It has been an exciting and crazy year for Three Bears Coffee Company!

This past year’s Market Square Farmer’s Market was the best ever for us. We got the chance to serve great coffee to more great people than ever before through the little coffee caravan and we worked hard just to keep up with the demand. It’s been amazing to see how my little coffee roasting business has grown. I’ve always focused on roasting the best coffees from the best growers I could source and I’ve trusted that people would let others know that they enjoy what I do. It’s great to see how a small community-minded business like mine can grow through attention to quality, good work, and word-of-mouth advertising. Thanks everybody!

I’ve also gotten some great new business from the downtown restaurant community. Cafe 4 on Market Square has been serving Three Bears Coffee exclusively in their espresso drinks and as their house coffee since late summer and it has been a big hit with their customers. The Peter Kern Library also uses Three Bears for their espresso drinks and Holly’s 135 has Three Bears available by the cup. Of course you can still get bags of beans at Just Ripe in the Daylight Building and Three Rivers Market on Central Avenue.

Also there’s a great new place to get Three Bears Coffee: the new roastery and retail location at 1120 Sevier Avenue in South Knoxville! There is still some construction going on, but come on down to get the broadest and freshest selection of coffees available. We’ve been open since early November and while there are still some developments coming along, we’re ready to serve the coffee loving public. I’m looking forward to being able to engage with my customers and to be able to show folks how the coffee roasting operation works. Our winter hours will be from 8am til 5pm Monday through Friday and 8am til 4pm on Saturday. Come by and visit!

Thanks again for all of the support. I’m so happy to be able to do something I love and to provide the greater Knoxville community with some of the best coffees around. It’s an honor and a pleasure! Enjoy!

What a great first month of Farmers Markets! It’s been great seeing all of my old friends and making some new ones as well. Thanks for spreading the word about Three Bears Coffee and coming out to see me on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Here’s some good news to pass along for all the coffee lovers in Bearden and points further west: you can now buy Three Bears Coffee at Butler & Bailey Market in Rocky Hill! They are stocking almost all of my coffee offerings in prepackaged one pound bags of whole beans. Butler & Bailey is a locally owned business (like me) with a wide selection of groceries and many other local products. Stop by and check them out and help support the homegrown Knoxville business community.

There’s another partnership on the horizon I want to mention. As some of you may already know, Tennessee Valley Bikes runs on Three Bears Coffee (at least partially). We have been working on a dark roast blend to help keep your pedals turning and it’s almost ready for the public. Look for “Four O’Clock Pot” to be showing up soon on the racks at TVB. While you’re waiting to get your bike tuned up, step next door to the Public House and get a cocktail with Three Bears Coffee cold brew.

That’s all the big news for now, but there will be great things happening as the year moves on. Remember to go support your local retail outlets like Just Ripe, Three Rivers Market, and the Market in Maryville, and come by to see me at the Market Square Farmers Market (I’m doing some streamlining to help speed up the line).

Thanks so much for all the support. Enjoy!

This weekend, May 3, is the opening day for 11th season of the Market Square Farmers’ Market! I’ll be there with the coffee wagon in the usual spot up near the stage with all the current selections ready to serve and bags of beans to take home. I’ll be looking forward to seeing everybody on what is forecast to be a very lovely day.

Also, iced coffee! The Three Bears Coffee Cold Brew has become a huge hit at the Farmers’ Market. It’s also currently available at Just Ripe and starting soon you’ll be able to enjoy it in a cocktail at the Public House(!).

In other news, Just Ripe now carries the Honduras COMSA coffee in bulk. This coffee is a medium roast with a mild brightness and milk chocolate and honey sweetness. The COMSA growers have made great strides recently in combating La Roya, which is devastating many Central American coffee farms. Their approach has been more holistic and organic, and so far more effective. You can read more about this coop and their efforts here: http://dailycoffeenews.com/2013/10/28/materia-gris-how-one-honduran-cooperative-is-winning-the-fight-against-leaf-rust/

Three Bears Coffee has benefited so much from great word-of-mouth community support. Thanks to everybody who enjoys Three Bears and remember to tell all your friends!

See you at the Farmers’ Market!

This is just a quick reminder about the very first Winter Market at the Southern Railway Station this Saturday. There will be farm and food vendors inside the building and food trucks (including me) outside next to the tracks.
I’ll be brewing up a microlot from Honduras (one of the farms from the COMSA coop I’ve been buying from), as well as all the other favorites. For those interested, the Rwanda COOPAC will be back for the February Winter Market.
Come out, say hello, get some coffee, and enjoy!

The 2013 market season is almost over. There are only two more chances to come see me in the coffee wagon before the new year, but there are some other developments in Three Bears availability that I’ll mention as well.
First up is tomorrow night (Thursday Dec 19) on Union Avenue in Downtown Knoxville for the Daylight Nights Block Party. This event runs from 5pm to 8pm and has been great fun the last two months. There will be lots of food trucks and last minute shopping opportunities and I’ll have cups of coffee to keep you warm and plenty of bags of beans for stocking stuffers.
The last Market Square Holiday Market is this Saturday, December 21, from noon to 7pm. Market Street and Union Avenue will be filled with some of the region’s finest arts and crafts along with tasty food and baked goods. And great coffee from Three Bears. Again, I’ll be serving up hot coffee (and my famous cold brewed iced coffee) and I’ll have lots of pounds of beans to brew for yourself over the holidays.
As you may have heard, there is a new Winter Market at the Southern Station that has just been announced. Three Bears Coffee is very excited to be part of this new market which will be from 10am til 2pm on the second Saturdays of January, February, March, and April in 2014. Nourish Knoxville (the group that puts on the amazing Market Square Farmers’ Market) is helping to bring great local food to Downtown Knoxville all year round! I’ll be set up in the coffee wagon along with Knoxville’s favorite food trucks right outside the entrance so you can grab a bite and a coffee on your way inside to shop. That’s right, an indoor winter market. Sounds good, yes?
Lastly, but certainly not least, some super exciting news, especially for all my Maryville folks. The Market at Washington & High (aka The Market in Maryville) is carrying Three Bears Coffee! They will have the Honduras COMSA, the Bali Kintamani, the Brazil Poco Fundo, and my IKA Sumatra Decaf in one pound bags. I’m really excited to be making my coffee debut in my old hometown, and I’m hoping that this will help bring Three Bears a little closer to some of my favorite people!
Thanks again to all my customers, fans, and friends. I’m so happy to have all the support and I’m glad to know that people around here can enjoy some of the best coffee in the world. Happy Holidays and here’s to an even better New Year!