Our Story

It all started in 2006 when we at Dolce Vita decided to begin bringing consumers the highest valued, gourmet coffee in the world. Not only tasting exceptional; Dolce Vita would provide a product we could be proud of --- and one that customers can be confident in.

 

1) This promise starts with the bean growers. With over 20 years experience living overseas, we chose not to follow the crowd and buy beans from international brokers. Brokers buy beans according to price. Then they store, mix, and peddle them on the world market. There’s virtually no control over how, where, or what conditions the beans you bought, were grown. Dolce Vita changed that. We’ve skipped the brokers and gone directly to the growers. We only choose plantations with a genuine concern for their crop, their employees, their community, and their environment. For example, our Growers sun-dry their beans, rather than turning to chemical drying. Sun-drying produces a cleaner, tastier bean while insuring the soil stays nutrient rich for the next season. Our growers are also involved in their communities. They provide on-site education and training, insuring a legacy of prosperity for the region. All are certified by the FDA and all produce certified Organic beans.

 

2) Dolce Vita is equally demanding to the roasting process. Dolce Vita Coffee is the premier retail arm of The Fresh Brew Group. With over 80 years of roasting experience, The Fresh Brew Group has grown from a small Louisiana gourmet roaster in 1919, to the third largest roaster in the United States. Located in Houston, the factory is keen on quality, performance and on its environment; as evidenced by its long list of awards and community accolades. Recent plant upgrades include a streamlined system of closed-system feeders. These feeders provide an energy efficient transport of product from each stage of the roasting process. Roasters, grinders and blenders are managed by closed-loop process controls, again insuring repeatability and conformance; while reducing the overall energy demand. With a plan to obtain ISO14,000 soon, we can confidently say that they’re right on track. Its this history of customer satisfaction, Quality performance and championship blends that make Dolce Vita the premier coffee provider that it is.

 

3) As important as it is to produce a quality roasted coffee, we can’t forget the importance of packaging.  80% of the waste in the Pacific Ocean is from plastic packaging (British Plastics Federation). The Conference of Solid Waste Management estimates the US produces an estimated 64.4 million tons of package waste... each year.

 

Dolce Vita is committed to reducing its effect on the environment. It all started with our Jute Bag design. This organically appealing package serves many purposes. Not only is it eye catching to the customer, it also represents the earthy, natural benefits of coffee. After all, it is the highest source of anti-oxidants of all consumables. This recyclable bag is 100% natural. Even the ink printing is food grade approved.

 

Our second, “inner bag” protects and seals the coffee – and its flavor. After exhaustive development and testing, we are proud to provide a 100% biodegradable package meeting all European and domestic requirements for compostability. A series of film layers, each meeting ASTM6400 for compostability, are bonded together to provide a freshness seal, odor barrier protection, and structural integrity. The biodegradable packaging, combined with our recyclable Jute bag, sets Dolce Vita as the first Premier Coffee producer with a 100% biodegradable package.

 

4) Adding to all this, is a campaign to encourage, and involve, our customers to reduce their own carbon footprint. Each 12 ounce retail bag has a “SAVE THE PLANET” instruction tag attached. Send 10 empty Jute Bags back to Dolce Vita, and we’ll send you a 12 ounce bag of Sumatran coffee back --- free… we’ll even pay the shipping. It’s our way of saying “Thank You for helping.”

 

And we don’t stop there. Dolce Vita distributes coffee directly to Office Coffee Services. All our portion packs, or FracPacs, are packaged in 100% biodegradable pouches. These package alternatives are being submitted to our partners at Delta, Continental, The Hilton, Memorial Hermann, and IBM.

 

Dolce Vita means; “Live the Sweet Life.” Now it also means “Live the Green Life.”

 

5) One more thing… Cost

It’s unfortunate that most industries are treating “Green” as a cost penalty.  We expect that green technologies will add to the cost of products… and detract from the quality. It doesn’t have to be.  Eliminating bean brokers and going directly to the Plantation saves, rather than costs. Selecting a Plantation that educates its people and engages in natural and efficient growing techniques, saves, rather than costs. A Roaster with well maintained energy efficient equipment, saves, rather than costs. And smart, biodegradable packaging - utilizing a composite of thin barrier layers, saves, rather than costs.  Dolce Vita is confident that its price schedule matches, or beats all others. A gourmet coffee, an earth friendly package and an economical price; YES; Dolce Vita is ready to be your coffee provider.