Cafe Excellence, coffee supplier to The Philadelphia Catering Company

Over the last year coffee prices have gone up 40%.  We are always trying to offer our customers the best value, so we decided this is the time to evaluate our coffee supplier and shop around to see if we can get a better deal.  We found out we can certainly save money, but not one of the coffees we sampled was nearly as good as ours.  We have always loved our coffee and we consume many cups of it daily.  We needed to know – why is our coffee so much better?  Were we just accustomed to it from consuming it daily, or was it really a superior roast.  Our questions brought us to our roaster,  Anthony Valerio.

Anthony Valerio, Master Roaster, Cafe Excellence

Anthony is the Master Roaster and President of Café Excellence, our coffee supplier.  Café Excellence is a micro-roasting company right in our area.   Anthony invited us to his roasting facility for a tour and cupping.    It turns out, our coffee is so good because of the care and expertise in which Anthony buys roasts and blends his coffees.  Anthony patiently went through his entire process from the bean selection, to roasting, blending and packaging.  He explained in detail the factors that affect quality and price when selecting and his roasting coffee beans.  We were very impressed with his roasting facility tour and the subsequent cupping.

Anthony explains the process of bean selection, roasting, blending and packaging

We compared the aromas and tastes of four different coffees, then the taste of coffees using different brewing methods; Chemex and French press.  Our host also graciously sent us home with a bag of their featured roast, Ethiopian Harrar – the surprise favorite from the cupping.  We left Café Excellence feeling great about our vendor and knowing that we are providing our customers with the highest quality and best tasting coffee.   You can check them out online and follow Anthony’s blog.  http://cafeexcellence.com/

“Cupping” is coffee-talk for tasting a variety of roasts and flavors

Alan and Tim, Co-Owners of The Philadelphia Catering Company, well caffeinated and impressed with Cafe Excellence