Coffee roasted in Bradenton now served fresh from couple’s first brick-and-mortar shop
Josh and Abbey Schmitt, who turned a coffee roasting hobby into a business in 2018, took a giant step forward recently when they opened their first brick-and-mortar coffee shop.
Banyan Coffee Company opened at 1110 Tenth St. W., Palmetto, across the street from the Palmetto Police Department.
Josh started out as a hobbyist, roasting coffee beans in popcorn poppers — maybe 20 in all — before graduating to a series of increasingly larger professional roasters.
With Abbey’s support, he began distributing his craft-roasted beans, first at the Bradenton Farmers Market and then through a much wider network.
At the new coffee shop, customers can often see the roasting at work through large windows behind the front counter. That’s on purpose because the Schmitts want their customers to see what goes into a really good cup of coffee.
“Two thirds of the building is a roastery. People can get a cup of coffee and see how it is sourced. We want them to see behind the scenes how coffee is roasted,” Josh said.
Banyan Coffee serves its brews from beans grown in many parts of the world, including Indonesia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Brazil.
“Our approach to coffee is simple we use ‘ethically sourced specialty coffee’ and deliver our coffee fresh. We hand select high grade coffee so you can enjoy a great cup of coffee everyday,” the Schmitts say on the company website
“By faith and true grit our desire is to connect coffee farmers from all over the world to our local communities. When you buy a bag of coffee you are not only supporting a small business but a coffee farmer too,” they say.
The shop also serves locally sourced baked goods from Cremesh Coffee and Bakery in Bradenton and gluten-free and vegan products from Happy Soul in Palmetto, as well as local kombucha from BoomBacha in Sarasota.
“I love Josh and Abbey’s hot coffees. Today I got one of their lattes,” said Meme Signor, a customer who visited recently. “Josh and Abbey are very supportive of this community.”
The Schmitts are also partners with Melissa Lilly and her daughter, Kaitlyn Lilly, who hope to soon open Orange Blossom Coffee in the City Centre building downtown on Old Main Street.
“I am a native Floridian, live in Bradenton and wanted a business in the city,” Melissa Lilly previously told the Bradenton Herald.
Kaitlyn Lilly has been working at Banyan Coffee Company with the Schmitts to learn more about the business.
Banyan Coffee Company is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Their mobile coffee cart is also available to book for events.
For more information, visit https://www.banyancoffeecompany.com/.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 5:50 AM.
