“Have the day you want,” the motto of Central-Coast based Joebella Coffee Roasters, conveys the business’ desire to maintain an ethic of social responsibility in the midst of the competitive world of coffee.
Joebella Coffee Roasters sells both organic and Fair Trade coffee in San Luis Obispo County. Husband and wife owners Joseph and Isabel Gerardis got their start six years ago when they moved to Atascadero from Santa Barbara.
Joseph said he got his start in the coffee industry because of his love for the drink. “I am a big coffee drinker; I tend to have a pound of coffee a week,” Gerardis said. “I was looking for quality coffee and I found out through research I could roast my own coffee.”
His subsequent research on coffee and roasting made him aware of global issues regarding unfair business practices. “I discovered more about the problems with the countries where coffee is being grown and all the producers and the coffee crisis around the world,” he said.
Joseph said that was when he and his wife made the commitment years ago to have higher standards when they started their own coffee business. “All of our coffee is organic and almost all of our coffee is Fair Trade,” he said, alluding to his company’s goals.
Joebella Coffee Roasters is certified by Transfair USA as being Fair Trade. Certification shows that Transfair USA guarantees that strict standards are met regarding the production and trade of the agriculture product. Fair Trade includes fair prices and labor, direct trade and sustainability of the environment in which it is grown.
As the Gerardis’ do not travel often, they rely on Transfair USA to keep an eye on their coffee. “Basically for us, since we aren’t able to travel, we don’t have the resources to travel to the countries of origin and see what is going on first hand,” he said. “We rely on and our customers rely on the certification process.”
Fair Trade coffee doesn’t just taste good; it also differs from regular coffee houses because of how it makes a person feel when they brew or buy fair trade coffee because they know everyone has been treated fairly, Joseph said.
Once it is roasted, Joebella Coffee is sold wholesale to businesses and individuals. Some San Luis Obispo businesses that carry Joebella Coffee include Linnaea’s Café, House of Bagels and the Palm Theatre.
Marianne Orme, owner of Linnaea’s Café on Garden Street, said that when she first found Joebella Coffee Roasters, she liked that they were local, Fair Trade and organic. “Then I tasted their coffee and their coffee is wonderful,” she said. “It is rich and full of flavor; it’s a medium roast so it is not overpowering flavor but very full flavored.”
Being designated as Fair Trade is important to Orme. “I think everything should be Fair Trade,” she said. “There should not be the giant middle man that is making a lot of money.”
Joebella Coffee Roasters also has their own coffee house in Templeton where they serve their brews to guests.
“It’s one of the few coffee houses where you can sample and taste coffees from various origins and it is freshly roasted,” Joseph said.
“One of the cool things we have besides the espresso bar is we have a drip station where you can individually brew any coffee we have,” he said.
The actual coffee house is also environmentally friendly. “The store was built of recycled lumber and sustainable building materials, it is a cool place,” Joseph said.