Business brief by Noah Moore
WHITEWATER — Bowers Lake Coffee, a Wisconsin-based organic coffee roasting company in business since 2018, has been hard at work to expand its base of devoted customers.
Located on the outskirts of Whitewater, this veteran- and family-owned business sources its 100% organic coffee from fair-trade certified growers around the world and then freshly roasts it to very high standards.
The Master Roaster – Dave “Papa” Jones – is a Navy veteran who has been roasting coffee for over 25 years.
Bowers Lake Coffee is currently sold through three farmer’s markets in southern Wisconsin (Whitewater, Palmyra, and Burlington), and can also be purchased online for direct delivery to customers.
Whitewater’s farmers market takes place Saturday morning, Palmyra on Monday evening and Burlington on Thursday evening.
“Skyrocketing inflation that everyone is experiencing is directly affecting our purchasing costs, production costs, and transportation costs,” said Jones. “We have not raised our prices in four years, so we are struggling with that pressure, but we will work through it and will not let it affect the quality of our coffee.”
The owners of Bowers Lake Coffee say they were not impressed with most of the mass-produced coffees seen on the market, along with some of the fair-trade coffee sold in many non-roasting coffee shops and health food stores.
They found a lot of that coffee to be old and stale, with a bitter after taste not pleasing to the palate.
Knowing they could do much better, and having the passion, knowledge and experience to do so is what inspired the owners to start the company.
“I really appreciate your excellent coffee.” “Wow is all I can say. Highly recommend their coffee.” are among the comments shared at the farmers markets.
At the markets where it is sold, Bowers Lake Coffee will also personally grind the beans for those customers who prefer that.
They also provide freshly brewed coffee at these markets, served hot or iced, and each week they showcase different roasts, regions, and blends for customers to sample different varieties throughout the summer months.
After spending over four years to establish itself locally, Bowers Lake Coffee is working to increase its brand awareness regionally and nationally through further marketing efforts, including a new website with improved online order processing, and through the use of business internship programs at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.
As sales increase, the plan is to expand roasting capacity in ways that can support a larger number of customers while continuing to maintain the high-quality standards of Bowers Lake Coffee.
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