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For a Philadelphia Coffee Roaster, Good Citizenship Is His Brew Of Choice

By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- From bean to cup, a new Philadelphia coffee roasting company takes social responsibility very seriously.

At a rented facility near Broad and Girard today, an Ethiopian Sidamo was being lightly roasted at 420 degrees by Tom Molieri, who owns Green Street Coffee Roasters with his brother, Chris.

This wholesale company was started about nine months ago, and their coffee is now found in area coffee houses, markets, and restaurants.

Tom says they participate  in fair trade, guaranteeing farmers at the place of origin a set rate.

"If you are a small coffee farmer and you put in all this work and you go to sell your beans and you're getting a nominal figure, you're going to rethink the options," he tells KYW Newsradio, "and that's putting a lot of people who produce great coffee out of the coffee world, which is what we don't want to happen."

Molieri says 70 percent of their coffee is organic, and is delivered to stores within 48 hours -- something he says is not commonly found in this area.

"A lot of coffee comes (from) out of state, and some people even get it from out of country, which means basically the coffee is stale.  There is about a  two-week window which is optimal consumption time after it's roasted," he explains.

Green Street Coffee Roasters is also helping a Philadelphia nonprofit organization raise funds.  When you buy a bag of the "Off The Wall" blend, a percentage goes to the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

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