NO. 1110 - OZARK MOUNTAIN COFFEE COMPANY!
No. 1110
Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN
OZARK MOUNTAIN COFFEE COMPANY!
On a recent trip to Branson, Mo., Janis and I went on up the highway about 30 miles to Ozark, Mo., home of the Ozark Mountain Coffee Company. We sell their coffee here in the fudge shop at Pickles Gap Village.
While I love coffee, and have several cups every morning, I had never been to a business where they actually buy the coffee beans from three continents, roast them, and then package the finished product for consumers. What I learned and observed on our visit was so fascinating that I felt it would be of interest to you, especially if you are a coffee drinker or there are one or more coffee drinkers in your home.
Ozark Mountain is a three-person operation that roasts, packages, and ships product daily. Since the beginning of their operation back in 1994, they have provided specialty coffees across the country while also developing a wide variety of specialty teas to fill the needs of retailers.
As I said earlier, they utilize two to three coffee importers of the raw product from around the globe. They use a variety of Arabica beans and can create custom blends to complement the desired region’s characteristics of flavor, aroma, body and acidity. Being a roaster, they are able to affect the caffeine level by blending. Their roasting machine is a gas-fired steel drum, an air-cooled type that allows a range from 8- to 26-pound batches. These batch sizes allow for correct blending after the different beans have been properly roasted, including the same single origin roasted to different degrees.
While the process is a lot more involved than just pushing a few buttons and out comes the finished product, the many different flavors and blends they produce is what makes it so interesting. When you see all the brightly colored foil packages in their inventory, you have to be impressed, especially when you realize there is a different flavor in each one.
Here are a few of the many blends they offer, and the different regions of the world from which they come. MOUNTAIN MORNING – a full body, mellow, smooth flavor coffee that comes from Columbia and Costa Rica. BRANSON BLEND – a full body with a sweet nutty flavor coffee that comes from Costa Rica and Sumatra. (Sumatra is located on the Western side of Indonesia) TRAIL BLEND – a rich, full body coffee with hearty flavor and comes from Brazil, Ethiopia, and Kenya. PORCH VIEW BLEND – a superb flavor with a complex body coffee that comes from Guatemala and Sumatra.
They have many more blends they sell in smaller packages, and I might say here that if you are a thinking person this is the kind of experience that just kind of sneaks up on you. You are not that impressed when you arrive, but the longer you stay and learn, the more impressed you become. Ozark Mountain also offers bulk coffee from the following countries – Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, and Tanzania.
As I thought about this small coffee company in the Ozarks, I was reminded of the famous Folgers jingle we have all heard, “The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup. “
To be sure, this is a giant company, but every company starts somewhere. I am pleased to let you know about the Ozark Mountain Coffee Company. They have quality products.
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(Editor’s Note: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)
