Products and Services
Burlap and Bean is a coffee shop and roastery next door in Media, PA, and the Swarthmore Co-Op is a proud provider of their organic coffee beans. You might also recognize Burlap and Bean’s products from Whole Foods stores all over southeastern PA and central NJ, as well as at the Inn at Swarthmore, Martindale’s Natural Market, Wolff’s Apple House, Highland Orchards, Sterling Pig Brewery, Rye BYOB, Two Fourteen restaurant and cocktail bar, and Yo! Coffee Drive Thru.
Burlap and Bean purchases all of their coffee beans using fair trade methods, and they do all of their roasting and packaging in Media! We have a lot of different roasts from Burlap and Bean; in our experience the most popular roasts are their Heritage, Black and Tan, and Half-Caf (sold out on the day we took this picture!).
History
In 2006—coincidentally, the same year that Media became the first Fair Trade Town in the United States—two brothers and their wives opened Burlap and Bean to promote and provide organic, fair trade coffee and to create a space for local musicians and artists to exhibit their work.
The four family members opened that first location in Newtown Square, PA. Seven years later, Ben and Christi left the company to pursue other passions while Brent and Tara stayed on and, in 2017, expanded the business into Media. Brent and Tara managed both locations for a few years, but ultimately decided to consolidate in 2021 and focus entirely on the Media roast house.
Sustainability
When Burlap and Bean consolidated in Media, the owners invested in a Loring smokeless roaster, which is made in the United States and is one of the most energy efficient coffee roasting machines on the market. They also deliberately try to minimize their use of cardboard by reusing boxes for wholesale and online orders.
While equipment and back room decisions are often out of sight of consumers, a more visible choice by Burlap and Bean was their decision to use relatively plain paper packaging. This choice was made to visually convey the company’s commitment to organic, local, small-batch roasted coffee. More than 18 years after opening, Burlap and Bean is still sourcing those paper bags from the same manufacturer in Reading, PA!
Most importantly of all is Burlap and Bean’s commitment to exclusive using organic and fairly traded coffee beans. As described in detail in our vendor profile on Equal Exchange, fair trade practices are not only about ensuring a fair price between, in this case, the farmers who grow the coffee beans and the roastery that purchases them, but also simultaneously advancing social and environmental justice goals by emphasizing sustainable business relationships with small producers.
Burlap and Bean’s coffee beans are certified by Fair Trade USA, a different organization than that which certifies Equal Exchange products (Fair Trade International). Regardless of the differences between the certifying organizations, it’s certainly better, when possible, to purchase from a certified fair trade company than from conventionally grown, conventionally “free trade” coffee companies.
About the Author
Stephanie Bonner (she/her) graduated from Oberlin College with majors in Biology and English and a minor in Environmental Studies, with significant research experience in insects, particularly native bees. She completed a permaculture design course and worked for a range of companies including a nonprofit permaculture demonstration site, an organic vegetable CSA and wholesale farm as the CSA manager, and she has extensive experience as an editor and project manager in academic publishing. Stephanie is committed to sustainability, particularly regarding energy, transportation, waste, and agriculture.
