Vendor Profile: Mountain's Edge Coffee

By: Susan Perry, Master Gardener

“This is our dream,” say Keith and Annette Howard. Like most dreams, it started as an idea, almost 20 years ago. Living in Bozeman, Montana in the early 1990s and working as an engineer and pediatric nurse, Keith and Annette met the owners of Rocky Mountain Roasting Company just as it first opened. As lifelong coffee aficionados, this up-close look didn’t deter them. Rather, it inspired them. But they had to let the idea perk …..

In 2005, Mountain’s Edge Coffee opened and by 2006, it was up and running with a roaster, commercial kitchen, and catalytic converter to insure that the roasting process was environmentally friendly. Located in downtown Berthoud, with a great view of Long’s Peak, Mountain’s Edge Coffee provides custom-roasted beans to grocery stores, restaurants, coffee houses, for home delivery, and to several local farmers’ markets. “We love the Larimer County Farmers’ Market. It unique in so many ways and we feel like we have already made new friends, “says Keith. “We enjoy going to Old Town Fort Collins every week with our coffee. We hope people stop by for a sample of hot, brewed coffee.”

“People try Mountain’s Edge Coffee and like it,” said Annette. It’s no wonder when you understand that they spent an entire year developing their unique custom-roasting recipes. “We spent a year asking everyone we knew to taste our roasts as we developed them.” “The flavor of each type of bean can be uniquely experienced and appreciated by getting the right combination of temperature, airflow and time during roasting,” explains Keith.

Keith and Annette import the finest green, unroasted beans from India, Sumatra, Columbia, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. Because the beans come from the Third World, part of the roasting process involves removing small stones and pebbles that accidentally mix with the beans as the farmers shovel the beans into bags. In addition to single origin and decaffeinated beans, Mountain’s Edge Coffee sells custom blends. Some beans taste better when blended before roasting, while others are better when blended after roasting. Mountain’s Edge Coffee offers 12 oz., 24 oz., and 3 pound bags of beans but will grind beans upon request.

“We roast our beans no more than three to four days in advance of delivery and bring about 80 pounds of beans to the farmers’ market, “chimes Annette. “We can roast 15 pounds of green beans at a time but it takes time because one of us is always watching it, adjusting air and temperature. But it’s a labor of love. We drink our own coffee and love what we’re doing.”

By slow-roasting small batches by hand and taking advantage of Colorado’s high altitude and low humidity, Keith and Annette can produce a more consistent flavored bean. “Our roaster is an old-fashioned Diedrich drum-style roaster, like those used in the Old West. We want to create coffee that embodies quality and craftsmanship.”

Find Mountain’s Edge Coffee on the Internet or better yet, stop by and say “Hi” at the Larimer County Farmers’ Market. Mountain’s Edge Coffee is located on the east side of the market, on the north edge.