Wonderstate Coffee

Viroqua, Wisconsin

We have an award-winning coffee roaster right here in Viroqua, WI. Recently named Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year in the Macro category, Wonderstate Coffee exemplifies its motto of excellence in every cup. 

Wonderstate was founded in 2005 by Caleb Nicholes, with the addition of TJ and Denise Semanchin in 2006. Their leadership team has now expanded to include Bobbi Griffin as Owner and Head of Branding, Amber Oppriecht as Head of Support Services, and Dan Soukup as President. 

Leadership Team L to R: TJ Semanchin, Amber Oppriecht, Caleb Nicholes, Bobbi Griffin, Dan Soukup 

Sourcing 

Coffee is one of the highest-traded commodities in the world market, second only to oil. It is largely grown in third-world countries and exported to more affluent countries. Small coffee farmers face many challenges, including the effects of climate change, pests/plant diseases, lack of access to financing, market access and instability, high-quality requirements, labor shortages, logistics, lack of transparency, and security-related issues. They often see minimal or no profits for their labor, while a series of middlemen enjoy large profits. 

To change this, Wonderstate forms direct relationships with coffee growers and pays them a premium price for their beans, much like the Fairtrade model, but with an even higher premium. “As far as we know, we are paying more for beans than any other roaster in the industry and have committed to a 5¢ increase every year.” says TJ Semanchin. Finding growers who can meet their needs is different depending on the country they are in, but they work primarily through coffee farmer associations, progressive farmer co-ops and direct farmer relationships. 

Small coffee farms are typically 2-7 acres with an average annual output of 10 – 40 exportable bags of green beans. A direct relationship with Wonderstate helps these farmers with consistent purchasing of their product, high prices, rewards for organic production and climate resilience and honest and transparent practices. Wonderstate does not just buy beans; it invests in farms, communities and the future of their coffee partners. 

The team at Wonderstate forms innovative partnerships where feedback from farmers is part of the process. The team communicates regularly with their farmer partners through WhatsApp and takes periodic sourcing trips to meet growers in the field to understand their operations. 

The Roastery 

Coffee typically arrives 3 to 5 months after harvest. Wonderstate’s practices of receiving coffee early in the season, selecting well-prepared lots, and storing appropriately can dramatically extend the life of green coffee. Instead of relying singularly on taste, Wonderstate Coffee goes a step beyond and observes and evaluates physical objective quality points. This includes inspecting the raw beans, testing moisture levels, and inspecting the roasted beans. 

Roasting green coffee beans breaks down the sugars and caramelizes them, giving them the toasted flavor we crave. The process itself is an art form. Nick Brehany, the Director of Coffee at Wonderstate, explains that the roasting process follows recipes but also relies on the familiarity the roasters have with the spectrum of flavors a particular bean can yield and the profile development that comes from experience with roasting. A light roast, for example, expresses the terroir and true flavor of the bean, while a darker roast replaces the flavor of the bean with the taste of the roasting process. The roast from start to finish only takes between 9 to 20 minutes, and then the roasted beans fall onto a cooling tray which abruptly stops the roasting process. 

The Coffees 

Wonderstate Coffee has something for everyone. Their dark roast blends in the blue bags, like Driftless and Big Dipper, are coffee for the most traditional coffee drinkers, with the Driftless blend selling 5:1 over any other blend. The medium roast blends in the gold bags, like Heartstrings and Revelry are for the adventurous explorer and feature seasonal blends. Their light roast, single-origin coffees in the white bags are for the most discerning coffee enthusiasts. Wherever you are on your coffee journey, Wonderstate Coffee hopes that their coffee is more than a regular cup of joe. It is an experience that brings people together. 

Wonderstate Coffee is available at the co-op in the bulk bins, prebagged and on rotation at the deli counter.