This Veterans Day, check out these two southwest Illinois coffee roasters owned by vets
There’s an easy (and tasty) way to give to organizations that help support veterans and military families this Veterans Day and beyond.
All you have to do is enjoy a cup of coffee from one of these two veteran-owned roasters.
Heart2Heart Coffee, LLC, a veteran owned and operated, small batch coffee roasting company in Belleville, donates 100% of its profits to charities that help veterans, children and others in need.
U.S. Air Force veteran Kyle Clark, owner and CEO of Heart2Heart Coffee, created the company in 2018 while living in San Antonio, Texas, for the sole purpose of giving back to the community.
The story behind the business began a few years earlier.
It all started with a little girl named Sydney.
Clark and his wife, Colleen, were expecting their first child in 2015. Their daughter, Sydney, was diagnosed in utero at 27 weeks with a congenital heart defect (CHD), said Clark.
Doctors monitored Sydney’s condition through the rest of the pregnancy. Two weeks before she was born, an echocardiogram was done, and the expectation was that she would have open heart surgery shortly after her birth.
Just after Sydney was born, her pediatric cardiologist performed another echocardiogram, Clark said. The results showed that Sydney’s ventricular septal defect, a hole in the wall that separates the two lower chambers of the heart, had sealed itself. Open heart surgery was no longer needed.
Sydney still had surgery post birth and underwent a balloon angioplasty at three days old. Clark said this was Sydney’s only surgery, and now at 6 years old, she has thrived ever since.
During Sydney’s ordeal, the Clarks joined a local CHD support group, which Clark said was “just fantastic.” The support they received from the group not only helped them through a difficult time, it made them realize that they wanted to “create something to just give back,” said Clark.
They created Heart2Heart Coffee to do that.
Clark was already developing an interest in roasting coffee. He started to experiment at home, roasting beans in a small roaster on the back porch. Results from the first couple of weeks were “really bad,” said Clark.
Eventually, the coffee got better, and he started sharing it at the request of family and friends.
In December 2018, Clark realized that coffee could be what allows him to engage with other people. Heart2Heart Coffee, LLC, was then incorporated.
In 2019, coffee was delivered by hand, with Sydney’s help. Clark would often deliver coffee somewhere and then spend the next hour or so talking with the customer. He strongly believes that his business is about the people, not the profits.
All profits from the sale of the coffee go to organizations selected by the Clarks, most of them involving CHD, veterans, military members and their families.
“Sydney is at the center of it all so we don’t forget why we do this,” said Clark.
Heart2Heart is not a nonprofit organization. It’s a for-profit company that donates its profits to “morally, ethically sound nonprofits,” said Clark, adding that they want the business to support these organizations, not compete with them. “There is no reason to fight for funding.”
The Clarks moved from San Antonio to Belleville in June 2020. Today, Clark operates Heart2Heart within 4204 Main Street Brewing Company at 6435 W. Main St. in Belleville.
Around mid-July, a new coffee roaster was delivered. Describing the shiny red Diedrich IR-5 roaster as “the Maserati of roasters,” Clark is able to roast up to 11 pounds of coffee per batch.
In addition to Clark, the company is run by two others: Corporate Branding Director Kahla Pocatek, who works out of Nashville, Tennessee, and Chief Strategy Officer Keith Porter.
Clark said he plans to hire more people in the future.
Where to purchase Heart2Heart Coffee:
Online at heart2heartcoffee.com
Local Lucy’s – 310 E. Main St., Belleville
Millstadt IGA – 625 E. Washington St., Millstadt
Roasting Operations (inside 4204 Main Street Brewing Co.) – 6435 W. Main St., Belleville – pickup orders only
In September, Heart2Heart started offering private tasting events at the Roasting Operations facility. Virtual tasting events are also held (check out the Facebook page for upcoming events). For more information or to book an event, email info@heart2heartcoffee.com.
To learn more about Heart2Heart Coffee, visit the website or the Facebook page.
Folds of Honor benefits from this coffee roaster
Commitment Coffee offers craft-roasted coffees in a variety of flavors and gives half of all net profits to the organization Folds of Honor, “to provide educational scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen and severely disabled service men and women,” according to its website.
The company was founded by Brian Lester, of Smithton, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a six-year veteran of the service, according to a recent press release.
Lester started the company to honor the memory of Capt. Matthew “Burney” Bancroft, a Navy classmate and best friend. Bancroft and six others were killed on Jan. 9, 2002, while piloting a KC-130 tanker aircraft during Operation Enduring Freedom, the release states.
Burney left behind a wife and newborn daughter. Lester and other friends contributed to her college fund over the 18 years that followed.
Helping other veterans and their families continues through Commitment Coffee. The business’ launch was announced on the business’ Facebook page on May 1, 2020, the first day of Military Appreciation Month. The website went live later that month.
In its early social media posts, Commitment Coffee included information about three product lines with 10 coffee varieties:
Origins – the ultimate drinking experience for the most discriminating coffee lover
Blends – our proprietary blends reveal underlying complexity that showcase our dedication to premium, crafted coffees
Flavors – infused with natural flavors to elevate the aroma and taste profile
Among the choices are coffees sourced from specific regions including Tanzania, Kenya, Guatemala, Columbia and Ethiopia, blends like Burney’s Blend, Reveille, Five Star Blend and Bridge Watch Blend, and flavors like bourbon pecan, caramel créme and pumpkin spice.
Coffees are available in whole bean and ground, with most available in decaf versions.
Customers can purchase coffee on the Commitment Coffee website. Shipping is free for local orders – within a seven-mile radius of downtown Smithton.
Commitment Coffee products are also available online via Market Wagon, which focuses on a farm-to-table concept by operating as an “online farmers market,” stated the release.
For more information about Commitment Coffee, call 314-282-7111 or visit commitmentcoffee.com or facebook.com/commitmentcoffee.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
