To help celebrate its fourth anniversary, Caffe d’bolla is sharing its efforts in raising Salt Lake City’s level of coffee science by thanking customers with a bag of freshly roasted beans.

The store offers a globally diverse line of coffees sourced from single estate farms along with high quality teas and homemade gelato. “Caffe d’bolla is a true micro-roaster,” John Piquet, who owns the store with his wife Yiching, says. “All coffee is roasted in small five pound batches, in about 20 minutes, so the freshest coffee is always available.”

The anniversary promotion will run for two weeks beginning Aug. 11. Customers can expect to receive still-warm bags of the freshly roasted coffee, Piquet explains, adding that all fresh roasted coffee is sold during its peak so the customer always experiences the coffee’s best flavor and aroma properties.

The point-of-sale roaster, developed by Fresh Roast Systems, Inc., incorporates an advanced profiling system that controls customized roasting parameters for each variety and lot of beans. The precision of the roaster’s performance clearly meets the rigorous demands of baristas who source outstanding farm-specific and single origin beans, Piquet says.

“Coffee comes from a wonderfully sweet fruit, and it is our job to not interfere with the coffee, and allow the natural flavors of each varietal to come to the forefront,” Piquet says. “The unparalleled precision of our roaster, as well as our insane attention to detail provides us the perfect method for delivering fresh, quality coffee to our customers.”

The new roaster also fits well into the paradigm of Caffe d’bolla’s commitment as a socially responsible and environmentally conscious local business. With a patented computer-controlled ‘roasting eye’ reflectometer that monitors the color which develops throughout the roasting process, the system filters the exhaust air, eliminating the need for outside venting. “It recycles heat, but not exhaust, during the roasting process for superb energy efficiency,” Piquet explains.

In an industry with more franchised stores than independents committed to the highest quality of product available, the Piquets generate their own competitive advantage with a dynamic learning curve that rarely, if ever, stops with the six 14-hour days a week the store is open. “I know if I start with a better bean, and produce a fresher and more flavorful cup, all I need to do is improve daily and I will always remain ahead of the pack,” Piquet explains. “I don’t always think it’s what one knows that is important; it’s realizing how much more there is to learn that matters. So whether a customer asks, ‘How come this Brazilian tastes nothing like that Brazilian you had the other day,’ I just might be able to answer them.”

The photo below shows a special lot of peaberry from the Cachoeira Estate coffee in Brazil, which Caffe d’bolla sources directly from, and this coffee is the main component in the store’s espresso. The family-owned plantation (operated by Pedro Santos’ four sons) is located, at an altitude of 3,600 feet, near the city of Carmo do Paranaiba on the plateau region of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The 370 acres of coffee plantation produces 5000 bags of green coffee per year. The family’s intensive coffee management practices include pest, disease and weed control, tree nutrition and health.

The photo below represents John’s favorite coffee from the Panama Carmen Estate, a family-owned business that has been operating for nearly 60 years and is currently run by the sons and grandsons. It produces just 1,200 bags (60 kilograms each) of unique quality green coffee beans. It is located in Volcan Valley at an altitude of 5,600 feet, the most important area in mountain and shade grown coffee plantations of the Baru Volcano region in Panama.

The store is located in the street level of the Stoneground Building at 249 E 400 S. It’s open every day except Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.