By Barth Anderson

Kickapoo Coffee selected 2010 Micro Roaster of the Year (pdf)

Which statement about coffee appeals to your taste buds more?

Chocolate finish. Citrus in the aroma, with berry and a distinct ginger note.

Or:

Ahhh, that rich, delicious flavor of... Fair Trade.

If T.J. Semanchin of Kickapoo Coffee has his way, Fair Trade coffee and superb flavor will be one and the same.

"Slow down and really taste our coffee," Semanchin says of Kickapoo's beans. "There's something really amazing going on here."

Semanchin, who started Kickapoo Coffee this year with his wife, Denise, and Caleb Nichols, believes that savvy shoppers who are willing to buy Fair Trade are eager for their coffee to taste better with intense, gourmet flavor profiles, while still maintaining the ideal of fair prices for coffee farmers.

"We asked ourselves, 'How can we get the best beans and make sure they're Fair Trade?'" Semanchin says of what kind of roaster Kickapoo Coffee will be. "We wanted to push deeper and deeper and get Fair Trade [coffee] into the specialty coffee market."

That's a lofty goal. Because while anyone with internet access to the Fair Trade Labeling Organization's registry can purchase and sell Fair Trade coffee beans at a decent price, identifying quality beans is a highly specialized skill. As a result, a Fair Trade coffee company can separate itself from others - with artistry and quality.

"What's the next level after price? Quality," Semanchin says. "Decent price is not enough for shoppers who want something different or better."

Freakishly Passionate

Kickapoo Coffee still purchases organic Fair Trade beans, of course, but because they're a small, nimble company with a dedication to quality, Kickapoo can afford to look hard and be selective.

"We're hunting down unique beans that arrive only in very small shipments, called 'micro-lots,'" Semanchin says, "like our Mocha Java and a natural process Ethiopian [bean]. These are extremely rare beans."

Then there's the roast. Semanchin earned his chops as Peace Coffee's head roaster for seven years. From that experience, he knows that each bean has its own, individual characteristics, its "sweet spot," as he puts it, "the way [the bean] 'wants' to be roasted without diminishing its flavor." Knowing how to find that spot can't be faked.

A fine sense of taste can't be faked either, and that's what Kickapoo Coffee's Caleb Nichols brings to the game. A wine buyer for some of the finest restaurants in Madison, including L'Etoile, Nichols' rarefied palate means that Semanchin's roasts must meet a very high standard.

Kickapoo's Colombian Coffee from Fondo Paez Cooperative received top honors from Coffee Review online magazine.

"Caleb is insanely passionate about the coffee. I mean freakishly so," Semanchin laughs. "He has a wine background and I come from more of a purist fair trade background; so we play off each other. Both of us are committed to creating THE best coffee out there."

So far, two of Kickapoo's roasts have earned national attention, notably at coffee critic Kenneth David's site, Coffee Review, where Kickapoo's Rwanda and Ethiopian roasts received a 91 and an 89, respectively (for that site, 90 is "Outstanding"). Semanchin says this proves Kickapoo's strategy is working.

"We can be both, high end and ethically produced. This shows we can be as good as any roaster out there."

Dream Machine

But every task needs the right tool, and Semanchin starts talking faster and faster when conversation turns to Kickapoo's recent find—a 75-year-old, cast iron, 30-kilo roaster from Germany. He says it's the key to the success they've had with their coffees so far.

"We were searching high and low throughout the universe for the right roaster," Semanchin says, "and Caleb found it."

He says the size is highly unusual and well suited for their small-batch company, but the metal it's made of may be the machine's biggest selling point of all. New, modern roasters are mechanized in order to create more consistent heat and airflow. But that's the opposite of Kickapoo's approach.

"Control over airflow and heat exchange are the main factors when roasting," Semanchin says. "The goal is consistency with new roasters. We don't want consistency. We want MORE control. If we discover something in the bean—a different sweet spot—we want to enhance that. We can, with this roaster."

But without automation, won't Kickapoo's coffee vary from batch to batch?

"Absolutely, it will," Semanchin answers. "Our Guatemalan isn't always going to taste 'this way,' but it's always going to be the best it can be, as we get better roasting it."

The Next Step

Caleb Nichols and T.J. Semanchin

But with high quality typically comes a higher price:

"We see that we're next to [less-expensive] coffee," Semanchin says. "But we'll prove to folks that [Kickapoo] coffee is worth it."

In Caleb Nichols' previous career, high-quality wines were routinely sold at $20 to $50 or higher, but most coffee drinkers aren't prepared to pay double or triple the price for their morning cup. Semanchin says that, for this reason, high quality and Fair Trade have to go hand in hand, since, together, both can bring more funds to cash-strapped farmers abroad.

It works like this, from Kickapoo's point of view: If customers perceive that a "micro-lot" of Kickapoo's specialty beans is indeed special, then a following will develop. In turn, more money will flow to those growing regions, and farmers will see that some customers are willing to pay more money for high quality lots of beans. Right now, farmers in a Fair Trade program get a base price that can be three times the conventional market. But with quality in the equation, Semanchin thinks they could earn even more.

"I think these farmers can truly get a quality differential that is well above the Fair Trade minimum," Semanchin says. "Beyond Fair Trade, quality has to be the next step."

If Semanchin is correct, then maybe specialty coffee drinkers will be soon be seeking out that rich, delicious taste of Fair Trade.