Caffe Ibis Roaster, Brandon Despain, was the first Utahn to win first place at the 2015 U.S. Coffee Championships. In February of this year, Brandon placed 5th with his Asrar Haraz light roast with beans sourced from Yemen.
We caught up with Brandon just after he returned from a trip to Africa to personally inspect some of the farms where Caffe Ibis sources their beans. “I needed to ensure that all the farmers we work with are maintaining the triple certification standards we require,” Brandon said. Even more than just the growing requirements, Caffe Ibis needs to make sure the labor conditions are fair and safe.
Brandon said that Caffe Ibis will be sourcing and inspecting more farms personally because he understands that [rainforest safe, shade-grown, organic] certified coffee is a large part of the reason so many restaurants and stores choose Caffe Ibis coffee.
We had a chance to sample Brandon’s award winning coffee. The Asrar Haraz was incredibly smooth and full of unique hints of molasses and cinnamon—no cream or sugar required.
