Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Company quality, freshness and sustainability with 21 years experience in the coffee and tea industries.

Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Company History

In 1989, Vail's first espresso bar, the Daily Grind, opened its doors. The Grind quickly became an internationally renowned Vail institution located on the infamous Bridge Street. "We never thought The Grind would be a legendary place to hang out," said co-owner Craig Arseneau. "It started out as a coffee stop on the way up to the Vista Bahn and we added an eatery two years later. It later became Vail's first wine bar after six years, and everyone who walked down Bridge Street came through there at one point or another." The company has since evolved into one of Colorado's most successful and finest coffee roasters and tea companies. As the popularity for specialty coffee grew in the 1990s, many restaurant and hotels demanded the same quality coffee for their guests. Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Company experienced double-digit growth for several years. The company sold the Daily Grind and changed its focus on wholesale coffee and tea distribution. The growth in the specialty coffee industry brought competition creating several giant specialty coffee chains trying to gain market share at any cost. At the same time, consumer awareness of sustainable and ethical trade practice rose to an all time high. As a result, the company repositioned the brand to stand for something important and unique, with purpose and relevance quality, freshness and sustainability.

Altitude Roasting

So other than its amazing coffee and cool factor, what makes Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea Company different than other coffee roasters in Colorado? Well, thanks to the Rocky Mountains, it's all about altitude. The company headquarters out of Minturn and is located at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet. "The natural sugars found within the coffee bean caramelize at a lower temperature at this altitude during the roasting process," said Arseneau. "This slow caramelization process creates a smooth and complex flavor, so the coffee has less acidity." In the last 5 years, the company has created direct trade purchasing programs on three continents, forming lasting relationships with farmers in Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Sumatra, Kenya, India, and Taiwan. Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Company is involved in several industry organizations and nonprofits. It provides a private label tea to assist Greg Mortonsen's (author of Three Cups of Tea) organization, the Central Asia Institute, whose mission it is to support community-based education, especially for girls, in the remote northern regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea has also partnered with Colorado Proud, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's effort to support locally grown and produced food. Recently, Arseneau was named to the Board of Directors of Socially Conscious Coffee, a nonprofit organization providing support for sustainable prosperity for coffee harvesters, their families and their communities through education, health care and environmental stewardship. In an every-changing market place, the company has proven to be ground-breaking as a small business in a resort market for its flexibility and embracing the new economy. "We know we have a quality product, but we have had to reconfigure our brand to move with the ebb and flow of the industry and the economy," said co-owner Chris Chantler.

Where can you find Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea?

• Minturn Store
• City Market
• King Soopers
• Whole Foods
• Marcyk Fine Foods
• Sprouts Markets
• Marketplace on Meadow Drive
• Smiling Moose Deli
• Westside Cafe
• 46 Coffees
• 40 Loose Leaf Teas
• Altitude Roasting
• 3 continents
• Single Origin
• Micro-Estate
• Sustainability