How artisanal coffee roasting came to the Nature Coast
If you’re looking for delicious coffee, satisfying hand-made pastries, and warm, welcoming faces, look no further than Brooksville’s Mountaineer Coffee! With a location in downtown Brooksville, Mountaineer Coffee makes a great place to stop and refuel before continuing to explore the area. And if downtown Brooksville isn’t your scene, Mountaineer Coffee has a second location in New Port Richey, nestled between the downtown area and beautiful Sims Park.
I got the opportunity to sit down and talk with Mountaineer co-founder Darby Pritz about the shop’s origins, its most popular snack, and the decision to roast and grind all their coffee in-house. Darby shared with me that “building a relationship with the community through our passion for specialty coffee” was their goal. I have to say, from experience of how this shop is run, they definitely meet that expectation. It seems like nothing is more important to this shop than community, and their passion for specialty coffee surely shines through.
Darby and her husband, Daniel, started Mountaineer Coffee after a year of running a different coffee shop where they bought coffee beans from a specialty roaster. They then bought a small roaster and started roasting their own coffee under the Mountaineer name. This roasting journey began in 2013, and after three years of perfecting the art, the couple decided to open the first Mountaineer Coffee in downtown Brooksville. The rest is history!
To this day, they still roast their beans daily inhouse at the Brooksville location, and you can taste the difference.
SOURCING
Darby and Daniel source their raw coffee beans through personal connections they have made in the coffee trade industry, friends like award-winning coffee bean producers Herbert Peñaloza Correa and Anna Maria Mustafá in Colombia and some specialty grade importers from Africa. What makes them decide to source from these locations, you might ask? They always cup (taste) samples of the highest-quality coffees from around the world before choosing what to offer their customers. That means you never have to worry about getting anything less than the best.
THE BAKERY SIDE
When Darby and Daniel first opened Mountaineer Coffee, they decided to focus more on the coffee aspect of the business and less on the bakery side. They fell in love with locally made pop tarts from the very popular Weeki Wachee Candy Co. Bakery and Café in Spring Hill, so they brought them in. Anyone who has ever been inside of a Mountaineer Coffee has at least gazed at these wonderful, glistening pastries as they tantalize from within their glass case. It is a simple and fun snack to enjoy with your coffee. Get there early to get yours!
NATURAL NIGHTS
Holding true to their love of community and all things natural and local, Mountaineer Coffee hosts an event called “Natural Nights” every Friday and Saturday night from 6 to 10:30pm. These events include the sale of natural wines by the glass, craft beers, and rotating food trucks. Darby said she was inspired to create Natural Nights to share her love of natural wines with the community. Natural Nights provides the perfect opportunity to check out either location and get the full experience of what Mountaineer Coffee has to offer.
Mountaineer Coffee has two locations along the Nature Coast:
26 Broad Street in Brooksville
6322 Bank Street in New Port Richey.
