We’re working hard every day to represent the hard work of so many individuals to the end-user. Coffee is not the result of one or two people’s work: it is the result of hundreds, maybe thousands, of hands working together to bring you that beautiful coffee all the way from crop to cup.
Moja Coffee Bean Selection
The vast majority of what we roast is single-origin coffee, as opposed to blends. This allows us to represent individual growing regions properly and unadulterated by us. Blending is an entirely separate art; while we have a few blends we do very well (our espressos, for example), it’s a facet of the industry we’ve stayed away from in order to stay true to our belief in the coffee chain. For the same reason, we do our best to select organic and fair trade coffees whenever possible.
A premium product takes time to manufacture. It begins by traveling the globe to research all aspects of both the coffee and the industry as a whole. Every region of the world, from Central and South America to Europe, Africa and Asia are targeted for finding product that meets our standards and taste profiles. It’s countless hours of research: sampling every known premium bean available. It’s the hands-on approach to every batch of coffee roasted. There are no shortcuts.
The Roasting Process
Once in our European-inspired roasting facility, coffee beans are subjected to numerous tests for overall quality and taste. It’s only then that we roast our many offerings and deliver them fresh.
We roast our coffee in the same micro-roasting Probat L12 that we started our business with in 2004. This drum roaster comes from Germany and roasts batches of no more than 12kg at a time. After years of experimentation, we know just the right temperatures and times to roast for each type of coffee. We check the temperature in the roaster and the internal temperature of the beans. Depending on the beans, and the roast, a single batch of coffee can be in the roaster from 14 to 16 minutes. We manually control the speed of the roast, so it’s a very hands-on process.
In the Summer of 2012, we welcome a second roaster to Moja – a handmade Joper roaster that is capable of roasting 30 kilos at a time. The Joper was handmade by a family-owned company in Portugal using cast iron with the latest latest PLC touch screen software. Joper has been around since 1962 and is now owned by Joao Paulo, great-grandson of the original owner. Andrew and Doug flew to Portugal during the summer to inspect the custom-made roaster before it was shipped to North Vancouver.
We create custom coffee blends for some of our clients, including Thomas Haas, as well as a series of roasts that you can depend on. We bring in new coffees to try and experiment with, so if you’re up for a change, check out our cafe selection of limited edition roasts.
We still roast in small batches (although the days are getting longer and longer!) in order to keep our quality as consistent as it has been for the last 7 years, and have launched a training program to ensure that our customers can share our passion for representing these coffees properly to their discerning customer base.
Coffee Distribution
We roast for a variety of establishments; everything from offices to restaurants to catering companies. Thomas Haas, Terra Breads, Mink Chocolates, and more all trust our coffee to give their customers the best experience possible.
Whole Foods, Stongs and Capers retail our coffee, and the newly expanded Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre uses exclusively our coffee to serve clients from all over the world.
Every wholesale client is different and we work hard to meet the individual needs of every one of our clients. For more information, please contact Doug Finley at doug@mojacoffee.com
