Journal — January 2024

Hey y’all! Happy 2024. I hope your year is off to a great start. At Yonder’s cafe in Durham, things have been off to a great start, despite the bitter cold of the last few weeks. We’re serving our last few bags of Kieni from last month’s Coffee Collective feature, and if you have any left, don’t be afraid to grind it a little finer and savor it. It’s really come into its own in the last week or so. If you’re out though, not to worry, because Luna is here to save the day.
Vancouver, BC’s Luna Coffee is probably my favorite roaster in the world, and I don’t say that lightly (but don’t hold me to it). Luna is a little company (Laura & Nate, pictured to the right, are quick to remind you that their roastery is fully independent and just the two of them). Tiny yet mighty, they do things the right way. They are all about “light, bright, delightful coffee and the weird and wonderful world of those who love drinking it. Beautiful ingredients shine brightest in home kitchens, and radical transparency is a path to some of the most exciting coffees in the world.”
Laura used to source coffee for 49th Parallel, one of Canada’s largest specialty roasters, and she is such a wealth of knowledge about the world of green coffee sourcing. When she and Nate (who worked as a roaster) started Luna, they wanted to use their smallness as a strength. While large businesses are harder to change, the agility/flexibility that came inherent with being a small team allowed them to innovate and try a number of ideas that they’d wanted to implement for a long time.
First among those, is their approach to sourcing. Luna showed me how small companies could make a large impact, by buying more coffee from fewer producers, and then continuing to grow those relationships deeper over time. It’s why, while I love bringing new roasters to the US for the first time, I also love bringing roasters back on over the years and watching them evolve. So as Yonder grows, we are growing with Luna’s example in front of us: tiny yet mighty—a good ingredient is all you need.
Speaking of, we’re sharing 4 very good ingredients this month. Usually, when I catch up with Laura, she has a hard time recommending just one coffee to us. This month though, while all four taste fantastic, she was so emphatic about us buying José’s Pacas. It is the product of longstanding relationship. Luna has purchased from José since his first tiny harvest, and along with Benjamin Paz, Luna helped him source a lot of the equipment that allowed him to produce this delicious coffee for us to enjoy. A perfect example of small but mighty, I know you’ll love it.