With a love for coffee and shopping local, two Owensboro couples decided to make their dream of owning their own coffee business a reality.
Hadley and Reid Wilson and Kelsey Skaggs and Ian Clark are friends who were looking for a fun, new adventure. Clark has experience roasting coffee and Reid had recently become interested in the variety of beans and flavors of coffee. While vacationing together and discussing coffee, the four had a new career to add to their resume.
Their business, Big Turkey Foot Coffee, has been a labor of love for the four. The couples began taste testing various coffees by ordering and sampling coffee beans from some of the best roasters in the world, so they could find the best flavor of bean for Big Turkey Foot Coffee.
“We order a sample batch to try and decide if we would like to purchase them in bulk,” Clark said. “Each country’s [beans] have a unique flavor profile and the way the coffee is processed also has an effect on it.”
Big Turkey Foot Coffee decided early on that they wanted to use coffee importers that develop relationships with the farms and growers. All of their beans are 100 percent Arabica, which makes up a majority of the coffee production in the world and, according to many, tastes cleaner and less bitter, and the beans can be traced back to the farm in the country of origin.
While the owners were sampling other companies’ beans, they were researching coffee roasters, and they settled on a specific roaster that was built to order for Big Turkey Foot. Clark said that the roaster’s build took about three months, and during this time, they worked on creating their logo, developing their brand and purchasing the other necessary equipment to make the business successful.
The company is roasting in the back of Gene’s Health Food’s new location and Gene’s was the first to put Big Turkey Foot Coffee on its shelves.
“Gene’s is our first customer,” Clark said. “It’s where we roast, so it was natural for us to be in there first. We can’t thank them enough for helping get it off the ground.”
Big Turkey Foot Coffee’s machine can roast over 20 pounds of beans an hour and after cooling, the beans are either bagged for sale or stored in containers to preserve the flavor.
While the current offerings are from Columbia and Peru, they have sample roasts ready to be tested in their roastery.
“We plan to visit some coffee farms later this year after we try out a few more selections,” Clark said, adding that they have even discussed making these trips annually and inviting interested customers to see the whole process of how the beans are grown and processed.
Clark said they are currently developing a local customer base and have plans to branch out. As a “Kentucky Proud” product, a product raised, grown or processed in Kentucky by Kentuckians, they hope to sell their beans at the Owensboro Regional Farmers Market in 2020. The owners have also purchased a van to use for future events and distribution.
Big Turkey Foot is interested in partnering with a local coffee shop to help develop their product further and also to offer public cupping classes as they grow to show the roasting process and how to differentiate between flavor profiles, something Clark said is more complex than wine flavor profiles.
“A long term goal is a brick and mortar coffee shop with some unique flair unlike anything in this area,” Clark said.
For now, the owners are looking forward to making Big Turkey Foot part of the Owensboro community and are relying on social media for communication.
Currently, Big Turkey Foot coffee is partnering with Gary’s Drive-In to offer a special blend only available at Gary’s that will be served there and also available in 12-ounce bags. It is also available at Gene’s Health Food new location at 1738 Moseley St. in whole beans or ground and at Niko’s Bakery and Cafe in whole bean.
“The four of us are clean, healthy eaters and like to know where our food comes from,” Hadley said. “We’re able to order the beans straight from coffee bean farmers all over the world and have them shipped right to our door.”
