Twenty-four years ago, friends and former Ohio University roommates Andy Timmerman and Joe Morris tired of their corporate roles and began brewing plans for starting up a business of their own. In what turned out to be prescient decision, the two entrepreneurs opened a wholesale coffee roasting company at the dawn of what has been a two-decade boon in the coffee industry.
With a mere 11 bags of green coffee beans, a small Sivetz roaster, and some discerning taste buds, the co-founders opened Seven Hills Coffee company in April 1986. At that time, coffee was primarily a beverage enjoyed in the home or perhaps with a slice of apple pie at a restaurant.
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According to Timmerman, that all changed "with the advent of Starbucks and the coffeehouse model" with which we are all so familiar today. Now intimately entwined with social interaction and intellectual engagement, coffee has taken on a whole new persona in American culture.
It has also shown itself to be recession-proof. According to a survey recently released by the National Coffee Association, industry sales remain stable as consumers continue to demonstrate that "their daily coffee consumption is non-negotiable."
No one knows that better than the five busy employees of Seven Hills Coffee Company, where 250,000 pounds of specialty, dark roast, blended, and flavored coffees are roasted and shipped each year from their 5,000 square foot roasting facility. The industrious group also distributes a wide selection of teas and coffeehouse staples including flavored syrups, chocolates, fruit smoothies, and frappe mixes.
Today, Seven Hills Coffee is carried in more than 200 independent coffeehouses and restaurants throughout the Midwest, with "85 percent distributed within 100 miles of Cincinnati," according to Timmerman, and though the company has room and plans to grow, the co-founder maintains that it is not their top priority. "What's most important to us is that we keep an eye on quality."
Insistent on superior roasting of only the finest single-estate coffee, the flourishing company knows what it takes to make a great cup o' Joe. Their continued commitment to exceptional service ensures that Cincinnatians will be enjoying the best coffee for miles around and for years to come.
Story by: Alyce Vilines
Source: Andy Timmerman, co-owner Seven Hills Coffee