da Vinci Success!

We had a great time at the da Vinci Days fest in Corvallis, Oregon. It marked the initiation of Helios 3, our newest coffee roaster. The festival had several high lights! My fondest memory, was of me sitting on the top of my ladder, drinking a cup of coffee, and watching a croud grow around us. Everyone came by and said hello, and stared in awe at the roaster!
"Is it really SOLAR?" "That is the coolest thing I have ever seen!"

Another Date Added

Solar Roast Coffee has added another event to our summer schedule.

Energy Independance Day
July 3rd, 2006
Bend, Oregon.
Downtown.

Summer Schedule for Events

Hello all, I just wanted to let you all know some special dates for this summer. Solar Roast Coffee has three festivals booked so far.

Da Vinci Days, Corvallis, Oregon. July 14th-16th
http://www.davinci-days.org/

Solwest Fair, John Day, Oregon. July 28th-30th
http://www.solwest.org/fair.htm

Solfest Fair, Hopland, California. August 19th, and 20th.
http://www.solarliving.org/solfest2006.cfm

I hope to see you there. Please stop by the booth, and introduce yourself!

Cheers,
Mike

Photos of the Mugs!

Here are some photos of the new mugs! They are really nice, and I am enjoying carrying around everywhere I go!

The Sun is out! And I am burned!

Hello once again!
Good news! The sun is out, and I am sporting a burned forehead. In my haste to get to the roaster this past weekend, I forgot my hat, and my sunscreen! Because I didn't want to keep you all hanging, I just kept roasting. I have shipped out a bunch of orders, and will be shipping the rest this week!

Thanks so much for your patience, and support through the dark times of spring! :)

the Mugs are here

Hey Folks!
Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I have received my shipment of coffee mugs. I will put them online here for sale in the next day or so. Pretty exciting though! My first mug!
---an excited Mike---

Mugs on the way!

I am here at my computer, currently flipping through pages and pages of mugs, and cups. I am placing an order for Solar Roast's first custom printed mug! This means that both you and I will be able to drink my coffees from our own mugs! Sounds pretty fun eh?

Just keeping you up to date!

Mike

Still Clouds

Another note to let you all know that we are still experiencing lots of cloud cover here. I have had one morning to roast, which means I am still waiting for a break.

The forecast looks for some partly sunny days in the coming 5 days. Hopefully I will be able to get a few pounds sent out then.

Thanks for your patience!

Cloud Report

The past 4 days have been cloudy, with the 5 day forcast calling for more of the same. More news soon.

High Order Volume

Hey Folks! Well, this is a fun post to put up! Due to high order volumes we are experiencing a delay in production, and shipment of coffees. But do not worry, every order will be filled! This has been a wild ride around here the past week. My brother and I have done radio interviews, and have been published in several newspapers now! Very exciting!

Best wishes!

Bend Bulletin

Check out the Bend Bulletin today! There is a prominent piece on Solar Roast located on page B2. We are getting all geared up for the spring season. I had a couple days of roasting last week, with more roasting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. If anyone wants to come check it out, you are more then welcome. We are set up on the corner of NE 2nd, and Kearney St. in Bend, Oregon.

Roast has been moved

Hello again. Just wanted to let you all know that my coffee roaster has been moved to sunnier pastures. We are now located in Bend, Oregon, in the front yard of The Solar Store. www.thesolarstore.com is their website...check it out! With any luck we will have sun next week, and I will have the time off to roast! It's gonna be GOOD!!!!!

Pre-Season Sale

Hello all! Just like last year, we are opening our store to allow orders for spring. All of our coffees will be shipped out starting February 25th, 2005. This will coincide with our relocation to the high desert of Oregon, where we will have more sun (technically). As always check back for more information....and e-mail when you have any questions!

Audobon Magazine

Just another quick note. I had a brief interview with a lovely writer from Audobon Magazine, and there will be a brief article in the March or April issue about Solar Roast.

Stay tuned!

Discovery Channel

Hello there folks! We have been contacted by the Discovery Channel Canada, and they are interested in filming a piece on Solar Roast! It looks like SR will have a 5min or so segment (depending on content) on the Canadian show 'Daily Planet'. The show will air on January 15th, 2006!!

The segment will also be shown internationally on 'Discovery of the Week' air date not yet set.

So check us out folks!

Sun, but no roaster

Solar Roast is going through some moving pains. I have relocated to Bend, Oregon, and am currently looking for a place to move my coffee roaster to. Bend is a beautiful city in the heart of Central Oregon, up in the high desert. While there is snow, there is plenty of sun too.
So, please stay tuned, and check back. Solar Roast will be up and running again soon.

no sun, no fun

Dear Solar Roast Lovers,
Well the sun has again set in the Pacific North West. We have been unable to make the move to a more sunny local, and as such are experiencing solar issues. We are able to produce small amounts of coffee, but nothing on the scale of our summer capacity. Due to this, coffee will be very limited, with regular subscribers getting preference.

I apologize for the inconvenience...

However, Solar Roast has reached more people this year, and I am looking forward to an even greater year in 2006.

Thanks,

Mike Hartkop

New Blog Page

Hello again! I am pleased to announce a complete website update by Bryan Hinkle, and Revelation Design. It is a neat change for us, as now the site is editable using CSS instead of manual coding. Definelty a step in the right direction. But don't worry, the site will remain fully online throughout this process. If you notice any errors, please e-mail me at info@solarroast.com.

Fair Trade: New Coffee Order

Just wanted to let you all know that I have placed a new order for coffee. Please see my blog page for more info: Solar Roast on MySpace.

Fair Trade Coffees

Due to increased interest in Fair Trade Coffees, I have begun the steps to order more Fair Trade varieties. After all, Solar Roast wants to be the most socially conscious coffee roaster. From now on, I will purchase Fair Trade coffees as a priority, and only if not available will I purchase non Fair Trade coffees. Thank you all for your interest and support of livable wages for growers and roasters too :).