SPRINGFIELD – The Monsoon Roastery in Springfield are looking for a way to give back to selfless members of the public who deserve to be recognized.

Andrea Monson, who owns the coffee roasting business with her husband Tim, said the Selfless Contest was born out of their usual summer coffee giveaways. “We always do summer contests or giveaways,” she explained. “We like to give our coffee away and this is a fun way to do it.”

Monsoon said the way the contest works is simple: go to the event page on Facebook and on the day of the event write a few sentences on the page to nominate the individual of your choosing. “They can just post and say this person deserves free coffee because of x. Simple as that,” she said.

She said there are no requirements for those being nominated, including where they live. “They don’t have to live in the Pioneer Valley,” she said.

Once the event closes for the day, Monsoon said two winners will be selected to win either a bag of coffee or, should they live locally, cold brew cans from the roastery. What the winning individual gets, she said, depends on what they like. “I ask the person nominating them, and I will get some feedback from the nominator,” she said.

She said while some people tag the person they’re nominating when posting on Facebook, others leave it to be a surprise - which she prefers. “It’s really nice when they arrive and they have no clue,” she said. “It’s a cool thing to bring to people.”

While only two winners will be picked, Monsoon said often they like to pick more people and give back. “We usually end up doing a few more,” she said.

In addition to running the Selfless Contest to give away coffee, Monsoon said they are also currently doing the occasional cold brew give away. In the cold brew giveaway, customers have the chance to win some cold brew if they have the funniest answer to a silly riddle or question posted on the roastery’s page.

While the roastery closed for a while, they recently reopened their doors for takeout orders complete with a walkup window and freshly painted murals. “It’s completely outdoor. People can park, we have socially distanced cues, they can walk up to the window,” she said. After ordering, customers walk to another window where they receive their order and follow a cue to exit the line.

Monsoon said the roastery is also “working on doing curbside pickup pretty soon,” for rainy days and customer convenience. Currently, the roastery, located at 270 Albany St. in Springfield is open for walkup orders Thursday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Customers also have the option of ordering their coffee beans or cold brew online at www.monsoonroastery.com. Coffee ordered online will be delivered right to their doorstep.

A new feature the roastery recently added is also something called a Provision Box. The box, Monsoon explained, launched on June 18 and are the result of a partnership with several local organizations within the Pioneer Valley. Provision Boxes allow customers to order the following goods:
• A produce box from Stony Hill Farm
• A mushroom share from Urban •Artisan Farm/Mahina’ai Mushrooms
• Locally butchered meat from Corsello Butcheria
• Smyth’s Country Cheese
• LifeBooch Kombucha
• Oatly Oat Milk
• Jams and jellies by Wickedly Wild Seasonings
• Maple syrup and honey by Windsor Hill Sugar House
• Grilling rubs by Fatboyz BBQ
• Natural soaps by Cold Spring Soapery

In addition to ordering locally sourced groceries and goods, Monsoon said customers can also purchase coffee from the roastery to be included in their orders.

Provisions Boxes can be ordered online at https://www.monsoonroastery.com/provisions Thursday through Sunday, and picked up for free on Saturdays  and Sundays. If individuals are unable to pick up their orders, they can also get them delivered to their home for a small fee of $10. Deliveries are available to the following cities and towns: Springfield, Chicopee, South Hadley, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, West Springfield, Agawam, Feeding Hills, Westfield, Holyoke and Easthampton. Boxes can also be delivered to Enfield, Suffield and Somers in Connecticut.