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You may not realize that your daily ritual of sipping coffee may come from a very close source. Sure, the beans may be imported from Indonesia, Africa, South and Central America, but if you are drinking a brew from Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea Company, it's roasted right here in Eagle County.
Minturn is home to their 7,150-square-foot facility where you'll find stacks of 150 –pound burlap sacks full of green coffee beans just waiting to be placed into their artisan San Franciscan Coffee Roaster.
"Because of our altitude being at 8,000 feet, we have some pretty incredible flavors in our coffee," said Chris Chantler, co- founder of Vail Mountain Coffee & Team Company along with Craig Arseneau.
The adjustments for roasting are similar to the adjustments made for baking at elevations above 3,000 feet. Vail Mountain Coffee is able to roast at lower temperatures, therefore eliminating the problems of "scorched" and "baked" flavors other roasters frequently experience at lower elevations.
In addition to how they roast the coffee, Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea Company prides themselves in the different ways they brew their coffee.
"From the Modbar, which is our most sophisticated pour over system, to the Slayer espresso machine, which is probably the best espresso machine in the marketplace that really extracts some amazing flavors, our goal with the cafe was to give our customers the ultimate coffee experience where you can pick your coffee and have it brewed 5 different ways," Chantler said.
In addition to the Modbar and the Slayer, their cafe also boasts a siphon, Chemex, French Press and on a hot day, you'll love their chilled items from their Nitro set up.
Check out the gifts in the cafe for the coffee lover in your life. While we were there, they just received a shipment of cups that you control via Bluetooth to keep your cup of joe at your desired temperature.
Open at 7 a.m. each day, find Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea Company at 23698 US Highway 6 & 24, Minturn and learn more at http://www.vailcoffee.com.