Our Coffee Certifications

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A bag of coffee on a serving board next to a glass of cold brew being saturated with milk.
Marlena S. Jan 29, 2020
USDA Organic Certified

USDA ORGANIC CERTIFIED:

The USDA Organic certification on our products signifies they were planted, harvested, and processed with great environmental care that preserves or enhances the ecosystem. This includes wetlands, woodland, and wildlife conservation. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage waste, irradiation, and genetic engineering are also strictly forbidden. USDA Organic coffee also averages a $.0255 per pound increase in market price for coffee producers.

Kosher Certified

OU Kosher:

Orthodox Union (OU) Kosher certification, also called kashrut certification, signifies our coffee is produced in our OU-inspected facility with only kosher ingredients. While coffee is inherently kosher, artificial flavorings (which we do not use) can render it non-kosher. When it comes to kosher decaffeinated coffee, the majority of our decaf offerings are either Swiss Water or Royal Select water processed, neither of which use chemicals.

Direct Trade Certified DirectTrade

DIRECT TRADE CERTIFIED:

Direct trade means we have a one-on-one relationship with the farmers we source from. Their coffee comes straight from the farms to us, without any middlemen. The direct trade model ensures farmers get paid a higher premium for their crop and we can set a higher quality standard. Because there are no intermediaries, farmers gain a larger return on the sale of their coffee.

Fair Trade Certified

FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED:

The Fair Trade Certification seeks to increase welfare for small farming families and communities by safeguarding ethical trade practices at every stage in the supply chain. A Fair Trade Certification guarantees a minimum market price for all Fair Trade coffee plus up to a $0.20 premium per pound. All Fair Trade premiums are designated for social, economic and environmental development projects that are democratically selected by each community based upon greatest need.

Rainforest Alliance Certified

RAINFOREST ALLIANCE CERTIFIED:

The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal ensures that our coffee is regularly audited to meet strict standards of social, environmental, and economic sustainability. These standards seek to promote and continuously improve biodiversity, natural resource conservation, effective planning, and farm management systems, as well as improve livelihoods and human well-being.

Swiss Water Process

SWISS WATER PROCESS:

Swiss Water employs pure water and their Green Coffee Extract (GCE), instead of harsh chemicals, in its decaffeination process to gently and efficiently remove caffeine. GCE, which has been decaffeinated as well, acts as a barrier against any caffeine molecules looking to get back into the beans. GCE helps strip away the caffeine, and it's continuously refreshed by their proprietary carbon filters. All this translates to a full-flavored cup of coffee with 99.9% less caffeine.

Royal Water Process ROYAL WATERPRO CESS DECAF

ROYAL SELECT WATER PROCESS:

Similar to the Swiss Water decaffeination process, Royal Select Water Process uses pure water to gently remove 99.9% of caffeine from green coffee beans. Decaffeinating coffee without the use of chemicals, such as ethyl acetate or methylene chloride, keeps origin flavors intact, so you can enjoy everything about the coffees you love without the caffeine.

13 Comments

  • A
    Alyshia

    Do you guys 3rdparty test your products for molds and other toxins? Thanks!!

    FRC Logo Icon
    Team FRC

    This is a great question. There are some coffee purveyors out there that would have you believe that there coffee is “cleaner” or somehow better for you than other coffees. We’ll be the first to admit that not all coffee is the same but given that all coffee gets roasted at +/- 400 degrees, the idea that one coffee is somehow cleaner than another is a little silly. That said, green (unroasted) coffee is most certainly NOT clean. It’s oftentimes dried in less-than sanitary conditions, shipped in burlap or jute bags and basically not ready for consumption which is why we tell our customers that trying to grind, brew, or eat green coffee is a bad idea.

    However, we also know that some of our customers like yourself are looking for some extra assurance. With that in mind, we’ve sent our roasted organic Mexican and organic Guatemalan for a full screening. They have been deemed toxicologically safe and compliant. Our certified, third party laboratory was not able to detect any trace levels of mold, Aflatoxin or Ochratoxcin in either of these sampled coffees.

    Why don’t we test everything? Well, as it turns out, it’s a very expensive process that must be repeated on a yearly basis and we had to choose between raising prices across the board or restricting our tests to a few of our most popular single-origin selections.

    You can read more about our process here.

  • J
    Jerry

    Are the coffee’s designated as Organic sampled and tested for adherence to the promise of no fertilizers, preservatives , fumigation or other chemical or in-natural processes?

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    Team FRC

    While we can’t do all the testing personally (though we’d be on board with a trip to Costa Rica!) we can tell you that our certification body (Pennsylvania Certified Organic) doesn’t kid around. Our facility is inspected from top to bottom to ensure that we’re in compliance with all the food safety and environmental protocols necessary for our certification. Our testing also involves tracing organic components back to the source to ensure that these same protocols are enforced all down the line. Getting the organic certification is not easy for a roaster and it’s even harder for a farmer and we’re proud be a part of this community.

  • B
    Brian

    Are your bags recyclable – specifically the 5 pound unroasted green bean bags?

  • MC
    Miguel Cantu

    I am glad to see that Organic Dark Mexican coffee is also included in your fine section.

  • BF
    Barry Fetterolf

    Is roast date on package. Is shipped coffee recently roasted?

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    Team FRC

    Just so you know, it’s not just our name. It really is Fresh Roasted! Every package of roasted coffee has a roasted-on sticker. It uses the Julian calendar so for this year you’ll see it go from 22-001, for example (January 1st, 2022) all the way to 22-365 (December 31st, 2022). Each bag has an expiration as well, but we hope you won’t ever come close to using that!

  • JK
    Jena King

    Do you offer any coffee with green extract added to them?

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    Team FRC

    No. Our coffee is free of preservatives, extracts, fillers, etc. With the exception of our flavored coffees, which contain natural and artificial flavors, our coffee is additive-free.

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