Photo by Erin Nelson.
Michael Whitten releases freshly roasted arabica Grade 1 coffee beans in a roaster to cool at Higher Ground Roasters in Vestavia Hills.
For more than 20 years, Higher Ground Roasters has been serving high-quality coffee, owner Blake Hamachek said.
The group moved to Vestavia Hills about seven years ago, Hamachek said, following time spent in Leeds under the original owners.
Hamachek said the goal is to provide the highest quality coffee possible to its customers. Higher Ground’s coffee is all fair trade, meaning the farmers who sell the beans to the company are paid fairly. It’s also organic, meaning no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used in the making of the coffee.
The coffee is shade grown, taking its time to ripen. The result is a better-tasting coffee, Hamachek said.
“We are on a different level as far as quality,” he said.
Hamachek always had an interest in coffee and moved Higher Ground to Cahaba Heights, where he lives, in 2016, when he became owner. While there weren’t many roasters in the area when they first moved over, he said he has seen the business explode, with a larger number of people who roast and make coffee.
Coffee flavor profiles and more are available on the roaster’s website, highergroundroasters.com.
Higher Ground’s coffee is available on their website and at local grocery stores, Hamachek said.
