Our 11th Anniversary
On February 19th, 2014, Flat Black Coffee Company celebrated the anniversary of its
11th year in business. In case you’re unfamiliar with Flat Black, here’s a little refresher
course on the origins of the company: inspired by a passion for the worlds best coffees,
a trip to Australia in 2002 and the coffee culture there, co-owners David House,
Jennifer House and Jeff Chatlos opened a café in Lower Mills, Dorchester, Massachusetts
in 2003 as the only café serving “specialty coffee” in Dorchester and one of the few
spots for coffee consumers to find “specialty coffee” in the city of Boston. Over the last
11 years, Flat Black Coffee Company has become the largest independently-owned
roaster, retailer, and wholesaler of specialty coffees in all of Boston, with 5 cafe locations
in the city.
And, by “specialty coffee,” we’re talking about only the best-of-the-best coffee beans.
Here’s a quick Coffee 101 intro for you: there are two species of coffee, robusta and
arabica. Robusta beans are hearty and can be grown in adverse climate conditions think
droughts, floods & infestations, they can grow despite drastic changes in heat and have
a greater resistance to pests and diseases. Arabica beans, on the other hand must
grown at higher elevations, require specific cultivation techniques and are more
susceptible to pests and diseases than the robusta speicies. In terms of taste, roasted
robusta bean coffees tend to taste oatmeal-like and often have a bitter finish whereas
properly-roasted arabica beans can feature such subtle tastes as flowers, citrus,
stone fruits, caramels and chocolates. “Specialty coffee,” by definition, is made up of
only the highest-quality of the arabica species. Flat Black has become known for
obtaining this specialty coffee from over 20 different countries around the world, roasting
those coffees to perfection and serving glorious single-origin cups, but here are a
couple of things you might not know about the company:
- All of Flat Black’s coffee is roasted at our Lower Mills location
-In 2013, Flat Black was awarded 3rd place in“America’s Best Espresso” contest for the
Eastern US and Canada
-Co-owner Jennifer House is now a certified Q Grader by the Coffee Quality Institute –
a certification that is only awarded to a select few in the world.
- Flat Black has begun a “coffee lab” of sorts at the Franklin Street location, in the
heart of downtown’s financial district. In the lab, we offer preparations on Boston’s
only Bunn Trifecta Brewing System machine, Yama cold brew, offer single-cup pour-
overs, French press brewing options while targeting coffees and training for other brewing
methods while maintaining top notch flavor and style with the more traditional espresso,
latte and drip offerings.
All of these additions and Flat Black’s growth have come with a lot of hard work, passion and commitment over the last 11 years. All of our customers deserve a huge “thank you”
for supporting us throughout the entirety of the process and as we continue to grow. We
hope you’ll come visit us at one of our 5 locations in Boston soon and celebrate our 11th
year!