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legacy roasting fair trade coffee

Virginia fair trade coffee roasters

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Legacy Roasting brews up coffee with a conscience

– By the Veggie Fairy Team

Want to feel good about your cup o’ joe? Make sure it’s sustainably and responsibly sourced.

One way to do that is to look for the certified Fair Trade label. Fair trade coffee means the coffee beans were sustainably grown by small-scale family farmers who got a fair deal.

Another way to make sure it’s responsibly and sustainably sourced is to know your coffee roaster. The only way you can know them is if they’re local. Here at Seasonal Roots, our Farmer Connector Sam knows all the local coffee roasters in our home-delivered farmers market. As a result, we know they’re committed to using beans that were grown and traded in a way that’s good for the environment and the people who do the farming.

legacy roasting & jolly roasters fair trade coffee

The newest local coffee roaster in our market is Legacy Roasting in historic Hopewell, Va. That’s Larry of Legacy Roasting on the right with a longtime member of our market family, Jolly Roasters. We talked with Larry of Legacy Roasting, so you can get to know one of your local coffee roasters, too!

VEGGIE FAIRY:

How’d you get started in the coffee business?

LARRY:

I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I just wasn’t sure what kind of business I wanted to run. When I was in college at VCU studying business, I really liked going to my local coffee shop, and I thought, “This would be cool to own but I don’t know what it takes to own one.” So I started The Java Blog. I’d give coffee shops reviews in exchange for letting me pick their brain. Pretty soon I knew this was what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have the $30,000 to $40,000 that it would take to open one.

VEGGIE FAIRY:

So how did you get around the startup money obstacle?

LARRY:

Well, about that time I reconnected with my old friend Josh. We hadn’t talked since third grade. It turned out he was the roast master at a well-known local roaster in Richmond but he had to step away due to his health. I had the business knowledge and I wanted a shop, and Josh had the production know-how and wanted a coffee roasting operation. Together we had it all covered. So four years ago we just started small. We bought a small coffee roaster — just the machine, not a whole company! — and set up our operation in my parents’ garage in Cheseterfield.

legaacy roasting fair trade coffee 1

We sold our coffee at farmers markets…

legacy roasting virginia farmers markets

…and we did the roasting in the backyard, even in the winter. One time, Josh says, “Larry, it’s starting to snow,” and I go, “We gotta power through it!” Eventually Josh had to step away, but my dad joined the operation and now we’re truly a family business.

VEGGIE FAIRY:

When did you make the move to Hopewell? And why Hopewell?

LARRY:

We wanted to find a community where we could make a positive impact. Hopewell is the oldest surviving English settlement in the U.S. It’s been there since the 1600s. There’s a lot of history there but it’s been economically overlooked. The nearest coffee roaster, for example, is 30 miles away. So we found our niche. In 2017 I signed a lease in a historic brick building downtown and became the first local coffee roaster in Hopewell’s history.

legacy roasting hopewell va

VEGGIE FAIRY:

What does it mean to you to be a business owner in this community?

LARRY:

For me, coffee is just a segue to supporting the community. For example, we’re exploring starting an internship program on how to build and run a business. There’s definitely interest — this past summer Pathways.VA toured our roasting facility. It’s a faith-based non-profit that’s doing cool things for the community. It was really fun to hear everyone’s passions and the businesses they are working to build.

legacy roasting pathways va

VEGGIE FAIRY:

So tell us about your coffee!

LARRY:

We are passionate about coffee! Everything we do is specialty grade coffee that comes from cool places. We have a couple single origin coffees and also blends. We use quite a few certified fair trade and organic beans, and some shade grown as well. Most commercial growing operations are out in open fields where everything grows faster in the sun and they can make more money. But nature actually intended for coffee to grow in the shade. It grows slower and has time to develop more flavor.

legacy roasting fair trade coffee 2

Our latest blend is Wonder City, which is named after Hopewell’s nickname. It’s a three-bean blend: Brazil Santos, fair trade organic Honduras, and organic Mexico. Another thing about us is that we can customize. Most roasters are doing 30-to-60-pound batch roasts and can’t customize for you. My roasting drum does from two to six pounds. So I can customize based on what a person is interested in tasting. It all starts with a conversation about what they’re looking for.

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We’re welcoming Larry’s Legacy Roasting to our market this weekend, starting with 2 oz bags of Wonder City. Look for it in the Extras section. It’s part of our commitment to bringing you food that’s good for you and the planet from people you know. To learn more, visit the Legacy Roasting website, and check it out on Facebook and Instagram.

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We’ll let Larry have the last word. Here’s what he said on Instagram once:
“I believe coffee has the potential to start open and honest communication. Let’s be real, coffee is the fuel that gets a lot of people started in the day. Due to the impact of coffee, I wanted to be apart of a local community hungry for change using something that positively impacts people. For this reason, I am proud to call Hopewell and the RVA community just that… my home. We are a community of creative, passionate, and just plain awesome people. Plain and simple I believe coffee has the ability to foster a legacy within a community. Will you choose to be a part of that positive change?”

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ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

unmoo plant-based cheese lactose-free

This plant-based cheese & butter is delish… and lactose-free!

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You don’t have to be lactose intolerant or vegan to love Unmoo

– By the Veggie Fairy Team

Unmoo is a new Richmond company making plant-based cheeses and butter that our Farmer Connector Sam has declared to be, “Amazing!” These artisan cheeses made from the milk of cashews and coconuts have their own unique flavors that people who can’t eat dairy will be grateful for… and the rest of us will want to add to our pizza-, cracker-, sandwich-, and bagel-topping repertoire.

Josh is the man behind it all. Josh loves eggnog. And cheese. And butter. But those dairy products don’t love Josh. Like a lot of lactose intolerant people, the Richmonder can’t eat dairy without suffering some very unpleasant consequences.

So, having studied microbiology, Josh put on his labcoat, gathered milk from cashews and coconuts, and experimented his way to some delicious solutions. First he won over his friends with his lactose-free spiked eggnog. (He was a bartender before he was a scientist.) Then he started working on cheese.

Cheese making is an ancient process of culturing milk. It’s possible to make cheese fast without a culture (plastic-wrapped yellow American slices, anyone?), but using a culture helps good bacteria in the milk flourish and leads to a more fully developed flavor in the final cheese, especially when you brine it and give it time to age, too. That’s how Josh makes his plant-based cheese.

unmoo plant-based cheese cashews

The ingredients are important, too. So the nuts Josh uses are all high quality, fair trade, and sustainably grown — just like everything else in our home-delivered farmers market.

unmoo plant-based cheese sandwich

Plant-based cheese #1: Notz

The first cheese Josh invented is Notz. You can see it in its natural state in the picture at the top of this post. It looks like mozzarella, white and semi-firm. But Notz, which is made from cashews and coconut, has a special flavor all its own — mild and buttery, yet tangy, with a creamy texture. It’s lightly brined, gently aged, meltable, shreddable, and really versatile. You can cut it into thick slices and eat it cold with a fresh local tomato and basil…

unmoo plant-based cheese pizza

…or shred it and serve it warm and melty atop pizza, zucchini, or whatever you can think of. You can even fry it. But don’t tell your doctor.

unmoo plant-based cheese bagel

Plant-based cheese #2: AM

Josh’s next cheese creation is made from cashews. He calls it AM, after the time of day when he recommends you devour it: morning. Slather it on bagels, danishes, toast, or if you’re feeling really decadent and rebellious, cheesecake. AM is raw and probiotic, and brightens with age. The flavor can be described as rich, bright, sweet, and creamy. Use it to dip, schmear, or bake.

He didn’t stop at cheese…

unmoo plant-based butter nutter

Plant-based butter: Nutter

Josh describes his European-style butter as assertive, rich, buttery butter. It’s made from cashews and coconuts and the cashew cream is slow-cultured before it’s churned out. Nutter can be spread, sauteed, baked, or whatever you use butter for.

unmoo plant-based cheese pastries

The results of all Josh’s experiments are delicious — so good you’ll enjoy it whether you’re lactose intolerant, vegan, or just looking to expand the cheesy delights in your life. Josh’s locally made cheeses and butter are started to pop up in Virginia restaurants and markets, and we’re excited to welcome Unmoo to our market, too!

Learn more in the Style Weekly profile of Josh and Unmoo.

Check out Unmoo on Instagram and get inspired!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.