A Stephenfield couple is roasting up a high-quality coffee at Dominion Coffee Co. – Small Batch Roasters.
Ben and Dorothy Hofer have been roasting their coffee beans for almost four years. Being a self-pointed coffee snob, when Ben had the opportunity to get his own roaster and start making his own coffee, he didn’t think twice.
He first had to find a broker from which to buy green coffee beans – and not just any broker, but one offering Grade 2 beans or better. Coffee beans are ranked on a scale from Grade 1 to Grade 5, with Grade 1 beans being the highest and Grade 5 being the lowest. Grade 1 are specialty beans with no inherent defects. Grade 2 is premium coffee beans, essentially Grade 1 beans, but they have a few defective qualities. Grade 3 beans are exchange beans, meaning they are 50 percent above the screening level; Grade 4 are standard beans, and Grade 5 beans are essentially beans to stay away from.
Once he found his bean broker, Ben began shipping in different kinds of beans to see what he liked best.
“Roasting is what sets some coffees apart from others,” he said. “Everybody has their process. You try and keep your secret.”
Ben started roasting Colombian coffee beans for their easy-drinking characteristics.
As Columbian beans became more popular, he wanted to try something else. Today, they roast 14 different beans, including Brazilian, Guatemalan, Papa New Guinean, Ethiopian, Honduran, and more. Four of their coffee varieties are also organic.
“The difference in the flavour and notes f beans comes from the elevations where they’re grown,” said Ben. “It changes a lot with the climate they’re grown in.”
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Sumatra coffee beans taste spicy and woody, while Columbia beans have chocolates and caramel notes.
“The fact that from one elevation you get cherries and blueberries and from another elevation you get chocolates…and you’re not adding anything to it. That bean just has that characteristic in it,” he said. “If you roast it right, you can really get that taste.”
The roasting process also determines the taste and strength of the coffee beans. Ben prefers a medium roast but can also roast his coffee beans to be darker or lighter.
Figuring out the perfect roasting process took a lot of trial and error. Each type of bean roasts differently, and roasting them for too long could result in them being baked instead.
“You’re always messing with the recipe,” said Ben. “You have to constantly be fooling with it.”
Ben and Dorothy started selling their coffee beans to friends and family, and word of their delicious coffee spread quickly. With more and more demand for their product, the couple turned their hobby into a business and are now the Dominion Coffee Company.
Ben and Dorothy sell their coffee at their own auto centre, TW Automotive by Stephenfield. You can also find carefully crafted beans at the Elm Creek Co-op and the Roseisle Co-op.
Ben said they have yet to push hard to be in stores because they don’t want to raise the price of their coffee for their customers.
“It gets more expensive because it gets marked up,” he said. “People can’t afford that.”
Ben has yet to hear one bad comment about Dominion coffee. He hopes to continue offering local coffee drinkers choice and quality by often trying out new beans and roasting methods.
Right now, they produce around 100 lb of coffee a week. Each Dominion Coffee Company bag of beans is one lb and sells for $10 or $12 a lb, depending on the type of beans.
To contact Dominion Coffee Company, connect with them through their Instagram page @dominioncoffeeco_bdh.
