Flavor notes are nice and all, but how is a coffee gonna make me feel? That’s where experience notes come in. Little Wolf Coffee out in Ipswich, Massachusetts (profiled last year during their build-out) offers an experience note alongside two simple flavor notes on their packages. We adore it! “As a roaster located in an area with very little specialty coffee presence, we aim to be as approachable as possible in everything we do and worked to ensure our packaging also expresses that,” says Melissa Bartz, co-owner of Little Wolf.

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This little coffee company is approaching its one-year anniversary in August, and introduced the glorious packaging you see before you in February of this year. To learn more, we spoke digitally with Bartz.

When did the coffee package design debut?

Our package first hit the shelves at the end of February this year! We had been working on them since we opened back in August so it’s been really exciting to see them in use after the long wait.

Who designed the package?

Our bags were designed by Perky Brothers who also did all of our amazing branding. While they are not local to us in Massachusetts, they have a wonderfully fun design aesthetic and were a pleasure to work with.

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What coffee information do you share on the package?

On our bags we chose to primarily include the farm name, the country and 3 simple flavor notes on the front of the label. On the back of the label we include the processing method for the coffee, the altitude at which it was grown and the varietal(s) which make up the coffee.

What’s the motivation behind that?

Since we hope that our coffee is enjoyed by everyone from novice coffee drinkers to specialty coffee professionals alike, we wanted to ensure the bags were immediately recognizable from one another on a shelf with easily identifiable information in a conspicuous location. We also created colors for every country we source from to ensure repeat customers can quickly find their favorite countries (and often times, flavor profile).

Lastly we chose to only include 2 flavor descriptors on each bag in addition to a 3rd overall “experience” descriptor to ensure customers know what to expect with that coffee but also not feel left out because they cannot taste what is printed on the bag. Therefore, we look to include descriptors closer to the center of the flavor wheel unless they are particularly potent (such as a naturally process coffee). We want to ensure if the descriptor is on the bag that you’ll taste it and then we can have a conversation about all the other flavors a customer tastes afterwards which we think leads to more inclusiveness.

Where is the bag manufactured?

The bag is manufactured by Savor Brands whose corporate office is based out of Hawaii, however, the bag is manufactured in China.

For package nerds, what type of package is it?

The packaging is a Matte 8oz Quad Seal Box Bottom bag complete with a one-way degassing valve and resealable zipper on the back.

Where is it currently available?

Our bags are currently available online at www.littlewolf.coffee or at our cafe and roastery at 125A High St in Ipswich, MA.

Thank you!

Company: Little Wolf Coffee
Location: Massachusetts
Country: United States
Design Date: 2017
Designer: Perky Brothers

Coffee Design is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read moreย Coffee Design here.