The first roast of this year's harvest is Santa Josefita: the first direct trade relationship coffee imported by Bridgeport Coffee. Purchasing direct from growers is part of our company's mission — and our friendship with Santa Josefita's famers, the Lima brothers, is becoming stronger.

This roast is the classic Bourbon cultivar (classic sweet, medium body), now available in the shop and online.

About the growing region: The Apaneca-ILamatepec Mountains are located in the Northwest of El Salvador. The town of Ataco is a peaceful little tourist destination that is perpetually clean and freshly painted. It is a quaint little mountain village that the urban dwellers from Santa Ana and San Salvador come to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Thanks to the volunteers who came out for Chicago River Day and helped clean up our neighborhood's Bubbly Creek — the historic Bridgeport creek behind the name of one of our most beloved roasts. (Here's some background for those unfamiliar with the creek's mysterious name.)

Bridgeport Coffee is proud to support all the people who came out on a Saturday morning to relieve Chicago waterways of plastic and other refuse.

Espresso lovers rejoice... In our flagship coffeehouse at 31st and Morgan we have installed a La Marzocco Linea. Considered by many to be the ultimate espresso machine, La Marzocco has a variety of innovative features that consistently deliver the highest quality espresso on this planet.

Stop in and order your favorite espresso drink — and taste the difference.

Bridgeport Coffee is proud to announce our second coffeehouse location at the center of the Roosevelt Collection, next to the ground level entrance of the Showplace Icon movie theatres.

On Saturday March 2 we invited about a dozen El Salvadoran coffee farmers to meet with Chicago's finest specialty coffee roasters for a direct trade event. The idea was to connect small high-quality coffee farmers with the best roasters in the Midwest, so that they could taste their coffees and buy directly from the farms.

This helps ensure that the farmers receive a predictable price for their crops which enables them to take better care of their workforce, and it helps roasters assure better coffee quality while helping coffee farmers and workers live better and economically sustainable lives.

About 35 specialty roasters attended the event co-hosted by Dark Matter Coffee. Six farmers representing over a dozen farms met with Chicago roasters to discuss how the coffees were grown and harvested, and what makes each one unique.

Lots of photos and much more...