Fluid Solar Roasted Coffee might just be my favourite item in the store! Hand roasted right here in Lanark County, the folks at Fluid go beyond just producing awesome coffee, they do it with environmental sustainability in mind at every step.

Produced in their off the gird location, they have been producing their own electricity and heat for over 25 years directly form renewable resources. They recycle 100% of their water back to nature and strive to be waste free by only using items that can be recycled, reused or composted. Even their local delivery car is electric, powdered by Solar energy. All packaging is biodegradable and designed to keep the coffee fresh and the planet healthy. I find all of that truly awesome, but maybe not as awesome as the coffee itself!

Choose from a variety of blended and single origin coffees. They have a coffee for every type of coffee drinker from espresso to decaffeinated. Roasted bed-style in small batches and delivered weekly, you can make the freshest cup coffee available right in the comfort of your own home.

Available in 340g bags of beans. Need it ground? No problem, our helpful staff would be happy to grind your coffee in store to your brewing preference.

Get the most out of your coffee beans and learn how to brew The Perfect Cup of Java here

Bean Sourcing

Fluid Solar Roasted Coffee is roasted from only the best sustainably sourced beans from around the world. They are a socially responsible coffee purchaser that supports and purchase Fair Trade, Organic and Rain Forest Alliance certified coffees. They use a Direct Trade means of purchasing from these producer/partners and pay a minimum of 50% more than Fair Trade prices for the same product.

They also support the Las Marias coffee co-operative of La Plata, Colombia. This co-op was founded by farming women who where overwhelmed by the lack of credit available to them. By committing to purchase coffees from the Las Marias women, financial support became available, allowing the group to plant coffee trees and install equipment to improve their production processes, profitability and quality of life.

Roasting

How a coffee is roasted has a lot to do with the quality of the final cup.

Have you ever had a coffee leave you with a sour stomach and an unpleasant jittery feeling, or one that tastes burnt and bitter? You would probably assume the problem is poor quality coffee beans, but in many cases, the roasting equipment is the real culprit.

The vast majority of coffee roasters, small and large, typically use drum-style roasting machines. Many of these machines trap smoke from the roasting process inside the drum, transferring the smoke flavour to the coffee beans.

Additionally, food chemist Michael Sivetz discovered that drum roasters have very little oxygen present during the roasting cycle. This leads to the development of bitter tasting acids due to an effect known as pyrolysis.

Sivetz went on to design and patent a coffee roaster based on the fluid bed principal which is commonly used in industrial applications, including coal-fired power plants and food drying.

The fluid bed process adapted to coffee roasting uses large volumes of heated (oxygenated) air to lift and heat the coffee slowly and evenly. (Think hot-air popcorn popper on a large scale). High oxygen levels and slow, even roasting ensure the coffee oils do not pyrolyze, which is the process that creates bitterness.

Local maple syrup is a stable for us at The Granary. Used as a sweetener in baking or a table condiment for breakfast, Maple syrup is a delicious local option. Not only does the local maple industry provide numerous jobs, it also protects and manages the local forests. Well managed forests are a key part of carbon capture and climate change management.

In addition to Maple Syrup we also sell Temple's Maple Sugar and Maple Candies.

The Temples's  sugar bush, located in Lanark County  is 70 acres is size and contains approximately 5,000 taps. The property was clear cut for fire wood in the 1940’s. The regeneration which followed would have included a variety of species such as ash, elm, basswood, hickory, birch, butternut, cherry and, of course, maple.  Through the 1960’s and 70’s the bush became a demonstration wood lot, with the assistance of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, to show the value of proper sugar bush management and thinning techniques. Not only does Temples Sugar Bush produce maple products, they also run a full service restaurant and event facility. For a lovely day trip check out their walking trails and facilities.

How it's Made

It takes about 40 litres of maple sap to make one litre of maple syrup. It generally takes about 40 litres of maple sap to make one litre of maple syrup but the ratio varies depending on the sweetness of the sap.  The sap is concentrated into syrup by boiling water off as steam in modern stainless steel vats called evaporators to make a safe, high quality food product. Pure Maple Products are 100% natural with the only ingredient being maple sap. Other pure maple products can be made from maple syrup simply by boiling it down further, and in some cases cooling and/or stirring, such as maple butter, maple sugar, and maple taffy on snow.

Pure maple syrup contains a variety of vitamins and minerals that promote good health, including many B Vitamins, calcium, magnesium and manganese as well as free- radical fighting antioxidants.

Grading

Grading of pure maple syrup is based on colour and flavour. The lighter the colour, the milder and more delicate the flavour.  The darker the colour, the richer and stronger the flavour. People tend to choice their grade of syrup based on how it will be used. Amber has a rich, full-bodied but not overpowering flavour. Dark or very dark maple syrups have a robust taste and tend to be used for cooking purposes. All grades of maple syrup are the same thickness and sweetness. For optimum freshness, maple syrup should be stored in the fridge or freezer.