A tradition for four generations

It's funny how small the world gets as we get * ahem * older. During his high school and college days, Larry Bearfield, Ferns co-owner, worked at Cabot's Ice Cream, Newton, with Jim & Mike Kaloyanides current president and vice presidents of New England Coffee. "It was a blast to renew a long ago friendship and now work together professionally," said Larry. "At Ferns, quality isn't limited to the products we sell, it also includes the people we partner with. And we enjoy the relationship we have with New England Coffee." Here's more:

New England Coffee, headquartered in Malden, Massachusetts , is the largest coffee roaster in New England and one of the largest independent roasters in the country. For four generations, the company has had a single-minded dedication to the art of roasting coffee. New England Coffee's reputation for providing quality and service is more than 88 years old. Currently the business is owned and operated by the Kaloyanides and Dostou families. In fact, During the first years of New England Coffee, the company was located in a building at the corner of Milk and Broad Streets in Boston, where hand-roasted coffee was delivered by horse and wagon. New England Coffee's first truck was purchased in 1918 and other family members started to join the business. As the company expanded, it outgrew several homes throughout the Boston area until finally, in 1966, it settled into its present location at 100 Charles Street in Malden. The New England Coffee that exists today now occupies five buildings with greatly expanded manufacturing and packaging capabilities while still maintaining the philosophy and goals to buy and sell the highest quality product. "Our methods are anything but cutting edge. In fact, we've changed very little during our 88 years," says Jim Kaloyanides, president. "We start with the finest Arabica beans, and roast them using a single-batch method that huge commercial coffee companies can't replicate. This process relies more on experience than mechanics to select the best beans. It's the only way we know to assure a consistently great tasting cup of coffee."

The Story of a Great Cup of Coffee

Importing
New England Coffee chooses only the finest 100% Arabica coffee beans from Central America, South America, Eastern Africa, and the East Indies, fresh-roasted for consistently exceptional taste and quality. We offer superb blends, delicious flavored coffees, exotic varietals, and full-bodied dark roasts to suit every taste. Arabica beans are grown at high altitudes of 2,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. They represent 75 percent of the world's coffee production, although only about 10 percent of them qualify as specialty coffees. Arabica beans are characterized by a balanced aroma and a sweet, acidic taste.

Cupping
The next step in creating the perfect coffee is taste testing, also known as cupping. The age-old tradition of cupping is held in esteem throughout the world of coffee crafting. Like a wine taster with his vintage Merlot, the professional coffee taster needs a keen knowledge of, and palate for, the beverage. Here's how it works: a random sample of a specific growth of 100% Arabica coffee is roasted, ground and prepared for cupping. The brew is sipped and held in the mouth long enough to get the full strength of the flavor, then spit out. The process, very similar to wine tasting, is used to determine the coffee's aroma, body, acidity and taste characteristics. New England Coffee's on-site taste-testers perform random tests of all our roasts. We take great pride in our coffee, and do everything possible to make sure every cup is a perfect cup. As New England Coffee's Stephen Kaloyanides, Jr. puts it, there is simply "no other way to do it." Stephen is one of the company's principal cuppers, and he holds a true appreciation for the process. "There's a lot of history involved," he says. He's right. The age-old tradition of cupping has stood its ground as the most effective means of determining a coffee's quality and, in turn, how it will be used in a blend.

Roasting
To achieve the ultimate roasts from the Arabica beans, New England Coffee relies on both art and science. We begin by placing small batches of green coffee beans in a hopper, which directs them into a rotating drum located on the inside of a roaster. After 5-7 minutes, the beans turn yellow, indicating a loss of moisture. They then begin to make cracking sounds, much like that of popcorn popping. They are, in fact, popping open, causing them to double in size. Since each variety of beans requires a different roast length, rapid-firing samples are frequently taken during the roasting process. Roastmasters use both smell and sight to determine when the desired roast has been achieved. As the beans reach optimum color, they are released into a large metal pan, or cooling tray. Giant fans air-cool the coffee to room temperature, during which the coffee darkens one final shade.

New England Coffee - from grower to Ferns Country Store. A commitment to your taste buds.