Do you know your farmer? If we’re talking about the woman you buy tomatoes from or the guy whose steak you’ll be cooking on the grill, the answer could be yes. But do you know Andriana Gonzalez Peleaz or Felipe Trujillo? If you buy your coffee or your beans from Little Seed Coffee Roasters in Middlebury, these may be the farmers who grew it in on their farms in Colombia. Their names are on the bags of the beans Little Seed sells, and below their names is a description of how they processed the coffee. For those who are the coffee equivalent of oenophiles (does a word exist?), the description might give them a jolt before they take a sip.
“That’s a completely wild concept to anyone who isn’t in the specialty coffee industry,” Anthony Gerakos, co-owner of the business with his wife, Maggie Keith, says of Felipe’s process in particular. “But if somebody came in and just wanted a coffee, that’s what we have on drip right now.”
Anthony and Maggie describe the taste of each coffee they roast. For this coffee, they say, “We taste honey, magnolia blossom, and skin-contact wine.” When I visited with them, I enjoyed a latte made with a coffee called Finca Rosita. The flavor is described as “pink lady apple, chocolate meringue, and cardamom twist.” What stood out to me is that the espresso taste was bold, bright, and a bit chocolatey, making it a great companion for the steamed milk.
Approachability is the guiding tenet that Anthony and Maggie follow. “You can be super into coffee,” Maggie says. “You can come in, and we’ll talk to you about it for as much time as you want to. Or you could just come in for good coffee.”
Approachability also permeates the café. The space feels minimalist, modern, a little brainy—given the abundance of college students—and as inviting as a home featured in a book on Scandinavian living. Even the roasting process is approachable, with the roaster situated at the back of the shop, just beyond the seating.
Initially, Anthony and Maggie feared the roaster would be too loud and off-putting, but it had the opposite effect. “People come back and say, ‘Oh, you’re roasting. Can I see?’” Maggie recalls. “It’s a good way of interacting with people.”
Before Anthony and Maggie could load the beans into the roaster, Felipe, Adriana, and the other coffee suppliers tended to the trees, harvested the beans, followed the procedures noted on Little Seed’s bags, and got their product to Middlebury. Only then can Anthony and Maggie apply their roasting knowledge, giving us the opportunity to enjoy delicious and approachable coffee, no matter how much we know about its journey from farm
to cup.
