Our Story

Like most teenagers graduating from high school, Stu, our head roaster, got plugged into the prescribed formula of going to college, getting a degree, and then getting a job.  Enjoy your happily ever after story...

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But as Stu sat at his desk wondering what purpose in life there is in pushing papers and crunching numbers as a personal finance major, his mind often wandered.  At this point, he had been exposed to various craft coffee stores during his time living in the Northern Virginia metro area.  It turns out that not only did he have a love for consuming coffee but he was pretty darn good at brewing coffee himself.  So, during his sessions of mind vagrancy, the idea of running some sort of coffee store of his own became very appealing.  It wasn't long before a name began coming frequently to mind, and that name was the Cozy Carafe Coffee Company.

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Eight years later, Stu was finally able to shed the desk chains of corporate bondage and pursue his dream of opening Cozy Carafe Coffee Co.  However, not all dreams manifest as we expect.  There was a bit of tragedy, a bit of love, and plenty of laughter - as these stories often seem to contain - that gave Stu the push he needed to give his coffee dream "a shot" pun intended ;).

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While visiting his family in Chatham when he lived in Northern Virginia, Stu would always wake up a little earlier and sip coffee and chat with his father in the early hours of the morning before everyone got up.  Sometimes the topics were around life advice, sometimes they were a venting session, and sometimes they weren't about anything at all.  But, at the center of it all, coffee was the catalyst of so many deep and wonderful conversations.

Eventually, the Lord led Stu back to his hometown of Chatham, VA,  but shortly after moving back, his father was diagnosed with cancer that quickly claimed his life.  Although the loss of his father was a low and trying time of his life, Stu still aspires to help re-create the happy memories that center around coffee and his dad by making a good product available to more homes and people. 

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Stu was also inspired by other, more happy events.  During his best friend's wedding weekend, each day would begin with a pot of coffee and standing around the kitchen joking and laughing about the previous day's festivities.  He would often meet friends old and new at coffee shops, sharing wonderful times of fellowship and making new memories.  And who doesn't enjoy a mug of coffee while cozy in a rocking chair reading their book by the fireplace or rocking on the front porch?  Again, at the center of it all, was coffee.

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Seeing the beautiful memories that coffee either created or was a part of, Stu felt inspired to be a creator of the coffee that fostered so much community in his life.  Through a lot of research, more trial and error than you might think, and many many hours of self-teaching while watching coffee beans change from green to varying shades of brown in a roaster, many failed trials and horrible tasting/ gag-worthy batches of his first coffee roasts, Stu learned the intricacies of coffee roasting.  He can also not thank the coffee community and his wife enough for the support he received. All of this together has helped Cozy Carafe Coffee Co. bring a wonderful cup of coffee to your life

 

And now, we at Cozy Carafe Coffee Co. are honored to provide you with top-quality micro-batch freshly roasted coffee.

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Our mission is simple, to bring you joy, happiness, and a little pep to your step.

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Be well,

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Cozy Carafe Coffee Co.