Carabello Coffee’s Roasting Works and Craft Coffee Bar had its grand opening last Tuesday in
Newport. The business is owned by husband-and-wife team Justin and Emily Carabello, who started roasting coffee in 2009 in their garage in a popcorn popper.
For the past two years, Carabello Coffee was roasted at
Velocity Bike & Bean in Florence, but with the opening of their own 600-square-foot space, the Carabellos are able to offer more to their customers. The craft coffee bar serves Italian-style craft espresso drinks and cold-brewed ice coffee that is steeped in cold water for 20 hours. The Carabellos also hope to offer weekly tastings and classes on roasting and brewing coffee.
The Carabellos are passionate about serving
Fair Trade, organic, farm-direct and direct-relationship coffees. Farm-direct is a way for coffee roasters to buy straight from the farmers at a price that is a minimum of 100 percent higher than Fair Trade pricing, which ensures that the farmers are paid a price that will allow them to improve their businesses.
Carabello Coffee serves one true farm-direct coffee from Nicaragua that is harvested by Louis Balladarez, a pastor and coffee farmer.
“We’re able to serve a coffee that no one else in the world has, and tell the farmer’s story,” Justin says. “We’ve been to visit him three times and know him personally.”
Since 2009, the Carabellos have used part of their coffee profits to fund works of compassion in Third World coffee-producing nations. They support an orphanage in Nicaragua on a monthly basis, and have had the opportunity to visit the children there four times in the past three years. They’re also supporting work among HIV orphans in Kenya with their Africa Project coffee—$3 of every bag bought goes to fund the project.
“We’ve used coffee as a fundraiser on a local level for everything from the fine arts program at
Miami Valley Christian Academy to home school co-ops to the Ohio Valley Cat Rescue,” Justin says. “We really want to put our money where our mouth is. We’ve been able to give back since the beginning, rather than have a goal of helping organizations later.”
Carabello Coffee is served at
Metropole in the
21c Hotel,
Gigi’s Cupcakes in Kenwood, the
Queen City Club and Velocity Bike & Bean. It’s also sold in retail shops around the city, including the Anderson and Madeira farmers markets. Some local churches serve the Carabello’s coffee too.
The roasting works is also home to
Bello’s Ice Pops, which was started by Emily in 2012 after visits to New York City. She came home and started trying her hand at ice pops for fun, and realized she could make a good side business out of her hobby.
“I watched "Nefarious," which is a movie about human trafficking, and I thought the money I made from selling ice pops would be a good way to help,” Emily says.
While on vacation in Portland, Emily met a man who makes icicle tricycles, which is a three-wheel bicycle with an insulated basket in front. She purchased one, and has been a fixture at local farmers markets, weddings and the
Oakley Fancy Flea ever since.
“I’m hopeful to see lots of families come into the roasting works next summer and not only try our coffee, but our ice pops too,” Emily says.
The Carabellos are excited to be part of the Newport community and can’t wait to see the changes that are in the works for the neighborhood.
“We want to be a place in the community that people feel is theirs,” Justin says.
Follow Carabello Coffee on
Facebook (Carabello Coffee), Twitter (@CarabelloCoffee) and Instagram (#carabellocoffee).
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter
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