About Urth Coffee
Founded in 1989, Urth Caffe is widely considered the first coffee roasting company in America to offer exclusively organically grown, heirloom coffees. Each season we choose the very finest beans from our farmers - carefully selecting only a small percentage of the crop representing the coffee’s finest seasonal flavor & characteristics. The flavor profile of our blends changes from season to season – always presenting exciting new characteristics. All our organic coffees are small batch roasted using secret, innovative techniques in roasting and blending developed by us, to give the coffee its full potential of depth and complexity of flavor.
Urth Caffé coffee is roasted carefully every day in Downtown Los Angeles in our two-vintage cast iron Probat 22 kilo 1957, and 10 kilos 1964 German coffee roasting machines. We believe that roasting beans in cast iron and small batches produces a superior tasting coffee. We carefully choose each micro lot of coffee from our source farms. We sample the best triple hand-sorted, extra fancy beans, and typically only 1 % or less are deemed "Urth Worthy". Urth’s Roast Master tirelessly compares Urth coffee to hundreds of other samples from around the world to make sure our beans are second to none...and of course, nothing less than "Urth Worthy".
Truly great coffee tastes superb whether it is roasted light, medium or dark. Each of Urth Caffé’s signature blends represent the best of each seasons coffee crop highlighted by a distinct & specific roast color. The darkness of the roast provides a specific flavor profile for coffee. Here is an explanation of the kind of flavors you will experience based on the color of the roast:
Light Roast
Roasting coffee light preserves the coffee origin’s character – the superb flavors of a light roast will be sparkling liveliness, fruitiness and citrus. Flavor characteristics may include cherry, blueberry, citrus, honey & more! Urth’s light roasts: Urth Dolcé Espresso & Rainforest
Medium Roast
In the medium roast, coffee develops a lot of body, thickness and flavors balance out to create a wonderful smoothness. Medium roast drinkers enjoy the aroma, full body and flavors of chocolate, caramel, cloves and spices, with a smooth finish. Urth’s medium roasts: Milano, World Peace, Urth Italia Espresso, Scandinavian Cupp
Dark Roast
Only superb, extra dense coffee beans can stand up to dark roasting to make an excellent cup of strong coffee. Dark roasting creates an intoxicating aroma, syrup body, and flavors of licorice, dark chocolate and oak wood. Urth’s dark roasts: Masterpiece Vienna, Manhattan Mudd, Classic French Roast & Old Grandpa!
Single Origins
At Urth we offer a few exceptional regional or single origin coffees that we believe have an exciting flavor and unique character that we want you to experience. Our origin coffees are always roasted light to medium in order to highlight the coffees character and distinct flavor of their microclimate. Sometimes we offer very rare, limited offering coffees in which the grower only produces a handful of bags (such as Mountain Gorilla Coffee from Uganda) – please ask for details and availability. Urth varietals: Guatemalan Four Estates, Hawaiian Kona Extra Fancy, Antigua Sumatra Java, Colombian Paraiso, Honduras, & Peru Honey.
Signature House Blends
Each of Urth Caffé’s signature blends represent our finest coffees of each seasons crop highlighted by a distinct & specific roast color. We believe that superb coffee tastes superb whether it is roasted light, medium or dark. The Signature blends require the best coffees roasted individually in the Italian tradition and artfully combined to maximize the flavor potential of the bean, the flavor of the roast color, and bring the most satisfying unique experience to our customers.
Swiss Water Decaffeinated Organic Coffee
Urth Caffé uses the Swiss Water Process for 100% chemical-free decaffeination. This process removes 99.9% of the caffeine with purified water. Swiss Water Process Decaf organic coffees offer the most true, rich flavor, with the least caffeine (.01%) of any other decaf method.
Urth Extreme Freshness Guarantee
Coffees are roasted fresh daily from our Downtown Los Angeles Roasting Plant and packaged using the finest technology - nitrogen flushed packaging with one-way vacuum seal. This method pushes all oxygen molecules out of the one-way valve and seals in the coffee’s freshness. We guarantee the freshness and quality of all Urth coffees. Urth Caffé’s organic coffee is distinguishable unique, rich, aromatic, and unbelievably smooth with less oils and acids than any other coffee in the world!
Urth Standards
Certified Organically Grown
Independent third-party certifiers inspect our farms annually to the highest international standards guaranteeing that our coffee is 100% chemical free. Inspectors test soil, leaf and beans for chemical residue and audit the shipping of the beans to prevent blending or spraying of beans. All Urth coffees are fully inspected, documented and certified annually.
Heirloom Coffee
Heirloom means that the trees have never been genetically modified and are like their ancient ancestors found growing wild in the rainforests. Heirloom species such as Bourbon, Geisha, Heirloom Culitvar, Typica (to name a few) can grow up to twenty feet tall, require deep shade, and produce less coffee yield than hybridized trees. Heirloom coffee has superior flavor, has a more distinctive aroma, and is naturally lower in acid for easier digestion.
Sustainable Agriculture
Our farmers use a holistic approach to grow superior coffee while protecting the longevity of the soil including composting, intercropping and cross cropping, natural pest control and rain water collection. Composting is comprised of collecting coffee fruit, skins, and all organic debris to make rich, natural fertilizer for future crops. Our sustainable techniques play a major role in protecting soil vitality, yielding healthier crops, and providing economic diversity for the growers.
Shade Grown & Fruit Trees
Our source farms are situated deep within the dense shade of the rainforest and or shade provided by fruit trees. Shade grown ensures quality and protects rain forest and bird habitat. Under a canopy of larger trees the coffee cherry ripens more slowly and produces higher quality coffee that is sweeter and more aromatic. We plant avocado, fig, citrus, papaya, and banana trees to attract birds, bees, and provide shade cover. The flower blossoms of fruit trees infuse the coffee with their aromas, and the fruits bring additional sources of income to the farm.
Direct Trade
Every year we make journeys to have direct relationships with our farmers. Urth source farms are paid a premium and may receive twice as much as other “fair trade” farmers in the same country. Urth invests in solar panel systems; rainwater collection systems, livestock, and other tools in the farming villages we visit. We want to know that the passion and hard work that goes into growing Urth coffees will result in better living conditions and fair wages.
Highest Quality
Only the crème of the crop is good enough — our coffees are grown at the highest altitudes and we employee only the best quality practices such as picking only red, ripe cherries and triple hand sorting to find the finest beans. Only the top 1% of the yield will be good enough - ensuring the lowest acid, finest tasting coffee you will ever try! Coffee that meets Urth standards are some of the rarest and most sought after coffee beans in the world.
