Why our coffee
I put a lot of words on this site about veterans. This page is about the coffee, because if the coffee isn't good, none of the rest matters. Here's what we sell, how it gets made, and why it costs what it does.
What "specialty grade" means
Specialty grade is a standard set by the Specialty Coffee Association. It isn't a word we picked because it sounds nice.
To qualify, a coffee has to score 80 points or higher out of 100 when it's cupped by trained graders.
Every coffee Honorguard sells is specialty grade. Every one.
If you want to go deeper, I wrote about it here: What specialty grade means
Roasted to order
There's no shelf of roasted coffee waiting for your order. When you place it, it goes into a roast queue. Orders are roasted in the order they come in, usually within 48 hours. Your coffee ships 1 to 3 days after it's roasted, and it's usually in your hands about 7 days from roast.
Why there's no roast date on the bag
Truthfully, it doesn't fit Temecula Coffee Roasters' workflow. Here's what that means for you: your coffee wasn't roasted until you ordered it, so it never sat on a shelf. Count on about 7 days from roast to your door. Many specialty roasters find coffee tastes best from a few days to about two weeks after roasting, and holds good flavor for about a month. Keep the bag sealed, cool and out of the light.
Who roasts it
Honorguard Coffee is a member of a Coffee Collective run by Temecula Coffee Roasters. Collectively we source, cup, roast and distribute our coffee from Southern California. That lets a small brand like ours compete on expertise, sourcing, quality and price with the large local roasters.
The coffee is sourced by the collective. The collective and Temecula Coffee Roasters have direct relationships with the farms and co-ops we source from.
The long-term plan is a roasting facility of our own here, as growth allows. I am local. The company is local. And as soon as I'm able, we will roast local.
What's in the bag
Every product page tells you where the coffee is from, the cooperative, the altitude, the varieties and how it was processed after picking. A few examples:
- Summer's Costa Rica: the Coopetarrazú cooperative in San Marcos de Tarrazú, grown at 1,300 to 1,600 meters. Caturra and Catuai, fully washed.
- Nemo's Bali: Subak Abian smallholder groups on Mount Agung, grown at 1,200 to 1,600 meters. Wet-hulled (giling basah).
- Lucca's Peru Decaf: the El Palto (JUMARP) cooperative in Amazonas, grown at 1,600 to 1,800 meters. Washed, then decaffeinated.
The blends tell you what's in them too. Cairo's Breakfast Blend is South American coffees, blended so the cup stays the same even when the farms change seasons. We don't list a green-coffee process for the blends, because their components change often.
None of the coffees on this page are flavored. The tasting notes come from the coffee itself.
Every decaf we sell is water process. There are no chemical decafs here. I refuse to sell chemical decaf because I won't drink chemical decaf. You don't get a product I wouldn't drink myself.
Why it costs what it costs
When people see $25 a bag, they say, wow, that's a lot. When they try it, it makes a lot more sense.
Buying and roasting through the collective is how I produce at a cost that other lower-quality coffees sell for.
I won't sell coffee I can't stand behind. I can't stand behind drivel, and I never will. I taste every coffee we offer and rotate through all of them. They're the best coffee I can source, because among many other reasons, it's the only coffee I drink regularly.
FAQ
Is every Honorguard coffee specialty grade?
Yes. Every coffee we sell scores 80 points or higher on the Specialty Coffee Association's 100-point scale.
Where is the coffee roasted?
Southern California, for now. Honorguard is a member of a coffee collective run by Temecula Coffee Roasters, and collectively we source, cup, roast and distribute from Southern California. A local roasting facility is the long-term plan, as growth allows.
How fresh is it when it arrives?
Usually about 7 days from roast. Your order is roasted usually within 48 hours of placing it and ships 1 to 3 days after roasting.
Why isn't there a roast date on the bag?
Because a printed roast date doesn't fit Temecula Coffee Roasters' workflow. Your coffee is roasted after you order it, so it hasn't been sitting on a shelf.
How is the decaf made?
By water process. Every decaf we sell is water process; there are no chemical decafs here.
Do you charge for shipping?
No. Shipping is free on every order, and we ship within the US only.
If you've read this far, try a bag. If it isn't what I said it is, write to me at steven@honorguard.coffee.
Steven Ferguson, founder