Q: What is a craft coffee roastery?
A: A craft coffee roastery is a place that roasts the highest rated coffee beans. Coffee beans are graded on a scale 1-100 with 100 being the highest quality. Our roastery only roasts coffee beans rated 86 or higher. The beans we buy are Fair Trade and usually organic, and if they aren't certified organic, they come from a supplier who practices sustainable farming and processing. You will notice the difference in quality, smoothness, body, and flavor!

Q: Where do you get your coffee beans?
A: We work with an importer in Minneapolis who has a direct relationship with coffee farmers throughout the world and ensures Fair Trade. 

Q: Is The Rooted Bean a coffee shop?
A: No, we do not sell prepared coffee beverages, like a latte, for people to buy. It's more of a "BYOB" place..."Brew Your Own Beans".  We sell coffee beans, roasted on site, to our wholesale partners or as retail.

Q: What are your hours?
A: We fire up the roaster as needed, typically a couple of days per week. Feel free to place your order through text, email, or the website any time. 

Q: Where can I buy your coffee?
A: Currently, The Rooted Bean coffee is available at a number of partner stores, including Fareway in Adel. If you are a business owner and would like to carry Rooted Bean coffee at your location, please contact us.

Q: Do you ship your coffee?
A: Yes, the cost of shipping is added to the total on the checkout page. 

Q: What type of payment do you accept?
A: We accept all types: cash, check, and credit card through our website or Venmo.

Q: Do you add flavors to your coffee beans?
A: No. Nothing is added to the coffee beans during or after the roasting process. Each specific origin has flavor notes unique to the country, region, elevation, and climate. The job of the roaster is to bring out the unique flavor notes of each origin. We let the beans speak for themselves!

Q: Do you sell ground coffee as well as whole bean?
A: Yes, we are able to grind coffee specifically for the way you will brew your coffee, whether it is for French press, regular drip system, pour overs, or espresso etc. 

Q: Do you sell espresso beans?
A: Yes. All beans can be used for espresso. Espresso is an extraction method that uses pressure to push the water through the ground beans to deliver a concentrated coffee. Some people traditionally use dark roast for making an espresso drink, but blonde and medium roasts tend to have so much of the natural origin flavor, that many find they don't need to add any sweeteners to their espresso drinks - whether it is a cortado, latte, Americano etc...If you've never tried a blonde or medium roast for your espresso drink, we dare you to give it a try! Those are our personal favorites to use for espresso drinks.

Q: What is the difference between Blonde, Medium, and Dark roasts?
A: The difference between all the roasts is basically how far a roaster takes the beans in the roasting process. Initially, the beans dehydrate, then absorb the heat and have what is known as the first "crack". The first crack is similar to breaking a sweat when you go for a run. The first crack is what is considered "blonde" or "city" roast. As the beans continue to roast, they go through second crack (medium roast), and then finally third crack (dark roast). Each phase of roasting has specific flavor notes that are accentuated or burned off depending on how far the roasting process goes. 

Q: Is there more caffeine in a Blonde roast than in a Dark roast?
A: According to the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association), scientific studies show there is no difference in caffeine content between the roasts. Some say their experience is they get more of a caffeine buzz from the lighter roasts. So, as far as what we know today, science says "no difference", and experience says "yes". Stay tuned as more studies are done!

Q: How many cups of coffee can I get out of an 8oz bag?
A: We recommend 1Tbsp of coffee grounds per 1cup of water. If you like your coffee stronger, use a heaping Tbsp. In an 8oz bag, there are approximately 30 Tbsps of coffee (when ground), so you should be able to make 30 cups per 8oz bag.

Q: Can I use your coffee in my Kurig?
A: Yes! If you have re-usable Kurig pods, you can put the coffee grounds in the pod and brew as usual. If you do not have re-usable pods, they are easily found online for you to order.

Q: How do you decide on what organization/cause to give back to?
A: Usually we decide based on talking with people, hearing of a need, or responding to an organization's request for support. If you know of someone or a group who could benefit from the give back heartbeat of The Rooted Bean, please contact us and let us know about it!

Q: Can I organize a group to come in for a private class?
A: Yes! We love sharing about the story of coffee and demonstrating the roasting process. Contact us to schedule a date.