Local Purveyor Spotlight | Pink Elephant Coffee Roasters

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with two truly special individuals and relatively new additions to the area, Mitch and Kelley Baker. The masterminds and passion behind Pink Elephant Coffee Roasters, a micro-batch, coffee roasting duo with one goal in mind, to bring fresh, locally roasted, artisan coffee to the people in Utah and its visitors.

Park City Dining, Park City Restaurants“We believe in sourcing you with fresh, high-quality single-origin coffee from farms in the coffee growing world. By carefully choosing our green coffees from small farms, responsible cooperatives, micro-lots, or from growers who are certified organic or Fair Trade, we not only provide great coffee to people in Utah; We provide a sustainable livelihood for growers and their communities. No additives, no flavors, no chemicals: Just great coffee. Our offerings change often as we rotate coffees with availability, seasonality, and supply. We tend to roast on the lighter side for coffees that are striking and unique with bright aromas and nuanced flavors.” – Mitch and Kelley.

How it all began

It all started with a sincere love for coffee. Originally from Millersburg, Ohio, which is where the whole project began and where most of their family still resides, Kelley and Mitch noticed that their unique town with its strong influences from the Amish population was in desperate need of a coffee purveyor. “The Amish are very hands-on and crafty people, and they do what they do very well. When we noticed that there was a need for a good coffee supplier in the area, we jumped in head first. We had some friends that were doing it so we were able to gain their insight and direction as we were starting out, and we began roasting in our one bedroom apartment,” Mitch said. They started importing beans from Cafe Imports, a perfect match considering they are a company driven by the passion for coffee and one of the ‘fairest’ options they could find in terms of fair trade. Park City Dining, Park City Restaurants

“Things really took off pretty quickly for us,” Mitch said, so naturally, the project seeped outward, and their families began to step in to help out. Kelley’s father, a retired school teacher, is now  running the roaster back in Ohio while they get things going in Utah. Mitch, also being in sales, received a job opportunity that brought them to Utah (Midway) where they have now been for the past 17 months. A positive expansion, the couple found that moving to Utah was intriguing in the sense that they discovered people know a bit more about coffee here. Now with two roasters, “We started out ordering 1 pound to 5 pounds of green coffee beans from around the world and are now ordering 1,000 pounds of the beans.” they said. I predict that they’re only going to get bigger!

Purchasing Their Coffee In Store and Online

Currently, their coffee can be found and purchased at The Market at Park City, and you will also be able to find them at the Park Silly markets this summer as well as the Heber Valley market, which takes place every Thursday evening. Aside from the markets, you can also order online with delivery options available. It doesn’t get much easier to support an awesome local product, now does it?   DSC_0405Their subscription options are pretty wonderful and works somewhat like a CSA membership would, but for coffee. “The idea is that we will bring freshly roasted hand-selected coffee offerings to your door each month (single origins, blends, espresso, etc). It is customizeable, and we offer once per month or twice per month options. We usually include a note, brewing suggestions, and other fun things in each one”. Imagine, twice a month, you open your door and there is a new, unique selection of coffee sitting on your doorstep with information on exactly how they recommend brewing. So delicious and so convenient. Click here to view their monthly coffee club and bi-monthly coffee club ordering options!

Types Of Coffee

Their offerings change often as they rotate coffees with availability, seasonality and supply. They tend to roast on the lighter side for coffees that are striking and unique with bright aromas and nuanced flavors.

Tanzania Peaberry— What’s a peaberry? It’s when a single bean develops inside the coffee cherry, instead of the familiar two flat beans. We roast this coffee lightly for a smooth mouthfeel with citric acidity and a mild coffee cherry flavor. Our best seller.

Costa Rica La Trinidad Honey— This coffee has a lovely light body and a touch of acidity, with flavors of lemon, toffee, and vanilla.

Ethiopia Natural Limu— Dark chocolate with amaretto and orange-like acidity and a heavy

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mouthfeel characterize this coffee.

Colombia Noble—Heavy, fruity, and juicy with dark chocolate, nut, and a hint of blueberry as it cools.

Fair Trade Organic Mexican Decaf— Our smooth Fair Trade Organic decaf from Mexico has flavors of caramel, chocolate and nut. It’s Mountain Water Processed, an indirect decaffeination method that is done without the use of chemicals (beans are soaked in near boiling water from the glaciers of the Pico de Orizaba mountain in Mexico, extracting the flavor oils and caffeine from the coffee. The water is separated into a tank where it is forced through charcoal filters and stirred to remove the caffeine. The beans are then reintroduced to the water, absorbing their flavor).

Brazil El Recreio Estate— We roast this coffee for a bright, citric cup with hints of cocoa and honey. Makes an excellent, well-rounded cup of coffee or a light and nutty espresso.

 They also have great information regarding coffee in general, how to make the perfect french press and more. Click here to view their brewing guides.DSC_0746

 Stay updated

Make sure you keep up with them to get updates on new coffees that are brewing, and more useful information! Seeing as they now have two roaster locations, their Utah website is www.pinkelephantutah.com and if you happen to be passing through Ohio, their Ohio website is www.pinkelephantcoffee.com. 

 

Facebook: Pink Elephant Coffee Roasters Utah

Instagram: @pinkelephant

Fun fact: How they come up with the name Pink Elephant? Well, “seeing pink elephants” happens to be a euphemism for drunken hallucinations. An early literary use of the term is by Jack London in 1913, who describes one kind of alcoholic in the autobiographical John Barleycorn, as a man who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. “We like to relate this to drinking too much coffee or not getting enough coffee.” says Kelley and I love everything about that.

Park City Dining, Park City Restaurants

 

Keep an eye out for these guys this summer at the markets! Such a great company to support and it’s not hard when the product is so delicious!

 

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