagstaff, the “They take beans from all over the world and Brandon Burns, a senior studying social local shops like Firecreek and Cultured have found roast it — practically burning it — so dark that work at NAU and at Cultured, said their their market, selling single origin coffee at higher you can’t taste the different flavors in the beans,” shop received about a pound of the Geisha beans prices. Seronde acknowledged that Firecreek’s Seronde said, adding that Firecreek rarely blends and paid $90 for it. They sell it for $9 a cup, coffee is more expensive, but when it comes to their coffee. preparing it in either a pour over or . flavor and quality, Flagstaff is willing to pay more. Dec. 4 - Dec. 10, 2014 | The Lumberjack27