By: Sarah Ward
Something new is brewing in Pacific Lutheran University’s (PLU’s) campus coffee shops.
Students returning for fall semester may have noticed a subtle change in flavor in both the standard drip coffee and espresso drinks served on campus.
Over the summer, PLU Dining Services switched their coffee from Seattle’s Best Coffee to Dillanos Coffee Roasters (DCR).
For the past five years, Seattle’s Best Coffee was an espresso staple in all on-campus coffee shops.
However, in August of 2018, PLU’s five year contract with Seattle’s Best expired.This allowed PLU Dining Services to diversify the brands of coffee served on campus and transition from Seattle’s Best to DCR.
The new coffee has received glowing reviews from coffee enthusiasts and casual coffee drinkers alike.
“Seattle’s Best was a caffeine fix, but this one is a lot better…. It has more flavor and taste. I am definitely more interested in this coffee because it is a local business. It is more fun. They are unique, and I feel like they make the coffee here a lot more personal,” said PLU Senior and ‘caramel americano lover’ Emma Poffenberger.
On campus baristas have also noticed positive changes. When PLU switched over from Seattle’s Best to DCR, a representative from Dillanos came to make sure the transition to their coffee went smoothly.
“The representative told us that ‘if any of you want to come tour our location, just let us know. We would love to make that happen,” said student barista Joy Ghigleri.
As a casual coffee drinker, Ghigleri said that she likes the slight difference in flavor in her espresso drinks this year and that she has received feedback from students who say that DCR is not as bitter as Seattle’s Best.
“I personally notice a difference in the drip…I have had a lot of customers say that they really prefer the new coffee. This coffee is also organic, it’s fair trade, it’s local…we are moving towards being local and more personal,” added Lute Cafe barista Cassandra Ingram.
The fact that DCR is a local company strongly factored into PLU’s decision to sign a contract with them.
According to Josh Girnus, the operations manager for Hospitality Services and Campus Restaurants, financial feasibility, locality and organic/fair-trade standards all influenced the decision to switch.
“When looking at our options, we wanted to make sure that we stayed with organic and fair-trade coffee, which were the standards that we had before. Both Seattle’s Best and DCR met these standards…DCR was ultimately the more local option, even though Seattle’s Best is owned by Starbucks,” Girnus said.
Girnus also noted that DCR coffee has a smaller carbon footprint than Seattle’s Best since it is a small, local company whereas Seattle’s Best is a Starbucks product.
Although Starbucks is also a ‘local company,’ its international scale creates a larger carbon footprint.
As a small company, DCR can pursue what they have coined as “relationship coffee.” According to a 2014 article in Edible Seattle, DCR works to foster personal relationships with the coffee growers who supply their beans.
By doing so, they go above and beyond the labels of ‘fair-trade’ and ‘organic,’ and choose to have personal and lasting relationships with individuals along the supply chain, all of whom work to produce the coffee sold by DCR and served at cafes across the nation and on all campus cafes.
In August, PLU signed a five year contract with DCR. When these five years are up, PLU will once again be able to choose whether to renew the contract for another three years or to switch to a different type of coffee.
Until then, DCR coffee is here to stay. Students and faculty sipping on coffee on the way to class can rest assured knowing that the beans in their cup are part of an ethical, local and sustainable supply chain that starts with the growers and ends with their morning caffeine boost.
