Mexico Kulaktik - Organic/Fair Trade Back in Stock

We now have our Mexico Kulaktik OFT back in stock! Thanks to all of our loyal customers who waited patiently for this coffee to come back in. Order up a few pounds and enjoy!

Alterra Offices Closed Labor Day

Attention Wholesale customers: Alterra offices will be closed on Labor Day, Monday September 6th. For those customers who have delivery on Labor Day, your order will be delivered Wednesday September 8th, please place your order by Tuesday September 7th by 3pm. For those customers who get Tuesday delivery (September 7th), please place your order Friday September 3rd by 3 PM for regular delivery on Tuesday.

Thank you!

August Special: Guatemala Hunapu

Nestled among three massive volcanoes in the central highlands of Guatemala, Antigua is one of Central America’s most beautiful colonial cities.  One of the volcanoes, Volcán de Agua, was originally named Hunapú (place of the flowers) until an eruption in 1541 destroyed what was then the capital city of Guatemala.  Many of the locals still refer to the volcano as Hunapú, and Beneficio Bella Vista decided to use that name for this very special coffee.  Naming a coffee after this epic force of nature carries with it a lot of pressure, but the farmers that harvest the perfectly ripe, 100% Bourbon variety cherries have produced something worthy of such an impressive title.  Grown at elevations from 1,500 to 1,800 meters above sea level and dried on patios under the Antigua sun, this full-bodied coffee delivers near-perfect, sweet-tart acidity that cuts through flavors of blood-orange, black cherry and Mayan cocoa.  Enjoy!

Try Guatemala Hunapu this August and enjoy 50 cents off each pound (whole bean, ground, or frac’ed coffee) in your order, and an 11” x 17” poster complete with a full description of this coffee. (Limit one per customer, please.)

New Rishi Chai Now Available!

We are thrilled to announce that Alterra now carries Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai Concentrate! This delicious chai is blended and brewed just down the road in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, and we are proud to be teamed up with such a fantastic local company.

Rishi’s Masala Chai is an all organic and Fair Trade Certified microbrewed blend of spices and rich vanilla, infused with a full-bodied single origin forest grown black tea. Rishi uses ethically sourced, wild-grown black tea leaves from an ancient tea tree forest harvested in Yunnan, China – the birthplace of tea. Less than 2% of the world’s tea is harvested in such a low impact and truly organic manner.

To make this delicious concentrate, traditional Indian spices are slow brewed in small batches for more than 20 hours and carefully infused with the tea leaves. Slow brewing results in a more authentic and complex array of richer and fuller flavors. Also, each box of Masala Chai concentrate supports the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots, the institute’s environmental and humanitarian global youth program.

Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai is currently available for purchase from Alterra Wholesale for $57.60 per case of twelve 32-oz. boxes. (Sorry, we are unable to accept orders for individual boxes.)

We’ve been serving the Masala Chai in our own cafes for a few weeks and have gotten a wonderful response from our customers!  Please feel free to contact us with any questions or to place your orders at 877-273-3747.

Omanhene Price Increase

Beginning Monday, August 2nd you’ll notice some increases on pricing for our Omanhene cocoa products.

This is because the price for raw cocoa beans has more than quadrupled in the past few years and has remained at levels not seen in 28 years.  Sugar has likewise remained at very high levels and the cost of sugar to Omanhene has risen 49% in just the last two years. 

Pricing for Omanhene cocoa as of Tuesday, July 20th will be as follows:
25# Cocoa Powder: $81.50
12oz Cocoa Tin: $3.90
12oz Mint Cocoa Tin: $4.90

Omanhene’s founder and president, Steve Wallace, had the following to share regarding the increases:

We refrained from raising prices for perhaps longer than we should—we benefited from some favorable cocoa purchasing decisions and had inventory we were able to use for the benefit of customers for a period longer than some of our competitors. As this inventory is exhausted and we have to reenter the new price reality, the price increase seems especially jarring. The alternative was to have raised prices much more frequently in order to keep closer to “market” price even though we had inventory manufactured at prices that were “below market”.

We encourage you to contact us with any questions about these changes and thank you for your understanding and continued support.

July Coffee Special: Tanzania Kanyovu Peaberry

The mountainous Kigoma region of western Tanzania is home to this coffee and the Kanyovo Co-op farmers who grow it. Kanyovo represents over 5,000 farmers from ten primary societies, three of which – Rumako, Kalinzi, and Mkigo – contributed their very best Peaberry’s to this vivacious lot. Overcoming a remote location and limited natural resources, the co-op made the best of heirloom Bourbon varietals, good soil and elevation exceeding 5,000 feet. Lively lemon acidity supports a full, creamy body in this stunning coffee that came to us all the way from the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Try Tanzania Kanyovu Peaberry this July and enjoy 50 cents off each pound (whole bean, ground, or frac’ed coffee) in your order, and an 11” x 17” poster complete with a full description of this coffee. (Limit one per customer, please.)