Apr. 14—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Johnstown-area couple’s environmentally conscious coffee bean business is growing locally and nationally.
It all started with a trip to Walt Disney World in 2019, and a startling realization about the coffee industry’s impact on the rainforest, Stephen and Kelsey Koval said.
Their Richland Township-based Tomorrow’s Coffee was created not only as a U.S. Department of Agriculture organic blend, but also one whose beans are among the few grown under the tree canopies of Smithsonian Bird Friendly-certified farms, they said.
The coffee drinkers first searched for the certification after learning that growing coffee beans is among the rainforest’s leading causes of deforestation.
Coffee beans require heat, humidity and abundant rainfall to thrive.
A presentation at Disney’s Animal Kingdom touched on studies highlighting that most growers tear down the forest to make room to grow coffee beans, Kelsey Koval said.
“We try to take a sustainable approach to how we live,” she said.
After they did their own research, developing a coffee bean business “felt like a natural calling,” she said.
Tomorrow’s Coffee sources its beans from a Guatemalan farm that relies on shade-grown methods.
And according to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, which has a mission to protect habitats for rainforest species, Tomorrow’s Coffee is one of fewer than 60 coffee-makers that have earned the agency’s sustainable Bird Friendly certification.
“We believe that great coffee shouldn’t come at the expense of our planet,” Stephen Koval said. “By prioritizing sustainability and ethical sourcing, we aim to not only provide exceptional coffee, but also contribute positively to the world we share.”
For several years, the couple had their organic Central American beans shipped to a Massachusetts company that roasted and shipped them to customers.
But the cost to continue that process rose sharply in recent years, they said.
Now, the beans are shipped directly to them from a United States importer.
Through a partnership with Conzatti’s Italian Market at 1250 Scalp Ave. in Richland Township, the Kovals have set up the equipment to roast and bag their beans locally.
“It’s very similar to smoking meats,” Kelsey Koval said. “It’s a low and slow process.”
The roasting process varies depending on whether the goal is a light, medium or dark roast, with the end result yielding beans with their own unique flavor based on the color.
“A dark roast has a pretty deep chocolate flavor,” she said, adding that a light roast, by comparison, has a light, airy front and a hint of chocolate flavor at the end.
The couple recently purchased more than 4,000 pounds of beans, which they roast, bag and distribute almost solely online.
The bags the coffee is packaged in are also eco-friendly, she said.
At this point, many of their customers are from California.
But the couple hopes to begin growing their brand in the Johnstown area.
They are working to get Tomorrow’s Coffee into vendor locations for markets this year, and are introducing themselves to local cafés.
“We definitely want to land our first local partnership, whether it’s a café or a local restaurant in Johnstown, because we have goals of hosting coffee classes and tasting sessions in the community,” Kelsey Koval said.
The goal is to expose the region’s coffee lovers to the flavor of homegrown coffee and its sustainable impact.
“Enjoying coffee is more than just going to McDonald’s and buying a cup,” she said.
Michelle Clapper, vice president of economic development at Johnstown Area Regional Industries, said the agency is proud of what the Kovals have been able to accomplish.
The couple worked with Startup Alleghenies entrepreneur coach Blake Fleegle as they were planning their transition to roasting in-house, and JARI was able to provide support they needed to acquire commercial-grade roasting equipment, Clapper said.
“It’s always exciting to see someone’s dream vision come to reality,” she said, “and Stephen and Kelsey are doing great things.”
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