Bedford

A vibrant espresso with a syrupy body and orange blossom sweetness, try this complex blend alone or in a cortado. We use this coffee on bar in our Brooklyn Roastery & Cafe.

Partners Info

Bedford is currently a 50/50 blend of two of our longest-standing source relationships.

In the town of San Antonio you’ll meet a lot of folks surnamed “Pillimue” or “Oidor”. Husband and wife Antonio Pillimué and Maria Rosa Oidor make their home here, as do their four children, and many more of their extended families. The couple each operate their own farms, as well as run a general store (selling sundries and agricultural supplies) from which they originally made the money to purchase their first three hectares. They are also key local members of the nearby Inza-based growers’ association ASORCAFE, operating a small warehouse and a collection point to which the town’s producers deliver their parchment coffee. Not just the source of a key component to Bedford (since 2016), we purchase many individual- and farm-specific coffees from various Pillimues and Oidors each year. Most recently, the 2018 Los Primos was a combination of the work of cousins Anibal and Alonso Pillimue.

Suke Quto is our oldest continuous relationship, having been present in Bedford since its earliest days and also a repeated favorite on our single origin menu. The name for this Guji-based operation represents three distinct facets: the washing station (where the coffee from hundreds of neighboring producers is processed), owner Tesfaye Bekele’s personal farm, and also the plant nursery which provides seedlings of Welicho & Kurume cultivars to local farmers. In 2016 after a brushfire in the area, Tesfaye turned his passion for conservation and agroforestry background to coffee. By founding Suke Quto, distributing seedlings of coffee and indigenous shade trees to the local community (initially recruiting 150 outgrowers), and building a exhibitionary farm to illustrate his practices, he has been able to replant the forest and bring a sustainable livelihood to the farmers of the area. Suke Quto is the high standard for the development of high-quality, environment- and people-friendly coffee production.