Wander Coffee | Local Maker Introduction
Wander Coffee
Fort Collins, Colorado
Hello Modern Epicureans! It is Maker's Monday again and we are excited to introduce you to our primary coffee partner, Wander Coffee. Kyle Kmetz invited us to his roastery right here in Fort Collins, Colorado, to see where the magic happens. During the tour, we were able to discuss how he got started in the coffee industry, where him and his wife want to take the company, and their passion for serving customers with kindness, speediness, and the highest quality coffee possible.
As always, make sure you share the love and give them a follow @wandercoffeeco on Instagram and pick up a bag of their amazing coffee at one of these retail stores in town:
The Cupboard, Mountain Avenue Market, or Beavers Market.
Now, let's talk coffee and small business with Kyle Kmetz!
The Beginning
Kyle started his coffee career over a decade ago in Laramie, Wyoming. While he went to school at University of Wyoming he scored a job a Coal Creek Coffee where they roast their own coffee. After working there for a couple of years in a variety of roles and expressing interest in learning how to roast coffee, Kyle was offered the opportunity to train on the roasting side. After that, there was no turning back.
After falling in love with his now wife, Megan, they both moved out to Minneapolis and Kyle's passion for roasting coffee followed him. He applied to all of the coffee companies he could find and was lucky enough to get into a large coffee manufacturer in the city. This company would be where Kyle would learn large scale coffee business. He went from roasting small batches at a small coffee shop to learning how to roast 600 pound batches on Probat roasters. Along with his well versed knowledge of the coffee industry and roasting, he acquired a respect for the quality of the German engineered, Probat roasters, and roasts all of his coffee in his very own at his roastery in Fort Collins.
Starting Wander Coffee
Kyle and Megan started Wander Coffee in November of 2016 shortly after they moved back to the Rocky Mountains from their adventure in Minneapolis. Instead of starting out at farmers' markets they took a different approach and set a deadline to sell their coffee wholesale before Christmas in 2016. It turns out it was a great time to start a coffee company and they were launched! Now they offer their coffee in over 30 locations all over the region in coffee shops and retail stores all over Northern Colorado and Wyoming.
Along the way, Kyle said that they have built some of the most wonderful relationships and that is really what they are about. Kyle really enjoys meeting the people that drink his coffee and interacting with people in the community.
A Little Bit About Their Beans
In the future, we hope to learn more about the bean sourcing process and sustainable practices, but learned a ton from Kyle during our short conversation at his roastery. Wander Coffee works very hard to source their beans sustainably and also provides packaging that is sustainable for their customers. Even their bags are compostable! Not only that, they like to source locally for other business materials as long as the quality is there. They believe that one of the best ways to be a sustainable buyer as an individual company is to get set up with an importer, so they are involved with a company headquartered in Colombia that sources from all over South America. What's amazing about this company is that 70% of their staff is on the farm level.
Kyle spoke passionately about sourcing the highest quality beans possible and keep his coffees at accessible prices for the everyday person. Treating the farmers that Wander Coffee sources from right is very important to him. He makes it a note to find farmers that can provide coffee beans year after year and look forward to an opportunity to visit South America to meet some of the farmers that their beans are sourced from.
Wander Coffee Mission
Their goal is to be roasting the highest quality coffees that we can and do that in a way that is sustainable in more than just how we roast and package, but also sustainable in the way of relationships with farmers.
What We Can Look Forward To
Kyle mentioned that him and his wife talk about opening their own coffee shop all of the time when the time is right. This coffee shop you can expect to be warm, inviting, and filled with the kindest people that work hard to please you with an unforgettable coffee experience. Even just drinking Wander Coffee roasts at home makes you feel like you are drinking a cafe quality coffee, so imagine what their coffee shop would be like. We are way excited for this fantasy to come true in the coming years.
A special aspect of the potential coffee shop would be the opportunity to purchase a cup of micro-lot coffee that may be a little too expensive to spring for at home, but would be worth every penny to try at their shop. Keep an eye on this company, Modern Epicureans, you'll definitely want to start on the Wander Coffee train and get in with their community.
In the meantime, you can order their coffee right here to get your first taste and if you live in Northern Colorado you can get in on our bi-weekly coffee subscription where you get their coffee delivered to your door the first and third Monday of every month. Check it out!
So far, it has been such a pleasure to work with some of the kindest people we know and we are obsessed with Kyle's roasting ability. Every single bag of coffee we buy from him we can count on being fresh, roasted to perfection, and sipped with pleasure. That is why we feature them on our website and share with all of our coffee loving friends, family, and customers. Wander Coffee just might be your new go-to cup of joe.
Thank you for reading and we look forward to speaking with the Wander Coffee family again soon, so we can learn more about their amazing company, coffee, and what they are up to next!
Don't forget to follow them @wandercoffeeco on Instagram and for goodness sake get a bag of their coffee and see for yourself how amazing a locally roasted coffee can be!
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