About Grumpy Goat Coffee Company
Prior to the vision for the Grumpy Goat Coffee roastery, the quest for the perfect cup of coffee began in Minnesota where Brian Abernathy grew up and became accustomed to having access to great coffee. After relocating to Southwest Florida, Brian struggled to find that perfect cup of coffee and took it upon himself to solve that problem. “There wasn’t much of a coffee scene here, especially coming from the Minneapolis area. I really missed that.”
Tired of subpar roasts, Abernathy took it upon himself in 2016 when he purchased a roaster and began to home in on producing the perfect cup of coffee.
Brian’s mission is simple – make freshly roasted, single-origin and gourmet grade coffee both exciting and approachable for everyone. Brian is very selective about which coffee beans to import. He focuses on coffee that is high altitude, 100% Arabica and fully traceable.
“Fully traceable means that I know where the beans are coming from. I know when they are harvested, when they’re sent to the washing station, when they’re set afloat. I know if they have certifications like USDA certified organic fair trade. In terms of single origin, it’s a lot like wine. I know the regions, I know the altitudes, I know the varietals that make up the coffee I bring in.”
Similar to wines, coffee is graded on a 100 point system by professional cuppers. Brian is committed to only selecting coffee beans rated 86 points or higher.
Brian is often asked where he came up with the Grumpy Goat name. As the story goes, coffee was discovered by a goat herder in Ethiopia. He noticed his herd of goats were highly energetic after eating little red berries off of the trees and were up all night dancing and frolicking. But why grumpy? Well, we all know how a lot of us feel first thing in the morning before we have our coffee. And so Grumpy Goat was born.
As more and more coffee lovers discovered Brian’s roasts, the local media came calling. In November 2017 on National Espresso Day, Brian was invited to have a coffee conversation on National Public Radio local affiliate WGCU. Subsequently, print publications featured stories about Brian and Grumpy Goat including The News-Press, Naples Daily News, Business Observer and Revive magazine.
Brian’s multiple collaborations with chefs, brewmasters and food industry partners have resulted in several Grumpy Goat coffee-inspired flavors and recipes. A collaboration with Momentum Brewery resulted in a coffee stout aptly named The Goat which won a silver medal at the 2019 Best Florida Beer competition, outranking more than 15 competitors. In 2018 Brian’s collaboration on a pig rub pulled pork recipe, featuring Grumpy Goat Coffee’s Ethiopian Dark Roast won second place at the EggFest cookoff, sponsored by Sunshine Ace Hardware and the Big Green Egg.
Grumpy Goat Coffee has coffee beer collaborations with Bonita Springs craft breweries Riptide Brewing, Chubby Mermaid Brewing, Hopsized Brewing and Ceremony Brewing. In addition, Grumpy Goat coffee is the featured ingredient in several cocktails at Chartreuse Craft Cocktail Lounge in historic downtown Bonita Springs including their espresso martini.
As a sought after, premium coffee brand, Grumpy Goat is proudly displayed on the menus of restaurants including The Bohemian and Downtown Coffee & Wine, all in Bonita Springs.
Grumpy Goat Coffee Focuses on Roasting
It’s not unusual to witness an unsuspecting visitor to the roastery thinking that it’s a traditional coffee shop. Most small roasteries are indeed coffee shops. They roast beans for their coffee shop operation and sell a few bags here and there. Most large scale roasters focus on wholesale distribution of their coffee beans to lots of coffee shops, retailers, restaurants, etc.
Grumpy Goat is neither.
Grumpy Goat Coffee’s core business is small batch roasting and for direct to consumer sales.
We buy our green beans based on quality first. That means high altitude, full traceability, specialty grade cupping scores. After we’ve checked those boxes we look for other interesting certifications such as fair trade organic, women-produced, shade grown etc. Always remember, just because it’s organic, doesn’t mean it’s good. There’s plenty of commercial grade coffee in the marketplace that is certified organic but isn’t fresh, won’t tickle your taste buds or be friendly to your super-auto coffee maker.
The inventory of roasted coffee at Grumpy Goat is always fresh.
In fact, we do not bother adding roast dates to our packaging because we turn over our inventory so fast it’s not even worth it. We roast 4-5 times per week so when you visit the roastery or order online, the beans that you receive are always with a few days of being roasted.
We offer a medium and a dark roast profile for every origin.
This allows you to control your tasting experience and to also enjoy the interesting differences in cupping notes between the two options. Grumpy Goat does not over-roast the coffee beans so don’t be afraid to try a dark roast.
Similar to when you caramelize onions, the coffee roasting process results in caramelizing the starches in the bean. And similar to when you grill a steak, you want to remove it from the heat shortly before the meat is at your desired doneness as it will continue to cook and finish as it rests off the direct heat. Our roasting techniques at Grumpy Goat follow a similar methodology to allow the coffee beans to feature their tasting notes.
If you’ve experienced, bitter, burnt dark roasts in the past, allow your mind and palate to experience our dark roast which will be flavorful. You can expect a consistent roast profile from Grumpy Goat’s skillful roasting techniques.
