Larrys Coffee: A Glimpse into Sustainable Coffee
Based in Raleigh, NC, Larrys Coffee aims to provide a slow roasted cup of coffee while making the roasting process both environmentally and socially responsible. As a Certified B-Corporation, Larry’s coffee blends line are certified Fair Trade, Organic, and Shade Grown. Aside from these facts, what makes Larry’s Coffee different from other local roasters in the US?
Curious to learn more, Big Cup of Coffee spent a few hours researching this company for all of you.
- It’s a B-Certified Corporation
- Offers high-quality coffee for an affordable price
- Coffee beans come in recyclable containers.
- Get’s out of stock fast in local stores
- Limited subscription options
Background: Larry’s Coffee
Larry Larson, the founder of Larry’s Beans, firmly believes that each coffee bean can produce unique flavor when it reaches its potential somewhere between twelve and twenty minutes of slow roasting. “It’s how we find those unexplored frontiers of taste,” according to Larry’s Coffee founder.
The coffee beans they import from different producers and coffee regions are roasted in varying lengths before blended to create a unique flavor profile that suits your palate. Larry’s Coffee sees it as their responsibility to bring out the best in each bean with their roasting practices since farmers work hard to make sure that their coffee beans’ taste is unique.
For Larry, It’s a great honor to transform exceptional coffee beans cultivated by farmers into a great tasting coffee everyone will love.
Where does the coffee come from?
Larry’s Coffee sources their coffee beans from 16 coffee-producing countries around the world. This Raleigh-based coffee roaster partners with small-farm cooperatives that grow coffee in 2 to 5 acres of land. As the founding member of Cooperative Coffees, an independent roaster cooperative that imports Fair Trade Beans directly from the producers, they offer all partner farmers pre-financing solutions and treat them as equals, rather than suppliers.
Certifications
As a coffee roaster with a mission, Larry’s coffee lives up to the expectations of a B-Certified Corporation. The Raleigh, NC-based coffee company is certified by Fair Trade, Kosher, USDA Organic, and Shade-Grown. They uphold the belief that “businesses can be a force for good.”
Sustainability is King
Larry’s position themselves as coffee artists on a mission with the prime task to promote sustainability. So, if you’re searching for intel about Larry’s Coffee, it all comes down to these three big words:
B-Corporation
As a certified B-Corporation with an overall impact score of 113.0, Larry’s business model is a blueprint of a sustainable coffee roaster. The coffee company is the founding member of the Cooperative Coffees, which imports coffee directly from the family-owned farms to improve the coffee farmers’ lives and give definitive higher standards on partnership and fairness.
Energy Efficiency
The company follows Raleigh’s Five Points neighborhood, where much of its facilities utilize renewable energy and sustainable infrastructures. From solar water-heated floors, rainwater harvesting-driven restrooms, massive passive-solar straightforward story to recently launched fully recyclable K-cups.
2019 Best for the World: Community
Larry’s Coffee gives back to the community more than they take. They are committed to using innovative and sustainable ways to make the world a better place.
The coffee beans roasted in their green-o-vative roastery facility are 100% Organic, Fair Trade, and Shade Grown Coffee. They run their vehicles with plant-based diesel. In 2008, they launched the coffee industry’s first biodegradable bag and even owned up to their mistakes and discontinued it after learning of the negative impact it could have in 2014. Innovation is not always a straight line.
Farmers
Deep respect and admiration for small family farmers who cultivate delicious coffee beans with utmost care is the driving force of Larry’s Coffee. They consider them partners. The journey toward building the first and only Fair Trade cooperative in the US started with a visit to the Mut Vitz cooperative.
Since then, it’s been a mission for Larry’s coffee to help these fastidious and careful farmers who lack trucks to transport their produce and cannot access to their crop’s real-time market value. Larry’s helps them earn a decent compensation for their hard work.
There are over 15 coffee cooperatives from South America, Central America, Africa, and Southeast Asia that partner with Larry’s Coffee through Cooperative means. These include the following:
- Union Pro Agro
- Fondo Paez
- Cenfrocafe
- Sol Y Cafe
- Cooperative Mellijones
- Cafe Chajulense
- Cafe Organico Marcala-Comsa
- Cecocafen
- Maya Vinic
- Prococer
- Sopacdi Cooperative
- Sidama Union
- Kodukak
- Permata Gayo
- CPC
Barista Classes
Aside from community partnership and sustainable business operations, another way of giving back to the community that Larry’s Coffee does is offering barista classes. These classes aim to teach aspiring baristas and homebrewers both the fundamentals and the art of making coffee.
Community Support
Teacher Grants
Larry’s Coffee created a new blend that best describes that first-morning sip, the little breaks for a me-time, and the long days giving generously to others. For such momentous occurrences, the Awake in Class is the best medium roasted coffee. Every time you buy a bag of this coffee bean, $2 of each bag will go to the Wake County teacher grant. This grant helps teachers and students fund critical educational projects.
Coffees Offered
If you’re looking for sustainable coffee blends, browse Larry’s Coffee online store or visit their physical store in Raleigh, North Carolina and be amazed by the selection.
Most Popular Types
Larrys Beans Cowboy Blend
The Cowboy Blend is a medium roast that features bold and smokey cup notes with a wide-bodied flavor profile.
- USDA Organic
- Fair Trade
- Shade-Grown
- Slow-roasted whole bean
- B Corp Certified
Larrys Coffee Bolivia Single Origin
The Bolivia Single Origin blends of Larry’s Coffee is a caffeinated medium-roast with a smooth and creamy body with hints of chocolate and roasted almond notes.
- USDA Organic
- Fair Trade
- Shade-Grown
- Slow-roasted whole bean
- B Corp Certified
Larrys Bean El Salvador Dali Blend
The Organic El Salvador Dali Blend is a dark and mellow coffee with hints of caramel, rich chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla notes.
Dark mellow and creamy with a surprising hint of smores!
Recyclable K-Cups
Below are the recently introduced recyclable K-Cups:
Larry’s Coffee House Blend
The House Blend by Larry’s Coffee is a medium roast coffee you’ll find when you buy Larry’s House’s 12 CT boxes. It’s a balanced coffee with a rich, smooth body and gentle acidity.
- USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade
- B Corp Certified
- 100% recyclable, BPA-free kcup
- Sourced and roasted by Larry's Coffee in Raleigh, NC
Larry’s Coffee Decaf Twilight
The Decaf Twilight is a medium blend that is rich and full-bodied with hints of chocolate nutty tones.
- USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade
- B Corp Certified
- 100% Recyclable, BPA-free kcup
- Processed with pure water and zero chemicals
- Sourced and roasted by Larry's Coffee in Raleigh, NC
More Larry’s Coffee
Larry’s Coffee Variety 3-Pack Bundles
The 3-pack coffee bundles contain 3 packs of 12 oz coffee beans that are vacuum-sealed to maintain freshness. When you buy this bundle pack, you’ll get the Cowboy blend, Mightier Mocha Java blend, and Frenchy French blend.
- Pack of three 12-ounce vacuum bags (total of 36 ounces).
- A variety of blends for all tastes and preferences.
- USDA Organic; Fair Trade; Shade Grown for bird safety; Kosher
- Air vaccuum packaging to ensure freshness.
- Slow-roasted in our green-o-vated beanplant in Raleigh, NC.
Larry’s Coffee Bean Martin
The Bean Coffee blend is a mixture of organic Sumatra, organic unwashed Ethiopian beans, and organic Bolivia. This blend features notes of berry and bittersweet cocoa. It’s a dark roast for people who love their coffee dark and elegant.
The product is USDA Organic, Fair Trade, Shade-grown, Kosher!
Larry’s Coffee Secret Espresso #17
The Secret Espresso #17 has a thick and creamy body with delicious notes of dark chocolate. It has a warm, dry finish and is as complex as a boutique whiskey with its refreshing tanginess and acidity.
From Larry: Our pride and obsession. Our standards for this blend are so high, we literally travel the world every year to make sure the components are exactly as they should be. The roast profile is so ingrained in our roasters' brains, they could draw it with their eyes closed. Comprised of coffees from around the world, including some super secret Larry's Coffee exclusives, the shots pulled from this blend are truly a tour de force. Rich, creamy, and brimming with notes of dark chocolate and toasted tobacco. A refreshingly tangy acidity balances with the full-bodied complexity, resolving to a finish that lingers sweetly before drifting away slowly, leaving you wanting another taste.
Larry’s Coffee Frenchy French
The Frenchy French coffee blend has the most unconventional approach to roasting dark roast beans. It is incredibly smokey yet appetizing. Every cup of Frenchy French features a bold, dark and rich coffee with hints of bittersweet chocolate undertones.
- Organic
- Fair Trade (fairtradeproof.org)
- Shade-grown
- Country of origin is United States
- Specialty: Kosher
Larry’s Coffee Ethiopia Single Origin
The Ethiopia Single Origin is an Organic coffee with a medium body and bright citrus acidity. It showcases cherries, lemon, caramelized apples, and rich chocolate, paired with aromatic floral tones.
Bold, spicy, flowery; a little dark chocolaty; a little wild.
The birthplace of coffee, and indeed of humankind, Ethiopia has a reputation for producing some of the finest beans in the world. Our offering is a very clean washed coffee from just outside the town of Yirgacheffe. Intensely aromatic and super complex in the cup, it's not uncommon to pick up the scent of flowers and flavors of lemon, cherries, caramelized apples, and rich chocolate. Bold and spicy-sweet with a brilliant and bright citrus acidity, our roast is light enough to allow all of the distinctive and classic characteristics of an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee to shine. The medium body is pleasant on the tongue, and the aftertaste is like a fine white wine.
Larry’s Coffee Mocha Java Blend
The Mocha Java blend version of Larry’s coffee has a distinctive medium-heavy body and spicy, earthy tones. Likewise, it has a lingering sweet berry acidity with a chocolate liquor aftertaste.
This traditional blend offers a medium-heavy body with loads of earthy spice. Distinct sweet berry acidity and chocolate liquor finish.
Sweet and fruity, full-bodied with hints of caramel and spiced chocolate. This is our take on the classic blend, which has endured for hundreds of years since the Dutch East India Company first carried coffee seeds from Yemen's Red Sea port of Mocha to the Dutch colony of Java in Indonesia. The Dutch understood early on that the high acidity of Mocha coffee paired well with the muted, heavy-bodied Java coffee. Since there are no fair trade options for Mocha coffee or Java coffee, our interpretation pairs a lively and bright Ethiopian with a rich and spicy Sumatran. After roasting each to its own level of sweet and chocolaty darkness, the two are blended into a sublime combination with a perfect balance.
Larry’s Coffee Larry’s House
Larry’s House is a sweet-tone coffee blend with an overall balance. It displays caramel and chocolate flavor profiles with hints of tobacco and pepper undertones. It’s a household favorite because it’s a coffee that’s not too light nor too dark.
- USDA Organic, Fair Trade, Shade-grown, Kosher
- Roasted organic coffee beans from Nicaragua and Guatemala
- Sourced and roasted by Larry's Coffee in Raleigh, NC
- A morning mainstay in the coffee brewer here at the beanplant, this blend has widespread appeal due to its all-around balance
Subscription
If you want to keep your coffee stash fully stocked, subscribing to Larry’s Coffee Subscriptions will simplify things. The process is convenient and offers a generous discount of 10%. The shipping is $5.95 for single orders, but free for purchases over $75. Subscribing doesn’t require any upfront cost and will only charge you once the order is shipped to your location.
What the Community Says
Alternatives
TINY FOOTPRINT COFFEE:
The World's First Carbon Negative Coffee Roaster!
Tiny Footprint Coffee is a coffee roaster with an environmental cause. It's the world's first carbon-negative coffee that supports sustainability and fair labor. They source their coffee beans from farmers who give utmost care to the coffee plants and protect the environment where they cultivate their beans. Also, they pay their growers a fair and competitive wage.
NOSSA FAMILIA ROASTERS:
Sustainability, family, and heritage have merged to create one of the finest coffee experiences and brands in the Pacific Northwest, Nossa Familia Coffee. Augusto Carnerio has led the way for socially conscious coffee in Nossa Familia since its inception in 2004. Discover why others rave about the quality and community community of Nossa.
GROUNDS AND HOUNDS:
Grounds & Hounds Coffee is not just a coffee company but a social enterprise that supports animal rescue and adoption. It is like a paradise for coffee and dog lovers. Not only that you will be able to buy delicious specialty coffee roasts, but with every purchase you make Ground and Hounds will donate a portion to an animal rescue initiative. They are also big supporters of organic and FairTrade coffee.
Our Verdict
Larry’s Coffee’s demonstrable love for coffee, nature, and the community makes this fair trade coffee company genuinely outstanding and inspiring. Their service does not end with delicious coffee blends. It’s just the start.
Larry’s dedication to improving their business model through community service is superb because it provides an endless loop of good deeds for humankind and the environment. No wonder they’re a B-Certified Corporation with flying colors as they focus on making the world a good place to live.
