Long Islanders interested in eating and drinking locally grown products can be left wanting when they reach for a cup of coffee in the morning. Coffee doesn’t grow well here; it is best grown at 4,000 to 6,000 feet in a tropical climate—not on a flat piece of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. You won’t find locally grown coffee in any local farmer’s market.

Ben Haile, member of the Shinnecock Nation and master roaster at Thunder Island Coffee, in Southampton, offers sustainably minded Long Islanders the next best thing—locally roasted, Fair Trade coffee that is grown organically by native, indigenous, independent farmers in Central America. This “native” concept is as important to Haile as “local.”

“We have developed the Native-to-Native organic coffee bean exchange of purchasing our products from the smaller native family-owned and operated farms of Central America—roasted here at our native-owned and operated coffee-roasting facility,” says Haile. “As we continue to support these native farms, our vision now includes working with various Native American businesses throughout the U.S.”

Freshness is another of his obsessions. “Thunder Island coffees are roasted upon receiving the coffee orders, so that our customers receive coffee that is always freshly roasted,” he claims.

This sustainably grown coffee—freshly roasted to order locally—is at the center of Thunder Island’s goal to be an ecologically responsible company. “We share in the growing belief that the more readily available organic and eco-friendly products are, the healthier we and the environment will be,” he continues. Haile also has plans to install solar panels to provide his roasting facility with electricity in the near future.

Thunder Island Coffees are available at many gourmet and health-food stores, including Wild by Nature and Whole Foods Market. For more information, visit
www.thunderislandcoffee.com