2020 has been (mostly) pretty whack. This year has felt like a stress test for the end of the world. The volume, depth, velocity and gravity of the myriad of problems facing us has been as overwhelming as the vacuum of leadership has been disheartening. Even if there have been wonderful things to emerge from the big hot mess that has been 2020, many of us have taken stock of where we are, where we are going and what is important to us, as we have had to examine what is and is not essential. While everyone has had their own experiences colored by individual challenges, this is the first of potentially many disruptive events to affect the entire planet at the same time. As a result, while many long for ‘normal,’ many of us desire change.
At Hall Street & Rise we do not intend to go quietly into the night as inequality, polarization and climate change culminate in an existential crisis unprecedented in recent history, we want to do what we can to build a more just and equitable future one step at a time. While we don’t pretend to have the answers we sure as hell want to do something. Ultimately our goal is to raise money for a larger project at the intersection of food and justice by reinvesting revenues from Hall Street Coffee sales towards our big, BIG dream.
In order to get there we want to start where we are, so we’re roasting our own coffee, which we are offering for sale at New York State farmer's markets, direct to consumers, as an add on for CSA’s and eventually with bicycle carts.
In addition to being a seed, coffee is the second most traded commodity after oil, with all the dark things that accompany global commodities (including ugly colonial legacies, a massive carbon footprint and exploitative labor practices). It's ubiquitousness and its entrenched place in different cultures across the planet make it an ideal departure point precisely because it inhabits an intersection where so many of today's seemingly insurmountable problems converge. That is why we are dedicated to conducting our affairs with transparency and integrity when it comes to margins, sourcing and values.
This is a process and this is what the process looks for us right now. Thanks for your support.
Our coffee offerings
Roots - ROC - Reggae
A delicious single origin medium roast. On the nose it gives floral notes. Natural processing gives these beans a heavy fruit and a complex earthy flavor a long finish. This is the coffee for those moments you want to treat yo' self.
We chose an Ethiopian bean as an homage to the origins of coffee. Most historians agree that the coffee plant was domesticated in the 9th Century CE in Ethiopia while the beverage probably originated later in what is today Yemen. The particular history of Ethiopia intersects nicely with our desire to build a better future by confronting colonial legacies, exploring cultural appropriation and changing narratives-more on this later.
Also...Ethiopian coffee is dope.
E Pluribus UNA/ UNUS/ UNUM
It's a great everyday everybody kinda coffee, full bodied, tasty and not too fussy. Go ahead try it as an Americano, pairs well with savory foods. Very drinkable, approachable, and delicious. This reminds us of being at a hipster diner in those bougie parts of the Catskills.
Organic Fair Trade option, shipped from Colombia, as proponents of conscious consumerism, we make choices from where we are to get where we want to go, one step at a time, this option has a smaller carbon footprint.
E Pluribus UNA/ UNUS/ UNUM is a reference to the motto of the United States, Latin for ‘out of many one’ (or literally ‘from many one’). The title is a nod to the democratic ethos of the cooperative model that puts abstract principles into practice.
Số hai là Số Một = #2 is #1
Great for an afternoon pick me up or somethin' sweet. Stands up really well brewed as a traditional Vietnamese coffee over ice, an Americano, or even done as a cold brew.
It's a full strong flavor as the name of the bean suggests, Robusto. Vietnam is the 2nd largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil.
If you like cream and sugar this might be your jam, or maybe not...we love it, it's not for everyone tho. If it's too strong for you, try it as an Americano or pairing with food, especially sweets, our go-to is banana bread. Check out our recipe below. The bold flavors really stand up to baking...tiramisu recipe coming soon.
We have this available in two different roasts, Medium Dark and a classic French Roast (let's talk about France...later).
We want to offer a product a bit elevated from a commercial grocery store coffee and more affordable than a premium coffee, without exception to quality. We strive to be a unique alternative with heart.
Our Goal is to nurture people and our planet.
Why coffee?
Seeds for all our needs.
Through leveraging existing resources and talents we redefine how coffee is consumed by modern global citizens. We bridge people and communities, through coffee roasting and distribution, bringing New Yorkers the best tasting coffee without sacrifice.
Coffee is a seed, one that many drink daily (we do). This is a first step to generate seed money for a larger project. We have a BIG dreams. Everything starts with a seed and nurturing.
Upstate, downstate and the somewheres in between.
Actions speak louder than words.
If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to far go together. -African Proverb
We are about that hope-y change-y dreamy sh*t. -Sarah Palin / Us
Hello, It's Raph + Dana, here.
We are childhood friends who have come together in these wild times to be brave and give an honest go at rebuilding our personal narratives, by making sure our values match our actions. Bottom line, how we devote our energy and time, to ourselves and others. We are dedicated to building a better future for ALL of us. It's up to us to build the world we want to see- at least in our leg of the relay.
Today doesn't look yesterday and tomorrow will not look like today.
Where we at where we going? Getting back to what is essential.
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” ― John Lewis
But...What's the deal with the name?
Hall Street & Rise - a rose by any other name (am I right?)...
Hall Street is about intersections, specifically the intersections between :-
people & planet -
- real & imagined -
- North / South & East / West -
- past, present + future -
Hall Street is an homage to the city that made us (Raph + Dana) and the birthplace of Hall Street Coffee - Rochester, New York. One of America's first boom towns, the city was built around the mouth of the Genesee River, which takes its name from a Seneca word that translates to 'beautiful valley.' It marks the traditional boundary between the Seneca (one of the 5/6 nations of the Iroquois Confederacy) and the Erie Peoples. The Genesee flows from south to north beginning in Pennsylvania and emptying into Lake Ontario. The waterfalls in what is today downtown Rochester powered mills that attracted colonists to the area to grind corn and wheat into flour.
The city's fortunes were intertwined with the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825 and was a much criticized although ultimately successful engineering feat connecting Lake Erie at Buffalo with the Hudson River at Albany. Creating a navigable shipping route between the Great Lakes and New York City (and the Atlantic Ocean). The resulting commercial trade ultimately shaped the course of the history of the United States, North America and the many indigenous and non-indigenous peoples who inhabited or colonized the continent. The canal 'opened up' the interior, creating immense wealth for some and beginning the environmental degradation of the Great Lakes, which holds 20% of the world's surface fresh water (and 90% of North America's surface fresh water).
The Erie Canal consists of 36 single chamber locks whose water levels are controlled by miter sill locked gates that are opened or closed to raise or lower boats traveling between different elevation levels depending on whether a vessel is traveling upstream (west) or downstream (east). From 1842-1918 the canal traversed the Genesee River via the Second Genesee Aqueduct until it was rerouted to bypass downtown Rochester. In 1919 abandoned canal infrastructure was purchased to be repurposed as part of the Rochester subway which functioned from 1927-1956. In the year the subway opened a road bed was built atop the old aqueduct to enable passenger vehicles to cross above the light rail passing below and the structure was renamed the Broad Street Bridge.
The Bridge and the river were bookended by the City Hall subway station on the west and the Court Street station on the east side of the Genesee. Thus 'Hall Street' is a fictional place borrowing from these two former subway stations and meant to evoke what was, what wasn't and what could one day be.
While 'Rise' is a nod to the canal, notions of rising tides and lifting ships (think climate change, JFK & Reagan), as well as something that alludes to a theoretical crossroad characterized by upward motion as a positive symbol.
Plus if you don't care about any of this back story or the accompanying blah blah, we think it's kind of catchy (or at least unoffensive / easy to spell).
; - )
Grow the "Op"
Leaning into the " New Normal " rebuilding better by establishing a constellation of member owned and operated cooperatives, starting with Dream Beans, structured as a non-profit.
We hope to partner with people who may have lost their jobs during these times, are tired of working for other people or even those who are done with deferring their dreams-those who share our commitment to showing up, learning/growing and doing what we can with where we are.
Capital up front to start a business is no joke. For example, it costs more than 1 million to open up a Starbucks. That's a lot of money for anyone let alone the average Starbucks employee. Coffee presents a unique opportunity for us to get the ball rolling towards building the world in which we ourselves want to live.
We value people.
The cooperative model, enables us to create wealth in and within communities in which we belong.
A luxury we can afford in a time we can't afford to wait.
How we gonna get there?
Slingin' Beans and Sharing Dreams.
A mobile COVID-friendly coffee bike will allow us to go from beans to brew to you.
Keeping our overhead low, locations adaptable, and connecting with our customers. This will also allow owner/operators to pay themselves fairly, reinvest in the project/products and dream bigger while keeping prices lower and sourcing beans in the spirit of responsible global citizenship, i.e. pay farmers fairly. Our goal is to start with one by April 2021.
This is a scalable channel (multiple bikes possible). Allowing more people to join the cooperative and scale the business and community wherever they are !
Wanna hear about Our BIG BIG dream?
As workers, owners, and human beings partnering to build a scalable collaborative community for change. The cooperative(s) centers its ethos around equity and inclusion. As we onboard, our goal is ≥ 51% women /minority ownership, because we are committed to recognizing and celebrating diversity.