Earth Watch: Blazing Bean Roasters

CLEARWATER (FOX13) - A local couple is spreading their love of coffee throughout the Tampa Bay area with a bean roasting business that's keeping itself green.

Paul and Kristen Motulewicz love coffee. They drink a few pots every day. Their booming business started with a friendly family rivalry.

“My husband’s brother was roasting coffee at home and was bragging how wonderful it was. Of course my husband isn't going to let his brother do something better than he does, so he decided to start roasting coffee at home. He spent a couple years roasting at home and I just sat back and enjoyed it,” said Kristen Motulewicz Co-Owner Blazing Bean Roasters.

For the past four years, Blazing Bean Roasters has satisfied the coffee cravings in Tampa Bay.

“Every coffee that we have has some sort of label attached to it. Whether it would be organic, Rain Forest Alliance, bird friendly, these are all Fair Trade,” said Kristen Motulewicz.

“We cherry pick what we think the best is of what they think the best is,” said Paul Motulewicz Co-Owner Blazing Bean Roasters.

Kirsten has seen first-hand the effort at coffee plantations all over the world.

“You'll see these pickers going out and they're picking each bean by hand. They don't think about where it comes from,” she said.

Coffee is roasted to order at their warehouse in Clearwater. Each coffee roasts a little differently, depending on the altitude it came from.

“The purpose of our roasting is to bring out all the natural sweetness, as much body as possible out of the coffee and still maintain all the origin flavors,” explained Kristen Motulewicz.

Blazing Bean is known for their medium blends.

“That brings the acidity content down, so that can help with any tummy issues,” she said.

Coffee is packaged on site in airtight packaging and has a shelf life of a few months.

“We would like to see you drink your coffee in a week, that's ideal,” said Kristen Motulewicz.

“To be part of the community and bring this service to the local people is really great,” she said.

Customers are encouraged to go green at their warehouse. They can buy coffee in their own reusable container for a discount.

“There is a lot of work that goes into a cup of coffee,” said Kristen Motulewicz.