Business Spotlight: Short Sleeves Coffee Co.
Montreat, NC has a new Coffee Roaster in town, Short Sleeves Coffee Co. after about 2 years of roasting coffee they are ready to share it with the world. Talk about fresh, this small batch roaster of artisan coffees gets you coffee they roast on Monday shipped to you on Tuesday, or delivered locally to your doorstep!
We had a chance to ask the owner Daniel Lancaster a few questions and get the “coffee scoop”…
Tell us more about Short Sleeves?
I roast coffee in small batches to order. My hope is to give people coffee as fresh as humanly possible and have it delivered as quickly as possible after roasting. We roast every Monday, and ship/deliver every Tuesday. Folks that live in Montreat, Black Mountain, or Swannanoa NC are offered Free Delivery to their doorstep! Also, it’s a family affair. At times, my 2 toddlers will be helping me throw beans in the roasting hopper, smell different coffees, and add labels to bags. They’re all about it.
Why do you do what you do? What was your inspiration?
I’ve been working in coffee professionally and in small side-type-ways for about 8 years now and have found myself working as a barista, a roaster, a coffee journalist, and most often…a coffee-drinking enthusiast! I’ve only really been roasting for about 2 years. I get really excited about the coffee industry. I think the focus on ethical methods of production and doing business within the coffee sector is a discussion that could be a template for many other industries. I also think the process of making a cup of coffee is so unique and interesting. Factors in farming such as soil, weather, elevation, and local bee population all can have tremendous effects on the bean once harvested. From there, the factors that impact the taste of the coffee have only begun! Processing methods, shipping method, storage, roasting, grinding, and brewing all can vastly change the taste of the final cup. I get excited about each step in that process…and the game becomes “How can each step in this process do as little damage as possible to the original potential of that coffee seed?”.
How do you choose the type of beans to roast?
I work with traders who primarily work directly with individual farmers or farming co-ops in other countries. I first look at their offerings, order some samples from various producers, then roast each sample and brew them a number of ways until I can narrow in on what I enjoy best and think fits the profile I’m looking for. So, at times, that means I taste 30 different Kenyan coffees before I land on the one I like…other times, I recognize a coffee producer and know right away it’s going to be a finalist. It’s a pretty fun process!
What’s the one thing you want your business to be known for, over your competitors?
I think that competition is actually great. The amount of variety that is possible within a cup of coffee is limitless when you consider all the farmers, roasters, and baristas out there that put their own spin on it. So, I don’t want to be known above my competitors for any reason, because they will have something that I don’t have exactly! However, what I hope people find in our company, is that we are really into making the quality & complex simple. Sometimes, coffee gets super pretentious. Think ‘hipster barista with tats & funky glasses who uses words you’ve never heard before and glares at you when you ask for “just coffee”‘. So that’s why we’re “Short Sleeves Coffee Co.”. Think ‘casual’, ‘laid-back’, and a Short Sleeves T-Shirt kind of vibe…not a 3-piece suit vibe. It’s not fancy. Not pretentious. It’s just delicious.
Where can they buy your product? – any stores or just online?
Currently, the best way to get our coffee is to order it on our website. From there, if you live out of town, you can get it shipped to you. If you live within either Montreat, Black Mountain, or Swannanoa, you can actually have it delivered right to your doorstep for no extra charge! I roast every Monday and deliver on Tuesdays. So I guarantee you’ll have coffee on your doorstep, every Tuesday, within 24hrs of it being roasted. And I think that’s kinda fun.
They also just dropped their New Greensleeves Holiday Blend. Daniel describes it as “It kinda tastes like that one memorable berry pie you’d have on holiday mornings. Yea, that one with the brown sugar granola crust that was laced with a little chocolate. It kinda tastes like that. Or, maybe you could just say it just tastes like all the feels.”
Check them out, show them some love and try some of their fresher-than-fresh coffee!
You can visit them online to order at: www.shortsleevescoffee.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shortsleevescoffee/?hl=en
