Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, but Coffee Does!

My name is Kevin Miller. I do a variety of things for the Lasaters Corporation. I run our Facebook page; Twitter account; I design posters, promo ads, gift cards, coffee bags, and lots of other things; I receive, pack, and ship online orders; I make coffee at least 2 or 3 times per day for Mat & myself; I'm learning to roast and blend coffee; I also provide (minor) competition for Mat in ping pong; and I do a bunch of other miscellaneous things around the warehouse and offices. Oh, I also blog now. It's been great so far and I really enjoy working for the Lasaters Corporation and with Mat Lasater.


Anyway, let's get to the important stuff: COFFEE...




Coffee is a man's best friend. 

I know they say that about dogs, but I'd disagree - dogs are a lot of work. Coffee is pure reward...at least that's what I used to think before I began working at Lasaters.

I would still agree that coffee is rewarding.

It can also be a lot friendlier than a dog, but that's just my personal opinion.

The part that I've realized I was wrong on is the "pure reward" part - there's lots of work that goes into making coffee ready to drink!

Money doesn't grow on trees, but coffee does. It may not look like what you'd think though. In fact, if you ever took a walk through Guatemala, or some other place where coffee trees grow, you might unknowingly walk right past a coffee tree!


Before I began working for Lasaters Corporation, I had never thought the whole process through. From harvesting the coffee cherries to cleaning, and eventually roasting the green coffee beans at specific temperatures, it takes a lot of work to get those beans just right before grinding them up and delivering a hot cup of coffee to your empty coffee mug (and inevitably a smile to your face). You can see some of the process for yourself on our YouTube channel. Mat Lasater and Zack Gates (up-and-coming Lasaters Franchisee) took a trip recently to Guatemala and filmed some of behind-the-scenes of coffee harvesting. I think you'll enjoy it.


We work hard to bring you a great cup of coffee. We enjoy coffee and we want you to also. Thanks to all of our loyal customers and our fantastic staff! We look forward to what 2010 holds as we open up Clarksville's 4th Lasaters franchise and work with many others from across the nation. Find out more about franchising on our website!


Now get off the computer and grab a hot cup of Lasaters coffee!

Long-Term "Green" Planning

For those of you who haven't heard, we are making some long-term "green" plans. Some of you may immediately think "green = environmentally friendly" but that's not what we're talking about here. In the words of Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that," but that's just not the type of green that's got us excited here at Lasaters.

We've been researching, as we do daily, about investing in green coffee farms in Guatemala. We've received some green coffee samples from some coffee growers in different regions of Guatemala.

Current Plan(s):

Purchase highly favored Guatemalan coffees direct from coffee growers with small-medium plantations. Lasaters staff will travel to various regions in Guatemala to immerse ourselves into the coffee culture there and determine which coffees are suitable for the Lasaters brand. Lasaters will develop the relationship(s) needed to secure long-term business relations with coffee growers who provide a superior coffee.

Long-Term Plan(s):

It's been our desire to develop relationships with coffee growers in various countries. Our first step is Guatemala. As the Lasaters brand grows we would like to purchase some property in Guatemala. Once the property is purchased we would arrange the following:

1. Plant coffee trees on the property.
2. Build or purchase a wet mill.
3. Contruct housing for the plantation.

We would meet with local churches in the area near the plantation to discuss job opportunities, such as, harvesting, management, etc.

The coffee farm would sell their coffee to Lasaters Corporation and other US importers, at a fair market price, on contract or once the coffee has been harvested. The profit from the green coffee sales would then flow to the farmers, their families and the local churches who helped establish the plantation.

My Thoughts

Now, this would be a HUGE undertaking for us, but, we've got Favor. :) If it is something that we are supposed to do we will definitely need help and guidance. I've been learning a few things from a very special person in Guatemala who has worked with Anacafe in the past and has a great history of coffee knowledge. Her name is Gabriela Cordon.



Expect to hear more about her as she is our first contact who has already helped us with sourcing some fine coffees this summer. Gabriela has a Twitter account if you are interested in learning more about her coffee travels: http://twitter.com/arreagacordon

If you have any thoughts about our future plans please don't hesitate to contact me. We're always looking for new ways to grow our business while investing in people.

Thanks for reading!
Mat Lasater
Lasaters Corporation
Lasaters Coffee & Tea

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee is in!

We finally received our highly-anticipated Ethiopia Yirgacheffe green coffee today. We'll be roasting it up this week and should arrive in our stores on Monday.

We've had a pretty good Ethiopia Harrar lately, but, we'll be out of that soon. The Yirgacheffe is fruitier, with a pronounced blueberry taste to it; a milder coffee than the Harrar.

We met with some coffee growers at the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) show in Atlanta, GA this year. They were very kind people who took the time to explain the differences in their coffees and were happy to share many brewed coffee samples of their latest harvest (delicious!). :) We're looking forward to working with growers from different regions in Ethiopia and delivering to our customers the best coffee that Ethiopia has to offer.