Doma Coffee Roasting Company
The Situation:
Doma Coffee Roasting in Post Falls, Idaho, set out not only to be the best purveyor
of organic, free-trade coffee in Post Falls, but they also wanted to do it in a
sustainable manner, using as little energy as possible to roast and brew the delicious
pick-me-up.
Terry Patano, owner of Doma, turned to Avista for help, intrigued by the “Every
Little Bit” campaign.
The Avista Solution:
Because of his commitment to the environment, Patano investigated new energy-saving
roasters for his shop. The one that caught his eye was the Loring Smartroaster Kestrel
S35, a roaster that uses 80 percent less natural gas than a conventional one.
This machine is one of the most expensive on the market at $100,000 and there are
only 13 of them in the world. With an 18-month waiting period to purchase this device,
Patano wanted to make sure that this was a smart investment.
Avista’s unique program, Every Little Bit, helps businesses with expert technical
assistance including free energy audits/analysis studies that outline the expected
energy savings, estimates implementation costs, maintenance savings and estimated
incentives. Project designs are reviewed to ensure the most cost effective systems
are in place, balancing operating costs against construction costs.
Avista offered Patano several of these tools to assess the energy savings of this
machine and gave Patano some other ideas for his store. The energy audit of the
roaster showed Patano how much energy in dollar amounts he would be able to save
by purchasing it and how soon the machine would be able to pay for itself.
Additionally, Avista helped Patano in the store, showing him other ways to save
energy and helped Doma with a financial incentive to help defray the cost of the
roaster.
The Result:
Doma now roasts the best tasting coffee in Post Falls, Idaho, using 80 percent less
natural gas.
An additional benefit is the reduction in CO2 production by using this machine;
the Smartroast produces 250,000 pounds less CO2 than a conventional coffee roaster.
“Energy is just one part of the equation,” said Patano. “But it has a heck of an
impact. Avista helped us evaluate the purchase of the new roaster and clearly laid
out for us the cost of the purchase, energy savings, and payback time and helped
us with the expense of the new machine.”
Doma Coffee Roasting Company is truly an example to the community of Post Falls.