The Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company is a small, local gem taking the coffee industry to new heights. It focuses on producing premium, great tasting coffee while keeping it green.

While the majority of the coffee industry continues to package coffee in non-recyclable, heavy-gauge foil bags, Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company uses steel cans, recycled paper and soy ink to produce product labels.

“You cannot find a more environmentally friendly coffee. We provide a quality product with the smallest environmental impact as possible,” said Chris Paladino, Chesapeake’s CEO. “Our roaster uses 78 percent less energy than traditional roasters. This makes our carbon footprint as small as possible.”

Paladino said there is a demand for green products even in this uncertain economic time.

“Even in a bad economy people still focus on being green and I don’t think it’s going away,” he said.

The company meticulously selects only premium grade coffee beans from around the world to produce their organic and fair trade coffees, signature blends, all natural decaffeinated coffees and single origins.

You can’t help but notice the most important part of the coffee brand’s name --Chesapeake Bay.

The company is so passionate about the bay that the H2O Initiative was created.

The H2O Initiative is a community outreach program that encourages the restoration and preservation of the largest estuary in the U.S. Through the initiative, Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company pledges two percent of gross sales on every product sold to support community organizations and groups working to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waterways.

Consumers can learn about the Chesapeake Bay through the names of popular blends such as “River’s Edge,” “Oyster Reef” and “Main Street.” The blends are named to correlate with causes related to restoration of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This also raises awareness and gives an educational aspect to each blend name.

According to Paladino, the company has an ambitious five-year plan to market its products to be sold throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

“We have a great brand and a great product and we are looking to grow explosively,” he said. “Today, we have over one-hundred, seventy restaurants and coffee bars that serve our coffee, fifty retail stores serving our cans and we are in eight Whole Foods stores.”    

Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company is located at 2100 Concord Blvd., Suite J, Crofton. For more information, visit www.cbrccoffee.com.

Do you buy Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company coffee? If so, tell us about your favorite blend.