FARM TO CUP
About Liquid Assets Coffee, Tea & Spice Co.
Liquid Assets Coffee, Tea & Spice Co. began as a labor of love for owner Fred Cashmere over 25 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts. Fred’s quest for the perfect cup of coffee ignited his passion for roasting coffee beans.
Fred discovered that coffee trees, like wine grapes (his other devotion), acquire much of their flavor and body from specific growing regions and agricultural methods. Understanding the effects of altitude, climate, and soil conditions on coffee trees, he searched extensively for coffee growers who shared his passion for the highest quality of coffee available.
To guarantee consistency and excellence, Fred began directly importing only the finest Arabica beans from small, well-established coffee estates from the world’s premier growing regions. Today, he buys and sells over 30 different types of coffee beans each of which may be roasted in a variety of styles.
Roasting coffee is one of Fred’s true passions. He considers coffee neither a ‘product’, nor Liquid Assets Coffee, Tea & Spice Co. simply a business. Rather, it’s an ongoing learning experience derived from daily contact with our clients. Fred’s mission is to share his enthusiasm for coffee with others who in turn enrich his desire to achieve the perfect cup.
Liquid Assets Coffee, Tea & Spice Co. purveys coffee to select retail stores and restaurants as well as to individuals. Fred’s attention to detail and his comprehensive knowledge of coffee enables us to provide our clients with the freshest, richest coffees on the market.
Legacy Company
We are a legacy company, which means that we will never be a publicly traded company. The ownership will be passed down to an individual or individuals. As such, we will never have to answer to anyone but our friends, our customers, and ourselves. It is of the utmost importance for us to maintain the quality in what we do and how we do it. For example, as a legacy company, we will never compromise the quality or cost of our green coffee in order to increase profits. No one person will benefit from the work of another, and we will all share in our commitment to grow together with a goal of maintaining lifetime careers. Our legacy is a commitment to ourselves, our community, our families and the world around us.
Farm to Cup
We believe that by directly investing in family coffee farms, those farms can improve the quality of their coffee and in turn be paid more per pound. Higher quality coffees are more costly per pound but is worth the cost in flavor, and rareness in its sustaining value to the farmer’s life. Over 25 years ago, we established that we only use premium hand selected coffees that are fully ripened and mature. This quality extends further than just Arabica, which explains why our coffee is so unique. Our support of family coffee farms is a four to six year investment to develop a higher quality coffee and ultimately a higher quality of life for the farmer.
Eco Balance
Our roasting facility has moved to a building with a smaller carbon foot print. This has allowed us to cut our energy usage in half.
Recycling/Composting
All of our coffee bags are compostable. We have also established partnerships with farmers to compost our used coffee grounds. At our facility we have a compost system that allows us to grow fruits and vegetables. With this system, we have decreased our waste sent to landfills dramatically. When possible we have replaced any electric usage with greener items, such as more energy efficient light bulbs. Even taking smaller actions, such as unplugging electric equipment that still draws electricity when turned off, and turning off lights when leaving a room and equipment when not in use, have made a positive impact.
Transportation of Coffee
When possible, we have co-oped with farmers and others to share the cost of bringing our coffee and tea to markets, thereby eliminating unnecessary travel. This collaborative effort acts as a carpool that creates a greener way of bringing you our coffee and tea. It is our hope to implement a similar system with groups of people who want to co-op their online orders for coffee and tea in order to share in the cost for shipping, thereby placing one large order instead of several smaller orders.
We would like to thank Dr. Robert Crawford for his efforts in making us a greener company.
Our Process
Step 1: Sourcing
As better coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years, the quality of Arabica beans has declined due to greater demand. In order to find the best beans, we have come to know independent growers and cooperative suppliers of higher quality beans throughout the world. Sustainability is important for us to continue to offer great coffees, and so we want to do all that we can to ensure that farmers can continue to produce high quality beans. This ties back in with our farm to cup philosophy. Bettering the lives of the farmers producing our coffee allows us to continue to source from them. Today, we buy and sell over 30 different types of coffee beans, each of which may be roasted in a variety of styles.
Step 2: Roasting
We view the roasting process as a personal art that uses all of the senses. We see, hear, smell, feel and ultimately taste the transforming effects the roasting process has on the green coffees we source. The appearance, aroma and flavor of the coffee vary based on the style of roast. Each roasting style highlights distinct qualities of the green coffee. We roast all of our coffees to order in small batches ensuring consistent quality in each of our roasts.
Step 3: Brewing
Time to sit back and enjoy! There are many ways to make a good cup of coffee. We encourage everyone to try different brewing methods to find the ones that they enjoy most. For example, Fred prefers French Press because it allows the ground coffee to be in direct contact with the brewing water longer. For more information on brewing methods and tips, feel free to contact us!