The Hailey Coffee Company, located on Main Street and Walnut in Hailey, has (no joke) the freshest coffee in town.
“We do all our own roasting,” explained owner Carrie Morgridge. And the roastery, which was located just across the street from the coffee shop, moved to the industrial center in Hailey a few years ago. So instead of the beans travelling a few steps from roaster, to cup, to mouth, they now travel a few blocks. (Like I said… FRESH.)
Their organic, micro-batch roasted beans can be found not only at Hailey Coffee Co., in the form of classic Latte Macchiato or Mocha Breve, but all over Idaho. “We do a lot of wholesaling with restaurants in Ketchum, some up in Stanley, grocery stores, a coffee shop in Twin [Falls] and a bed and breakfast in Buhl,” she said. You can also find them on the Idaho’s Bounty website or order directly from the Hailey Coffee Co. webpage.
Todd Emerick has been the primary roaster for about four or five years, she said, and “he has been doing a phenomenal job.”
One of their specialty drinks, the Kenya Kupp, uses beans that have been soaked for twelve hours to create a dark and rich “concentrate,” which is then added to hot water, Hailey Joe syrup and a bit of half and half. “People really love that drink,” said Carrie.
She also developed, out of high demand from her friends at the local 5B Crossfit, a Paleo line of baked goods. “We started about three years ago and it just keeps growing,” she said. “In the beginning, we only had three items. I was just doing it for Crossfitters, basically, and all of the sudden we started getting celiac customers, people who can’t have gluten or don’t like to have gluten, people who can’t have dairy—it opened up this whole new market that I never anticipated. And now it’s huge.”
Now she sells her products to the Ketchum Starbucks and Main St. Market and has people calling from Seattle, Oregon and Florida to keep shipping them more. “Her Paleo brownie is better than a real brownie,” interjected a young woman from behind her hand, who was sitting nearby and nodding approvingly.
Everything is baked in-house, “in a tiny little kitchen,” emphasized Carrie. But she enjoys not only the healthy recipes (being a Paleo dieter herself), but being able to educate the curious customers who stroll in, scratching their head and asking about “this new Paleo-thingy everyone’s talking about.” (Which, by the way, is a nutritional plan that tries to eliminate dairy products, grains and processed sugars and oils in place of fresh fruits, vegetables and animal protein—technically, the “Paleolithic” diet).
They now have five different kinds of Paleo muffins and two different breads, like the Pumpkin Chocolate/Walnut bread, but their best-selling item is the Paleo Raspberry Bliss Bar—a mixture of raspberries, almond meal and chocolate. “It’s been flying out the door—we can’t keep it stocked right now,” said Carrie, who rubbed her eyes and had a vice grip on her mug, explaining she’d been up working since 4am.
Carrie said she also loves to support local non-profit organizations when she can, like the Company of Fools, Travel Club, Camp Rainbow Gold and the Share Your Heart Ball. She even has a coffee line called the Barkin’ Bean, which donates $2 of every bag purchased to the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley.
“I don’t know what my niche would be,” she admitted. Although she said she is definitely not afraid to give attitude straight back to the customers. “We flip them shit left and right,” she said smiling. “Especially the ones we know really well.”
“I guess all I can do is try to make this the best experience for anybody who comes in—make it fun and inviting and warm and welcoming,” she said with a shrug. And that, it seems, in addition to delicious coffee and some seriously popular baked goods, is all she needs.
