Published in Chester County Town and Country Living Winter 2008

Whether with a steaming shot of espresso or mug of cafe au lait, people across the globe start their mornings with coffee. In my home I began the day with a cup of joe that is good in both flavor and intentions. By grinding organic, fair trade, rain forest-friendly, and locally roasted beans right before I brew a pot, I can sip fresh, aromatic coffee with a clear conscience and a pleased palate.

To find such wholesome and bright beans, I need not travel far. On the shelves of my local Whole Foods store sit silver, foil, 12-ounce bags of Kimberton Coffee. With “roasted on” and “best before” dates stamped on every package as well as labels indicating USDA-certified organic versus standard beans, this local coffee roaster takes the mystery out of buying choice coffee.

The brainchild of former procurement manager Steve Polignano, Kimberton Coffee Roasting Company first fired up its fire engine red coffee roaster in June 2004. The inspiration for the 2-person company came many years before this, though, while Steve was toiling away in corporate America.

“I always had opening a cafe in the back of my mind but I wasn’t sure that I’d want the constant face-to-face of running one,” says Steve, who wrote his Pennsylvania State University master’s thesis on what it took to be a successful start-up cafe.

Along with a reluctance to face consumers seven days a week, Steve’s Italian heritage, visits to Italy and passion for European coffee likewise drew him to roasting coffee as a profession. After completing a four-day course in Sand Point, Idaho at Diedrich Manufacturing Inc., which manufactures the roaster that he uses, Steve returned to his 1840 farmhouse in Kimberton and set out with his wife Mary, a former Bell Atlantic employee and stay-at-home-mom, to start a roasting business.

The dilemma of where to roast was resolved by the construction of an 800-square foot building, the “Roasteria,” behind their home. There Steve not only houses his beautiful, store-front model Diedrich roaster, “the Cadillac of roasters,” but also stores 3,000 pounds of Arabica beans, the highest quality beans available. Green, yet-to-be-roasted ones remain in their burlap sacks while finished, mahogany-colored Arabicas rest in large, sealed, plastic tubs, waiting to be bagged, tagged and delivered.

Taking into account the glut of such traditional coffees as Columbian and Kenyan, Steve opted to focus on blends. With a blend, beans from different countries, and regions are mixed together to achieve a one-of-a-kind taste profile. “You can get varietals anywhere. People are interested in what they can’t get somewhere else. That’s why retailers want unique blends,” he says.

Every morning Steve heads out to the Roasteria to contemplate and create new and exciting coffees. “I take a scoop of this, a scoop of that and try the tastes of the blends. Sometimes I just stumble upon the right combination of flavors,” he says.

Finding the best balance does not boil down only to good luck. “There is some science with mixing the acidic with the non-acidic, mixing the medium with the dark roasts,” Steve says.

In the early days Steve took his blends, along with 12 to 14 air pots for dispensing the coffee, to the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market. There he asked customers to sample his creations. “I wanted immediate feedback,” he explains.

Feedback he got. Customers at the market loved his specialty coffee.

Over two years later caffeine connoisseurs continue to clamor for his goods. Of the multitude of blends offered – 18 to date – the most popular remains the African Mistress. A dark French roast from a mix of African beans, it has a “crisp, clean, deep” taste, Steve says. It comes in both traditional and organic versions and runs either $12.49 or $14.50 for a 12-ounce bag.

Rooster’s Call Breakfast Blend ranks a close second in popularity. “It’s a medium bodied, medium roast with just a hit of French roast to give you a ‘kick in the pants’ when you need it most,” Steve says.

For fans of bolder breakfast blends, Kimberton Coffee offers Polignano a ‘Mare. Named for an Italian fishing village on the Adriatic Sea and with a nod to its roaster’s surname, this coffee reflects its European roots with a darker, more full-bodied flavor.

Those who love the taste but don’t need that extra boost of energy can imbibe in three types of organic and standard decaffeinated coffees. Organic decaf costs $15.50 while standard decaf is $12.50.

Although Steve no longer sells his products at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market, bags of Kimberton Coffee can be found at such grocery stores as Whole Foods, Kimberton Whole Foods, Giant, Redner’s and Acme. It also is available online at www.kimbertoncoffee.com.

In addition to roasting for the general public, Kimberton Coffee also supplies restaurants, businesses and schools with special blends. Such Phoenixville restaurants as Majolica and Black Lab Bistro as well as Phoenixville and Owen J. Roberts school districts all have their own distinct and eponymous brews.

“We’re small enough that if a restaurant or coffee seller has a taste that he wants, we can fill it,” says Mary, adding that they will also custom label their products. “We try to sell a little romance with each of the descriptions on our coffee bags,” she says.

Since Kimberton Coffee opened its doors, Steve and his wife Mary have been hand-roasting 15-pound batches – and up to 400 pounds — every day of the week. “We go to great lengths to roast immediately so that the coffee doesn’t go stale,” says Steve, pointing out that company employs bags with one-way valves to release any gasses that would build up and affect the vibrancy of the contents.

Twice a month 1,500 pounds of green beans are delivered to the Roasteria. When new beans arrive, Steve weighs and logs the contents of each sack, noting both the weight and type. “This way, if anyone has a question, I can tell him where that specific bean came from,” he says.

Logging completed, he separates the organic from non-organic beans. As Kimberton Coffee carries certified organic beans and is Fair Trade Registered as well as PA Preferred, the company must follow the regulations set forth by the Pennsylvania and U.S. Departments of Agriculture. It also must pass yearly inspections.

Once the beans are separated, Steve wipes down the equipment so that no bean residue mingles with the organic blends. He then logs the time and date and flips on the roaster. After the roaster has pre-heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, he weighs out 15 pounds of raw beans and pours them into the piping hot machine.

“Because cold beans hit the 400-degree machine, the temperature drops down to 200. The art of roasting comes into play when you take the beans back up to a temperature of 400,” Steve says.

From a small window in the front of the roaster he watches the bouncing beans turn from green to yellow to the shade of brown desired. This takes anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes.

As the beans tumble around, Steve hears cracking sounds. The “first crack” indicates that the beans are well along in the roasting process. They have swelled in size. Their oils have emerged, creating a glossy sheen on the darkening beans. A few minutes later Steve notes the “second crack,” the sign that the beans have finished roasting.

“In the specialty coffee world most of our roasts are considered ‘medium’ but to regular consumers they may seem dark,” he says. “We do roast to order, though.”

Kimberton Coffee’s roast profile – how Steve raises the temperature after pouring in the beans – as well as the willingness to roast to order distances the company from its competition. The unique taste of the blends likewise serves to differentiate it from the other local roasting businesses. “We roast by hand with care and attention to detail,” Mary says.

Their shared passion for providing the freshest coffee possible is yet another reason why consumers love this brand. “We have some customers who won’t buy coffee if it was roasted more than a week ago,” Steve says.

In keeping with the Polignano’s quest for the brightest brew, Steve and Mary roast and fill restaurant customers’ orders either the same or next day. Retail stores receive their beans within one to two days. The company has a part-time delivery man who goes from site to site, dropping off beans and checking the remaining stock to ensure that nothing has exceeded the “best before” date. Any expired bags are removed and replaced with new ones.

If speedy deliveries and refreshed stock don’t adequately emphasize their commitment to the fresh coffee, Mary draws my attention to the Kimberton Coffee T-shirt that Steve wears. Emblazoned across the front is their company motto, “Taste the difference freshness makes.”

While newly roasted coffee is important, it is not the only factor affecting the output of my coffee maker, Steve and Mary remind me. What happens from the time that I purchase to when I grind my beans also impacts the outcome.

Thinking that I can extend the shelf life of my coffee, I always store it in my refrigerator. This works for fruits and veggies. Why wouldn’t it do the same for coffee? Refrigerators, I learn, are not the best place to keep coffee.

“Putting coffee in the refrigerator or freezer really doesn’t help. Instead put it in Tupperware in a kitchen cabinet. The biggest enemies are light and oxygen; that’s why dark, air tight storage is the best,” Mary says.

Both Mary and Steve advise only taking out and grinding what I intend to brew. Otherwise, I should keep my coffee in whole bean form. Either that or develop an affinity for stale coffee.

With Kimberton Coffee in my pantry and Steve and Mary Polignano’s storage and brewing tips in mind, I can start each morning with coffee that is truly good to the last drop.

In addition to purchasing Kimberton Coffee online and at local grocery stores, it can be ordered by phone at 610-933-6300.

Sidebar: How to brew a great cup of coffee:
Grind your beans right before making your coffee.
Use a burr, rather than blade, grinder. Blades tend to “burn,” not chop, the beans.
If using a burr grinder, put it on the medium setting.
Use two tablespoons of ground coffee for six fluid ounces of water.
Your water should reach a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure that your coffeemaker has the proper wattage – at least 1000 watts – to brew at 200 degrees.
Consider making your coffee with a French press. Because a French press does not use a paper filter, it captures more of the beans’ flavor and essential oils, giving you a richer, more flavorful cup of coffee.

COFFEE GRANITA
Recipe provided by author
Serves 8

32 ounces freshly brewed French roast or other strong coffee
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Kahlua, optional
whipped cream, optional
8 chocolate-covered coffee or espresso beans, optional

Pour the coffee, sugar, vanilla and optional Kahlua into a shallow, metal or ceramic, 3-quart baking dish. Stir the ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved.

Allow the liquid to cool to room temperature before placing the pan on a shelf in the freezer. After 40 minutes remove the dish and check to see if the coffee has begun to freeze. If ice crystals have formed, take a fork and mix the contents of the pan together so that the ice is evenly distributed. Return to the freezer and repeat this process in 30 to 40 minutes. Once again, return the pan to the freezer, this time leaving it there for at least 2 hours.

Forty-five minutes before serving, remove the pan and, using a fork or spoon, scrape the ice so that small chunks of granita are formed. Return the pan to the freezer for an additional 30 minutes. To serve, scoop the granita into small serving bowls or coffee cups and top each with the optional dollop of whipped cream and a chocolate-covered coffee bean.