Better Coffee At A Lower Price
May, 2003 - TORONTO Brad Zavislake is one happy man. He has just
replayed a message a new customer left for the staff. "I can't thank you enough," the
message blurts with enthusiasm, "your coffee is by far the best coffee I have ever
had, and I'll go anywhere, and tell anyone exactly that!" "He's not the only one,"
Brad comments as he and brother Derek prepare to send out the month's orders. "Our
customers are brought to us because of the cost and the quality of our coffee, and
remain loyal because of the quality of the coffee."
The brothers opened Merchants of Green Coffee with the intention of bringing superior
coffee at a better price to the public. They have done just that - they source the
finest Arabica coffee beans straight from their sources, and offer them at prices
considerably lower than the all-purpose high-end coffee shop. "Coffee is like wine -
the region producing the beans give the beans a distinctive flavour, aroma, and
colour," Brad indicates. "All we do is give our customers the chance to tailor the
coffee they buy to their coffee tastes. Why should they drink a Merlot if they really
want a Pinot Noir? And if they can drink what they want, why should they have to pay
sky-high prices for it?"
The Zavislake brothers point out that the quality of the bean is only half the story.
Merchants of Green Coffee sells unroasted, green coffee beans and the technology for
coffee lovers to roast at home, giving their customers the opportunity to custom-roast
the coffees they purchase. A deeply roast Costa Rican coffee has the aroma of a fine
cigar; a medium dark roast of Costa Rican has hints of fruit to it. All for a lower
price.
"From one pound of our coffee, you can get roughly fifty cups of coffee. That's the
equivalent of about sixty or eighty dollars, if you're purchasing at a Starbucks or
Second cup. Our beans retail for $12.00 per pound. Our customers tried the taste,
and did the math. We won on both counts."
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