Anchor & Tree Coffee Founder Donovan Albert in front of the startup’s Bellwether roasting machine in Sacramento. All images courtesy of Anchor & Tree.
With roots in coffee roasting and brewing, a new roasting company called Anchor & Tree Coffee Roasting Co. has set sail in Sacramento, California.
Offering the slogan, “better coffee, better world,” Anchor & Tree was launched by Donovan Albert, a former barista manager as well as former account manager for the coffee-focused software company Cropster.
Last year, Albert took the bold step of leaving his most recent job to launch Anchor & Tree, first focusing on direct-to-consumer sales and subscriptions, then venturing into wholesale.
“I said, ‘I should do what I love and what I have a passion for,'” Albert recently told DCN, “and that’s creating good coffee for great people. I knew I wanted to do something that was more ethical and eco-friendly.”
Albert currently rents a warehouse space in downtown Sacramento that now houses an electric Bellwether zero-emissions roasting machine. Albert said the equipment choice was part of Anchor & Tree’s broader mission towards environmental consciousness throughout its operations.
Using tools and knowledge gleaned from the built-in Bellwether system as well as from time spent at Cropster, Albert is currently executing roast profiles for five Fairtrade- and organic-certified coffees, each named after trees found in the regions from which they were sourced.
A personal favorite of Albert’s is the Honduran Amyris, sourced from the COMSA cooperative in the La Paz region of western Honduras, which the roaster says has notes of marzipan, citrus, cocoa nibs and brown sugar.
“The green coffee comes from a farm in Honduras that is all woman-owned, woman-grown,” said Albert. “It’s really supporting a small coffee farm that has a mission of supporting women in coffee.”
Albert said the new LGBTQ-owned company is committed to lifting up other actors throughout the coffee world, including small-scale farmers through responsible sourcing or other coffee businesses closer to home.
“I crave coffee partnerships, a platform and environment where roasters can lean on one another and ask questions, have a collaborative platform where there’s no such thing as a stupid question,” said Albert.
The business is continuing to branch out through online sales, while all five coffees will soon be sold at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, according to Albert. As the small business grows, Albert hopes to inspire more coffee drinkers to seek out coffees that are “good,” both in the cup and beyond.
Said Albert, “I really have a passion for wanting to spread the word about good coffee and how coffee can be ethically sourced and eco-friendly.”
Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roasting business here.
Libby Allnatt
Libby Allnatt is a writer with a passion for trying new coffee shops. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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