OUR BIG STORY
Big Medicine Ranch , Autumn Light
We love great coffee. We roast some of the finest Specialty Grade, Single Origin Arabica beans sourced from farmers committed to great coffee and sustainable practices.
We are especially passionate about seeking out the rarer, boutique and microlot Single Origin coffees: often a smaller harvest with limited availability; they offer exceptional freshness, brightness, flavor and complexity. Last year, these included varieties from Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Guatemala and Sumatra.
Our sustainable coffees sourced from farms that support Fair Trade, the Rain Forest Alliance, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and superior, sustainable Direct Trade cooperatives. Most are certified organic or are organically grown and chemical free.
OUR COFFEES
We select the highest quality Arabica coffees from Single Origin farms and coops. A few criteria drive our buying: QUALITY, TRACEABILITY, SEASONALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Before we took our leap of faith into the coffee universe, just outside the ort cloud, we were aspiring Organic farmers specializing in heirloom varieties of produce and fruit. So thats in our DNA here, and highest quality coffees grown with organic, sustainable methods are highest on our list. Most of our coffees are certified Organic, or are sourced from farms and origins with a commitment to organic, sustainable growing practices: Peru and Indonesian coffee farmers are a coupla examples of these great growers...
YOU will see "CERTIFIED ORGANIC" under the coffee description when that applies. There a few exceptions to this, we will source exceptional Panama coffees from the Boquete region, absolutely some of the best coffees year over year: these farms have the highest reputation for quality in the coffee world so will still stock them. Its our understanding that even though the top coffee farms are not certified organic, they do not blanket spray their trees with herbicide and pesticides.
Coffee is graded after harvest, TOP GRADE is Specialty Grade One, this ensures highest quality beans for our roasting and your coffee experience. You'll notice in your bag of beans, a wonderful uniformity and harmony of the bean and sizes; this helps ensure a uniform roast and flavor profile.
TRACEABILITY
All of our coffees are traceable in terms of growing practices and quality; some even to a specific part of the coffee farm. We can trace the microlots of some of our Mexican lots to specfic hillsides and farmers.
SUSTAINABILITY
Many of our coffees are sourced from leaders in sustainable farming, some are parts of the notable umbrella COOPs like Fair Trade and Rain Forest Alliance. But many embrace sustainability as a commitment to stewardship of there land, and - having been a farmer - it makes good economic sense.
A couple standout importers we work with worth mention: Cafe Kreyol and Singing Rooster: both help nurture new coffee farms and farmers build their enterprises into meaningful, impactful businesses within there communities. ALL of our Haitian Blue Mountain is imported through them; and despite all of the turmoil in Haiti, worked hard to get the harvest to market and money back to their coffee farmers.
SEASONALITY
Hard to find a fresh tamata in January, so same with coffees throughout the world. New Crop season will start with the farms in the Southern Hemisphere: we start seeing those late in the year, November through December and January with varieties arriving from Peru and Indonesia. Then the Colombians and onto the Central American coffees which start arriving February through March.
Then the higher altitude estate coffees start arriving May time frame, these include the Costa Rica Red Honey and Haitian Blue Mountain.
Many of the African coffees, especially the Ethiopians Yirgacheffe and Guji arrive early summer.
We had the rare invite to the elite coffee auctions a couple of years ago, Cup of Excellence: a juried competition that showcases the top coffees from around the world. Several cuppings and scorings are completed and then these coffees are auctioned on the spot getting a premium to those winning coffee farms and their teams.
Big Medicine Coffee had winning bids on a Guatemalan Gesha from Bella Vista farm in 2022 and 2023 earning medals for number 12 and 16 overall.
ROASTING: Big Medicine coffees are all hand-crafted, small batch roasted with the best our eyes, ears, nose, hearts, minds and souls can conjure. We roast to a variety of roast points: medium, dark, City + to Full City, however rarely past that, as that could seriously mute the flavors of these Single Origin coffees. Our range of flavors and roast points work for every brewing method including Pour Over, French Press, Drip Brew and Espresso.
STORES AND CAFES:
Big Medicine coffees can be found and enjoyed at cafes and stores along the Eastern realm of Grand Traverse Bay, from Elk Rapids to the South, North to Harbor Springs:
Pond Hill, Harbor Springs, MI: Kelly, is their coffee leader there, varieties include: PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SUMATRA, COLOMBIAN, HONDURAN, COSTA RICA, MEXICAN, ETHIOPIAN AND HAITIAN BLUE MOUNTAIN
Harbor Springs, MI: SCOTT is their coffee chieftain there and stocks ALL our varieties and varietals throughout the year including CUP OF EXCELLENCE: PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SUMATRA, ETHIOPIA, MEXICAN, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, DECAF PERU, HAITIAN BLUE MOUNTAIN, PERU, PANAMA, COSTA RICA, RED HONEY
THE DAM SHOP CAFE
In Elk Rapids, off River Street, serving ALL our wonderful drip coffees, espresso: Mike and team are outstanding baristas and will create a wonderful cup of Big Medicine
FARM MARKETS
We do not attend Farm Markets anymore; thanks to everyone who joined us at Elk Rapids, Alden, Boyne City and Harbor Springs for tasting and sampling our coffees. Your feedback has been invaluable to help us shape our coffee selections.
WHERE ARE WE
Big Medicine Ranch is located in Northern Michigan near Grand Traverse Bay, a few miles North of Torch Lake in the pristine hills and drumlins of Eastport Michigan. Coffee tastings and pairings are held throughout the year and upon request.
CONTACT: Wilhelmina, Leo or Thomas
EMAIL: bigmedicineranch@gmail.com