By KATHLEEN LITCHFIELD
It's far more than the caffeine that keeps Sean and Darren Pierce
energized about working 12-hour days, traveling to coffee-growing countries
on working vacations, selling and marketing their unique coffee blends and
brewing thousands of cups at 16-hour intervals on festival weekends.
For these 30-something entrepreneurs, founders of Sunderland's Java
Hut Roasters, who've been in business together for 10 years, it's a passion
for the hot beverage, a love of their community and a camaraderie they
wouldn't trade for the world.
"We've come a long way, I've always loved coffee, and working with
my brother is the best." said Darren Pierce, 34.
For the past five years, the Pierce brothers have air-roasted their
own 100-percent organic coffee beans and blended them into dozens of
aromatic brews, including the "smoky and sp0icy" full-bodied dark roast they
named "Fog Buster," presently their most popular blend; "Continental Shift,"
guaranteed to "make the earth move under your feet," the traditional, rich
"Mocha Java;" and six organic Swiss water-decaffeinated varieties. Eighty
percent of the coffee they sell is 100-percent organic and 100-percent
fair-trade certified.
The brothers credit their success to the air-roasting process that
uses a hot air convection "fluid bed roaster" to separate unwanted chaff
form the beans and eliminate roaster residue that changes coffee flavor,
while also allowing for great consistency.
"It's such a different process, being air-roasted rather than drum-roasted,"
said Darren Pierce. "With air roasting, you get the same exact cup of
coffee all the time, and that makes all the difference in the world."
Both Sean and Darren believe strongly in paying a fair price for
the beans grown by farmers in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Papua New
Guinea, and they are proud of their participation in the TransFair
International Fair Trade Certification program, through which all of the
organic coffees are certified annually and to which they donate 10 percent
of their profits.
"It just makes sense, really," said Sean Pierce, 37. "We want
to make sure the organizations we're supporting are really doing what they
say they are. By paying a higher price to the farmers, we help them
stay in business longer, providing the quality beans we love and doing
something good for the environment."
The two, who founded Pierce Brothers Gourmet Distributors in 1994,
believe that giving back to the community that supports them is of utmost
importance. They regularly invent |
Ashley E. Lessard, right, of Sunderland, helps Java Hut customer Karen Malley of Greenfield with her order.
Owner Sean Pierce fills a cup of coffee at Java Hut Roasters in Sunderland. At right, a communter waits at Java Hut's drive-through window.
Java Hut employee Ashley E. Lessard of Sunderland offers a smile with a coffee to go.
| unique coffee blends for local institutions and donate
coffee by the cup and the pound to National Public Radio's semiannual fund
drives as well as to other organizations.
"Our philosophy is that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the
community," said Sean Pierce. "We appreciate the support we get from
our customers."
Amherst natives, the brothers grew up "with Maxwell House" and
remember their grandfather's cabinet shelves stocked with Sanka coffee
crystals and Cremora milk powder. Both graduated from Springfield
College with degrees in English, psychology and business.
Darren moved to San Francisco and worked as a server and bartender
in five-star restaurants. It was there that he met a local coffee
roaster and began learning the ins and outs of roasting, blending and
equipment maintenance.
In 1994, he returned to the valley and forged a business deal with
his brother: no matter what happened, they'd work out their differences,
being sure their friendship cam first. That year, they began selling
Arabica coffee beans wholesale to businesses throughout Western
Massachusetts, working out of their parents' basement and in a friend's
garage. Next, they purchased a kiosk and set up their first retail
operation inside the Newman Center at the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst.
Seven years ago, they opened the doors to Java Hut Roasters, a
place that today boasts not only a cozy cafe space, but also a drive-though
window, as well as an extensive menu of salads, deli sandwiches, bagels and
breakfast fare in addition to a wide array of coffees and beans by the
pound.
They still work at least 12-hour days, with the help of about 10
employees, and their coffee is available at more than 30 local restaurants,
cafes, markets and farms from Hadley to Orange.
They serve up thousands of cups of coffee at music festivals in New
York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts every summer, and employ their family
members: the brothers' mom sews banners; their dad delivers coffee; their
older sister includes Java Hut coffee in the gift baskets she sells; Sean's
wife, Katie, does payroll and telephone work; Darren's girlfriend Rachael,
works at festivals; and Rachael's sister, owner of Daisy's Restaurant in
Sunderland, sells and markets Java Hut coffee.
It's hard work, but nothing beats "working for ourselves," the
brothers agreed. "It's really great being a family-run business.
If it wasn't family supported, I don't think we could do it. It's
100-percent honesty," said Darren Pierce.
His brother smiled.
"Most rewarding is working with my brother. The coffee sells
itself," Sean Pierce said. |
