Speciality Coffee in Thunder Bay is Growing in Popularity

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay has become a mecca for really good coffee. Local companies are stepping up their coffee brewing, and making sure that that favourite beverage is done to perfection. One of Thunder Bay’s coffee experts is Jamie Nichols. “Love the coffee you drink and drink the coffee you love” – that’s the mantra of Jamie Nichols, founder of Rose N Crantz Roasting Company.

Spearheading Thunder Bay’s third wave coffee movement, Jamie’s mission is simple – to get people to brew a better cup of coffee. Rose N Crantz does exclusively small batch roasting (two pounds at a time), allowing Jamie to easily adjust the ‘roast profile’ of each batch, customizing the roast for flavour perfection. Large commercial roasters that typically hold 15-30 pounds of coffee beans at a time will not usually be used so meticulously.

Rose N Crantz specialty coffee is of a single origin, meaning that each bean can most often be traced back to the very farm or estate it was grown on, or the cooperative at the very least. “I always try to get coffee that is grown on farms with good working conditions and quality soil, and the farmers receive a fair wage. I do not blend coffees, so there’s no question of where it comes from.”

Jamie first began roasting when his favourite brew from an Edmonton roastery became a little too expensive to import. What started as a hobby slowly grew through word of mouth and developed into a full time operation. He received free information, consulting, and advice from the Entrepreneur Centre. “The service I got from the Entrepreneur Centre was excellent and I expect to continue using their services during my upcoming expansion and continuous business planning.”

Rose N Crantz can be purchased at Sweet Escape Cake Café and Bakery, Espresso Joya, and Waking Giant Coffee House, where Jamie makes weekly deliveries to ensure the coffee is no more than a few days old before a customer brings it home. If you order online, your batch is roasted shortly after, just for you. Freshly brewed Rose N Crantz is served at a growing number of locations, including Sweet Escape, the Study Coffee House, and Red Lion Smokehouse. It is brewed on demand at Espresso Joya.

With files from Alexandra Penko