{"id":2446,"date":"2014-07-31T09:20:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T16:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freshcup.com\/?p=2446"},"modified":"2014-09-29T14:19:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T21:19:44","slug":"sunday-brews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Brews"},"content":{"rendered":"

[C]hurch coffee has a reputation somewhere below Denny\u2019s coffee and somewhat above truck stop coffee. Though, to be fair, it really depends on the truck stop. For a long time, the reputation was well earned. But just as coffee has increased in quality everywhere else, it\u2019s gotten better in churches. Instead of Folgers brewed and baked in giant percolator pots, some churches purchase micro-roaster coffee to serve in airpots. In Huntsville, Alabama, Whitesburg Baptist Church director of food services Mary Lou Herald has opened two caf\u00e9s in the church. \u201cYou would be shocked at how many churches have a caf\u00e9 or coffee service like this,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t think about churches as a potential market, but they are. And you may never have thought of coffee as a ministry tool, but churches have. \u201cThe whole goal is to get people to socialize more,\u201d says roaster Sandy Toomer. At most church services, \u201cYou stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. The pastor comes in, \u2018Blah, blah, blah.\u2019 Then everyone stands up, shakes hands, and leaves.\u201d Good coffee, he argues, can keep people in the church longer. And, for a roaster, the longer they stay in the church the more coffee they\u2019ll drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would be shocked at how many churches have a caf\u00e9 or coffee service like this.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Toomer has sold coffee to churches for years through Toomer\u2019s Coffee Roasters<\/a> and more recently Coffee 4 Missions<\/a>, a consultancy aimed at churches. Based in Auburn, Alabama, Toomer\u2019s is awash in mega-churches. One client goes through 1,200 cups on Sundays, which doesn\u2019t count the personal mugs.<\/p>\n

At Whitesburg Baptist free, so-so coffee is provided in the adult Sunday school classes while the caf\u00e9s, which serve Toomer\u2019s, sell coffee and espresso drinks. Herald says the decision to serve better coffee was natural. \u201cPeople have Keurigs at home; they have personal espresso machines,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re use to a higher grade of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same way many coffee companies want to work with clients who share their values, it\u2019s normal for churches to lean towards roasters with a religious bent. Every church client testimonial on Toomer\u2019s websites say Sandy\u2019s faith was a big draw, as is the fact they donate twenty (yeah, twenty) percent of their profits to various ministries. That said, Herald called Toomer\u2019s donations a bonus, not a requirement. The initial draw: they sent her free samples of coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I always wanted: to spread the word of good coffee to a massive amount of people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Vancouver, Washington, Phuong Tran and her Lava Java<\/a> team recently took over the caf\u00e9 in Crossroads Community Church. Neither a Christian nor a churchgoer, as a US Barista Champion Tran filled the church\u2019s requirement of being a coffee professional. She rents the space from the church and operates just two days a week. The church has 6,000 members, with about 3,000 in the building on Sundays. \u201cIt makes sense to me work there,\u201d Phoung says. \u201cI looked at the numbers, I\u2019m not going to get 3,000 people in seven days in downtown Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two services on Sundays, and in the hour break between them Phoung creates a cash-and-drip-only line. In an hour, two church volunteers serve six gallons of coffee. That frees her staff to sling espresso drinks from a simplified menu that includes just one size of drink.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s begun to see church customers show up at her caf\u00e9. \u201cThis is what I always wanted: to spread the word of good coffee to a massive amount of people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Working with churches and other faith organizations can present particular challenges. The main being though they may look like it, they aren\u2019t businesses. Churches, unlike other clients, often don\u2019t have a single person making decisions. There are multiple pastors, plenty of staff, deacons, and boards to persuade. Toomer, when talking about consulting on church caf\u00e9s, says it can be like herding cats. So even if you\u2019ve persuaded the senior pastor to buy your coffee, the children\u2019s minister might not want to give up her Veggie Tales video budget to do it.<\/p>\n

If your community sees a lull in caf\u00e9 traffic on Sunday mornings, it might not be because the coffee drinkers aren\u2019t sipping brews. They may just be sipping something low-grade, praying for a day of better beans.<\/p>\n

\u2014Cory Eldridge is\u00a0<\/em>Fresh Cup’s\u00a0editor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing specialty coffee to church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}},"beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[25,18,24],"tags":[261,103],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bringing specialty coffee to church.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fresh Cup Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FreshCupMagazine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-31T16:20:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-29T21:19:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMG_4238.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cory Eldridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FreshCupMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FreshCupMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cory Eldridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/\",\"name\":\"Sunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-31T16:20:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-29T21:19:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/978dca7930d36f8f57b45beb99a58405\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Retail and Commerce\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/category\/retail-commerce\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Caf\u00e9 Basics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/category\/retail-commerce\/cafe-basics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Sunday Brews\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/\",\"name\":\"Fresh Cup Magazine\",\"description\":\"Coffee Industry Stories and Insights\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/978dca7930d36f8f57b45beb99a58405\",\"name\":\"Cory Eldridge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d94800d35f844cfe1ad6a3d9bb6ab6a?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fp194.p3.n0.cdn.getcloudapp.com%2Fitems%2FNQu4LeXQ%2Fd67247f7-9611-4038-b16a-7478cd067ca3.jpg%3Fv%3Dfdbe2c631762f9448134eee172d9efb5&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d94800d35f844cfe1ad6a3d9bb6ab6a?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fp194.p3.n0.cdn.getcloudapp.com%2Fitems%2FNQu4LeXQ%2Fd67247f7-9611-4038-b16a-7478cd067ca3.jpg%3Fv%3Dfdbe2c631762f9448134eee172d9efb5&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cory Eldridge\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/author\/cory\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine","og_description":"Bringing specialty coffee to church.","og_url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/","og_site_name":"Fresh Cup Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FreshCupMagazine\/","article_published_time":"2014-07-31T16:20:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-09-29T21:19:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMG_4238.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cory Eldridge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FreshCupMag","twitter_site":"@FreshCupMag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cory Eldridge","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/","url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/","name":"Sunday Brews - Fresh Cup Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-07-31T16:20:35+00:00","dateModified":"2014-09-29T21:19:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/978dca7930d36f8f57b45beb99a58405"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sunday-brews\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Retail and Commerce","item":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/category\/retail-commerce\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Caf\u00e9 Basics","item":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/category\/retail-commerce\/cafe-basics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sunday Brews"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/","name":"Fresh Cup Magazine","description":"Coffee Industry Stories and Insights","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/978dca7930d36f8f57b45beb99a58405","name":"Cory Eldridge","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d94800d35f844cfe1ad6a3d9bb6ab6a?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fp194.p3.n0.cdn.getcloudapp.com%2Fitems%2FNQu4LeXQ%2Fd67247f7-9611-4038-b16a-7478cd067ca3.jpg%3Fv%3Dfdbe2c631762f9448134eee172d9efb5&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d94800d35f844cfe1ad6a3d9bb6ab6a?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fp194.p3.n0.cdn.getcloudapp.com%2Fitems%2FNQu4LeXQ%2Fd67247f7-9611-4038-b16a-7478cd067ca3.jpg%3Fv%3Dfdbe2c631762f9448134eee172d9efb5&r=g","caption":"Cory Eldridge"},"url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/author\/cory\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMG_4238.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf7LWY-Ds","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}