Ketchum, ID based business, Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee, LLC has been announced as one of 36 national winners in the “My Business Story” contest, sponsored by American Express and Google.

The winning video was created on http://www.youtube.com/MyBusinessStory - a site built for small businesses to tell their stories and encourage everyone to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday, November 26th, 2011.

“We’re so excited to have been selected as one of the contest winners, and love the efforts behind the Shop Small promotion,” says Liz Roquet, Owner of Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee.  “Small businesses across the country are a core asset to their local communities. I hope people are inspired by the diverse and unique small businesses featured as the 36 contest winners, and make an effort shop at a small business this Saturday.”

As a winner, Lizzy’s Fresh coffee has won a $5000 digital media plan funded by American Express and executed by Google.

The Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee winning video will be featured on YouTube.com homepage on Friday November 25th, but can also be viewed any time on the Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts-3PRslqRY (Search Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee).

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Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee was founded in 2008 to provide coffee lovers with a freshly roasted coffee experience.  Top quality Specialty Grade coffees are attentively roasted to order, and Certified Organic & Fair Trade choices are included in the offerings. Every month the coffees feature customers’ fun and sometimes cheeky snapshots on the labels and anyone can upload their own picture to create a custom coffee gift.

If you’ve ever received a gift, and it’s likely that if you breathe and exist that you have, you know instantly if you love it or hate it.  You can tell the minute the box is opened, what degree of “fake” your smile and exclamation of “I love it!” will be required.  

As a gift-giver, you never want to be on the receiving end of the cheesy grin and half-hearted hug of gratitude, but it can be hard to get it right every time.  Here are 3 things that determine whether your gift will result in a “you rock” or a “try harder next year” response, and one company that might have just what you’re searching for.

First, is it a gift that they really want?  Is it that thing that they’ve been pining for at the local electro-tastic-mega-mart?  If so, they’re probably really happy.

Second, is it a gift that they need or find useful?  Maybe it’s not the thing that they’ve had a crush on from afar, but what if it’s something that they can really use?  Maybe it’s a warm puffer coat that will actually keep them comfortable on those mornings they’re out chinking the ice from their car’s windshield.   They likely still consider this gift a good one.

Third, did the gift giver make it personal or deliver it from the heart?  If “want” or “need” are skipped, nothing touches the heart strings like a personal hand-made gift.  A custom framed photo, personal creative gift, or even a hand knit sweater sends an unmistakable “I care about you” message that always wins the warm and fuzzy award. (Yes, cue the Martha Stuart in yourself at this point).

But what if a gift does all three?  Is it possible?  That’s what we call the trilogy of gift-giving perfection, and can make you the ultimate gift-giver.

That’s where companies like Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee, a boutique coffee roaster in Ketchum, Idaho, has emerged as a gift-givers dream come true. 

“Personalizing a gift isn’t anything new.”  says Liz Roquet, owner of the company.  “Lots of companies let you put your picture on anything from a mug to a t-shirt.  “The problem with lots of this stuff is that it’s sort of just junk once the novelty of it has worn off”.

So how does a coffee company do it differently?

“Coffee is consumed by 70% of the U.S. population”, says Roquet “and it’s already something that people not only want, but for some - it’s not hard to argue - need.  It makes perfect sense to make a gift of it, actually”.

What makes Lizzy’s so unique is the company lets you create your own coffee label.  You select a fun holiday template, upload your picture and type in a personal greeting, and then they’ll roast your coffee, package with your label on it, and ship it for you anywhere nationwide. 

Roquet says, “Basically if you can take a picture and type, this is about the easiest creative project you’ll ever do, and the gift recipients will absolutely love it.” 

This being their third holiday in business, Roquet says that the custom coffees are such a hit.  “People are so thrilled by the personal touch when you make them a one-of-a-kind label, but then actually tasting the freshly roasted, specialty grade coffee just sends them over the edge to holiday bliss.” 

That sounds like slam dunk:  Want, need, and love, all in one gift.

If you want to check out this gift idea, Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee can be found online at www.lizzysfreshcoffee.com .  The company has posted a short video on how to create a label for the technically afraid, which is worth watching.  They’ll roast your coffee, attach your custom label, and ship it to any U.S. destination.  Price for a custom 12 oz coffee is $14.95 plus shipping, and other smaller bags as well as gift boxes options are available.

This week’s Rhythm and Ride festival will be bringing together riders and music lovers from all over the region.  Some will come for the riding, and some for the music, while others will be here to experience both by trying to pull off their best dance moves with exhausted and sore calves from the day’s ride.  Whatever the twist on the week, it’s sure to bring strangers together in unexpected ways.

In the spirit of the event, it isn’t such a stretch to image a coffee roaster and a t-shirt company coming together in a very unique way to support the biking community, especially when the ladies involved are both avid bike enthusiasts enjoying so much of the pavement and dirt that our valley has to offer.

It started last month when Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee of Ketchum launched a fund raising coffee to support the Wood River Bicycle Coalition.  “We wanted to do something to help support the continued enjoyment of cycling in our valley", says Liz Roquet of Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee.  “The WRBC is a pretty cool organization, because it’s actually a group of organizations, businesses and residents who advocate for a bicycle and pedestrian friendly community throughout the Wood River Valley.  We’re supporting their efforts by donating funds from the sales of our special freshly roasted ‘Giving Beans’ coffees all summer long.”

The special WRBC coffee follows in the fashion of the rest of Lizzy’s product imagery, with an ongoing contest that features a different customer submitted photo each month.  “It’s really fun”, says Roquet, “because each month a new local photographer, bike rider, and trail, whether road or dirt, is featured on the coffee label.”  The winning photographer enjoys a free month of coffee, and Lizzy’s donates $5 of each bag sold to the WRBC. 

So where does the T-Shirt company fit into all this?  “When the Rhythm and Ride festival was created, we thought it would be cool to do something unique just for this event”, says Roquet.  As though it was just meant to be, she crossed paths with Britt Johnston of HokenOly through membership in Mud Honeys, a local women’s mountain biking club. 

Roquet says she had seen the fun bike-inspired designs that HokenOly had created for Tees, and thought they could be pretty great coffee labels.  Britt Johnston of HokenOly agreed, and in a day’s time morphed her designs into custom coffee labels and donated them to the project. 

Featuring Lizzy’s already well-loved roasts with labels including “Crank-y Coffee” and “Ridaho Blend”, you can’t help but get a little giggle with your morning cup.  Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee will be selling the coffees, 4 in total, on their website, at the Wednesday night Cruiser Criterium, and at Saturday’s concert at Festival Meadows.  Look for them alongside the WRBC booth.  You’ll also find HokenOly and their Tee-shirts at Festival Meadows on Saturday to round out your weekend style.

Join in the fun, and purchase at the event or online!  The WRBC “coffee of the month” with local photos can be purchased online all summer long, while the special HokenOly designer coffees can be purchased this week only at the event, or on the Lizzy’s website at www.lizzysfreshcoffee.com “Giving Beans”. 

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Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee was founded in 2008 to provide coffee lovers with a freshly roasted coffee experience.  Top quality Specialty Grade coffees are attentively roasted to order, and Certified Organic & Fair Trade choices are included in the offerings. Every month the coffees feature customers’ fun and sometimes cheeky snapshots on the labels and anyone can upload their own picture to create a customized coffee label for their favorite blend; to drink at home or share as a gift.  To order the WRBC coffee, got to www.lizzysfreshcoffee.com/giving.html

HokenOly was established in 2010, when Britt Johnston, who had been designing t-shirts since childhood, combined efforts with Shirley Studebaker to offer the designs to the global community.  Visit www.hokenoly.com to purchase.

Launch of new grocery store brand called “Stellar Coffee House”

As consumers continue to become more savvy about coffee quality and freshness, they’re raising the bar on what they expect grocers to offer on their shelves.  According to Liz Roquet of Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee, “Nationwide, the grocery store has typically been a place where coffee goes to age.  Shelves of bags with expiration dates months and months away are the status quo, and roasting dates are seldom, if ever, communicated to the consumer.”

What ends up happening, according to Roquet, is customers pay top quality prices for coffees that have already become old, and are disappointed again and again by what they’ve purchased to consume at home.  Coffee consumers have evolved to a place where they’re demanding better.

Those who break the habit of disappointment over purchasing stale, rancid, or tasteless coffee have sought out small micro roasters away from the store shelves, like Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee, who roast coffee fresh to every order. This requires a little effort on the part of the consumer, but guarantees that the coffee they’ve purchased is fresh.  For many, the extra effort is worth what they get to enjoy in their morning cup.

For some, however, the added effort just can’t find a way into their busy schedules.  Seeing the need for a better choice and convenience at the store, Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee decided to launch a grocery store specific brand called Stellar Coffee House. 

One might ask why not simply sell Lizzy’s on the store shelf?

“It’s not that simple,” says Roquet.  “Our Lizzy’s brand stands for freshly roasted coffee, period.  Coffee is roasted to order, and every customer can expect their coffee to be the freshest possible.” She goes on to say that selling on the grocery shelves is a much more tricky undertaking….because consumption rates can’t be guessed on a daily basis. Roquet says "we want to be sure that when people select the Lizzy’s brand they were getting a specific freshness promise, and that just can't be executed within a grocery environment."

“The goal with Stellar Coffee House is to bridge the gap between typically grocery freshness, and direct-from-the-roaster freshness, so we committed ourselves to a 4 week freshness guarantee on everything available on the store shelves.  Depending on the store, few if any coffee brands commit to this level of freshness, so we know we’re offering something very unique.  We’re thrilled to bring coffee lovers a better choice, while still providing the convenience they demand.

Stellar Coffee House coffees can currently be found at Albertsons in Hailey.  Every bag clearly displays the roasted-on date, and 4 different coffees are offered to suit the taste and brewing styles of different pallets.  In addition, the offering also includes several Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade coffees.

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Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee was founded in 2008 to provide coffee lovers with a freshly roasted coffee experience.  Top quality Specialty Grade coffees are attentively roasted to order, and Certified Organic & Fair Trade choices are included in the offerings. Every month the coffees feature customers’ fun and sometimes cheeky snapshots on the labels and anyone can upload their own picture to create a customized coffee label for their favorite blend; to drink at home or share as a gift.

Today’s consumer is choosing organic foods more often than just 10 years ago. To support the growing demand for organically produced goods, more food growers and food processors are making the commitment to become certified organic, and a local coffee roaster in Ketchum has just achieved their organic certification as well.

Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee has just gained its official certification as an organic coffee roaster, adding that to their already existing Fair Trade Certification.  You might wonder what this means, since it seems that if coffee is grown under certified organic practices, that the coffee roaster needs to do nothing special to ensure its status.

To understand, it’s probably a good idea to understand what certified organic coffee is in the first place.  Starting with the grower, coffee is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Then, after coffee is grown and harvested, certified organic handling standards are met throughout the supply chain to ensure that when coffees arrive at the coffee roasters’ doors, the integrity of the organic quality is maintained. Why then, wouldn’t that be considered certified organic coffee, you might ask? Good question!

Liz Roquet, owner of Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee describes it like this.  “If you can imagine a quarterback tossing a perfect spiral throw to the receiver, who then runs it 60 yards toward the end zone…but instead of crossing the line for the touchdown, he stops just a yard short, sits down, and calls ‘close enough’ a ‘touchdown’. Well, it’s not a touchdown. And at a yard short, it’s not certified organic either.”

The coffee roaster – the one responsible for the final yard before reaching you, the customer – must also become a certified organic processor for the coffee to be sold as USDA Certified Organic on the label.  Roquet says, “It’s a commitment to the organic product, by which we as the roaster ensure that handling, roasting, and packaging methods are performed per certified organic processing standards.”

She goes on to explain “It’s no small commitment, both financially and technically.  Every process is documented throughout our production cycle.  Coffees can’t be contaminated by non-organic coffees, surfaces, the coffee roaster, or carrying buckets.  And everything is audited, down to the soap we use to clean.”

Believe it or not, the use of the term ‘organic’ is still highly abused within many industries, including the coffee industry. Strict labeling requirements define who, how, & where companies can use even the word. It seems like a confusing thing to understand, but the good news is that at the consumer level, we can just look for that little round “USDA Organic” logo on the front packaging of a product claiming certified organic, and know that this is actually what it says it is. The entire supply chain, including the final processor, is certified, and we’re getting the product we’re choosing to consume.

Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee offers 3 Certified Organic & Certified Fair Trade coffees in their offerings, and can be purchased online for pickup at their Ketchum store, or shipped anywhere nationwide.

It’s time for the Olympics, and Idaho is showing up in style!  Not only are there 9 athletes heading to Vancouver from Idaho, but 2 of them are products of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s programs.  Athletes Morgan Arritola (Nordic) and Graham Watanabe (Snowboardcross) are making their way to the 2010 Olympics this February.  Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee of Ketchum is featuring Arritola on their February  SVSEF “Snow Beans” coffee label.  $5 of every bag sold is donated by Lizzy’s to the SVSEF Children’s scholarship fund, and every month a new athlete is featured on the label.  Purchase online any time at www.lizzysfreshcoffee.com “Giving Beans”.  This Sunday 1/31, the coffee will also be sold at the Olympic send off party hosted by Sun Valley Co. at the Sun Valley Nordic Club House from 4-6 p.m.