ELEVATOR PITCH
At Civilized Coffee it is not just about sourcing and roasting great coffee—it is about creating a culture around the brand. Northeast Florida has a very strong environment and support system for Coffee and Tea. Their reason to take this small business global was to bring awareness to their Brand and to Jacksonville where they call home. Mark and Jeff have one simple rule: “Settle for nothing but the best!”—from customer satisfaction to the coffee beans they import.
The company holds a reputable reputation for its experience and continued work with sustainable farmers and supply chains. Green Arabica coffee is sourced from amazing coffee capitals of the world— Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia and other classic regions. They test (cup) all of their coffees before they can even make it to their 40,000sqft warehouse on Dennis Street in Northwest Jacksonville.
They have customers from all 50 states, Caribbean, Europe and Military bases in the Middle East. They specialize in E-commerce from their website to Amazon—this allows them to get freshly roasted coffee directly to their customers.
THE STORY
Coffee is a universal custom, thousands of years old yet always a new and invigorating experience. Thomas Jefferson called coffee, “the favorite drink of the civilized world.” Mark and Jeff believe this tradition, borrowed and shared across many cultures, has the power to unite and inspire. We hope our coffees are enjoyed over-civilized conversations between friends both dear and different, all over the world.
For Jeff, it was solely his passion to source superb coffee that led him to East Africa where he stumbled across local small-scale farmers. It was on this journey that Jeff learnt that the native farmers were clued up on their land’s climate and agricultural traditions so he used that as an opportunity to work alongside them. This mutual relationship is beneficial to farmers as it supports their cultures, preferences and continued economic success. Jeff experiments with coffee blends in the kitchen to ensure only the smoothest, finest and most sought after coffee combinations are produced.
In the process, Civilized Coffee, has cultivated strong relationships with individual producers and co-ops throughout the world. By trading in a transparent way, they have been given the chance to obtain a very high-quality standard and a fair price from farmer to consumer.
Mark Patterson (CEO) forms the other part of the coffee-duo. Patterson has an unbeatable passion for the food and beverage industry. He uses his extensive business in sales and marketing experience to continue to grow Civilized Coffee. The company is constantly expanding and introducing new product lines to include Espresso Powder, Instant Coffee, and even Matcha Powder.
INNOVATIONS
Quality Control at Civilized Coffee starts with the farmer and ends when the customer brews their coffee. They pride themselves on being part of the supply chain from the start to finish. Inspecting the green coffee bean to the roasted coffee that goes into the bag there are no short cuts to quality.
FUTURE FORWARD
The future has a delectable aroma for this innovative startup called Civilized Coffee—can you smell it? Mark and Jeff are always searching for what is next – have they found a coffee or tea source from another great region; are they partnering with another company to expand their product offering; or are they putting together their latest gift box?
