The Story
After 20 years of building the Delaware coffee company Brew HaHa into a nine-store empire fueled by coffee shipped in from out-of-state roasters, founder Alisa Morkides has finally opened a roastery all her own. With the right personnel and the right equipment finally in place, the roasting operation constitutes its own business, Brandywine Coffee Roasters, centered on a Loring S15 installed at the Trolley Square Brew HaHa location.
Brandywine Coffee Roasters was founded on a little spell: Creativity, Kindness, and Coffee. The same little spell is the way they like to start the day with around their roasting and printing operation hidden away in Wilmington, Delaware, right outside of the Brandywine Valley.
Todd Purse, the head creative and wholesale development director, told Daily Coffee News that the time was right for a few different reasons. For one thing, local demand for craft beverages was noticeably on the rise. She’s one of those people that’s really good at recognizing her strengths and hiring people to fill in the gaps.
Vic Scutari, certified Loring trainer and installer with his own coffee consultancy business and about 15 years of experience roasting with Massachusetts-based company Dean’s Beans, has been an asset to the transition. The team has since evolved from their core five-person operation to include Ally, (Director of Operations), Todd, (Coffee Guru and Artist), Tara (Head of Roastery Production), Vic (Head of Coffee), Lydia, (Wholesale/Customer Service Rep), Chelsea (Lead Production Roaster), Sam, Erin, Greg (Production Assistants), and Sam W. (Printing Assistant) .
BCR began five years ago with a vision: we wanted to artfully source, roast, and serve beautiful coffees without pretension to our local DE community (and coffee-drinkers everywhere!) The company has gained significant recognition, they were named to Food & Wine’s list of the best coffee in every state and they won a coveted Sprudgie award for Best Design/Packaging in 2017.
Sourcing & Relationships
They roast roughly 1000 pounds per week of green coffee sourced through Royal Coffee New York , though their sourcing philosophy emphasizes building direct relationships with producers. We take pride to artfully source the best coffees we can find around the world and build strong relationships with producers, importers, and everyone else in all the small steps along the way.
We’re going to origin next year and trying to work out more direct trade deals with a few of the farms we’re working with, and to do that we’re going to need a bigger warehouse space.
The team actively travels to origin countries to deepen their producer relationships. Vic (our head of coffee) is currently at origin with La Palma y el Tucan and Panama at the creative coffee district!
We treat every crop like its own artform; we aim to cup hundreds of coffees, drink as much as possible, get to know them, and tweak and re-tweak until we present our customer with the best of the best.
Their sourcing emphasizes transparency and responsibility. All of our hand printed packages are filled with coffee intentionally, kindly, and responsibly sourced / roasted by our wonderful team of coffee mystics. The company works with farms like The Santa Barbara Estate is located in the southwest section of the Department of Antioquia. Don Pedro Echavarria established the Santa Barbara Estate almost three decades ago with the vision of producing and offering to the world a superior quality Colombian Coffee.
Roasting Philosophy
Master roaster Vic Scutari (14+ years) roasts small batches on a Loring Falcon 15 kilo with Flavor Lock, treating roasting as both science and art and maintaining a playful, creative approach to coffee.
Their roasting philosophy leans lighter to highlight natural sweetness and complexity. The team’s approach to roasting is methodical yet creative: At Brandywine Coffee Roasters we’re open-minded about all things and we keep that headspace when it comes to roasting coffee. We know that each one is unique, and treating it as such will help to highlight its best traits. We roast to a lighter profile, highlighting the natural flavor.
We love coffee that is sweet, complex, and juicy, an exciting and flavorful yet well-balanced cup. Each coffee we bring in lends itself to certain characteristics. The goal is to highlight what makes each one unique and wonderful and avoid the bitter, astringent side.
Improper roasting can mask what gives a coffee its personality. All of which can be attributed to the people growing the coffee, the soil it’s grown in, and the character it has acquired from its magical habitat.
Their technical approach combines precision with artistry. Their roasting philosophy combines technical precision—guided by certified Loring trainer Vic Scutari who sets roast profiles and trains their team on roast theory—with an artisanal approach that honors the Brandywine Valley’s agricultural heritage while sourcing premium arabica beans .
What to Try
Galactic Standard is a universally awesome espresso blend that will produce shots of star dust space magic in your cup! Tasting like a mixed berry pie with a really syrupy body, this espresso can stand on its own or take all of your milk drinks to another galaxy! This flagship blend combines Colombia Santa Barbara Estate, Ethiopia Shakiso with Mixed Berries, Bright Citrus, Velvety Chocolate Syrup tasting notes.
Their single-origin offerings showcase exceptional processing techniques, particularly from La Palma Y El Tucan. Since its inception, La Palma Y El Tucan has been a pioneer in imaginative coffee processing. And this latest lactic coffee art is a prime demonstration of their continued efforts to create some of the most unique, and tasty, offerings in the world of coffee. With this lot, our friends at La Palma made us fall in love with their famous lactic process all over again.
For those seeking classic comfort, Morning Sun is our version of a rich and delicious morning coffee. A coffee that will ease you into your day, with familiar and comforting flavors. They also offer blends after local Delaware landmarks and establishments, such as the Devil’s Road blend and the Jupiter Records 33 1/3 Blend. The company produces between 4,000 and 7,000 pounds of coffee per week, depending on the season with about two new coffees each week , ensuring constant variety and seasonal highlights.