Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Scales.
Laura, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always wanted to run my own business. As a kid, it was a craft shop, then a bookshop. As I got older – and more caffeinated, it turned into a coffee shop.
After I received my B.A. from Murray State University, I entered PR jobs and eventually navigated into the marketing world.
I spent a decade building the reputations of some of the largest brands in the greater Memphis area, but eventually, I reached a point where I wanted to grow my own brand.
I spent a couple of years daydreaming about working for myself. Those daydreams turned to articles, podcasts, and other online resources focused on entrepreneurship. I kept going back to coffee, and I ultimately landed on coffee roasting.
About the time my roaster arrived and was set up, COVID hit and the world shut down. What I thought would be a hobby or even a side hustle became my primary focus. I was supposed to attend an in-depth training with the manufacturer of my roaster, but that got postponed -and postponed again. I was faced with putting my plans on hold indefinitely, or teaching myself and hoping I didn’t burn my house down.
So I dusted off my high school chemistry knowledge and returned to online resources for help. I found great coffee mentors all over the world to help me brainstorm and troubleshoot. There was a lot of trial and error, but that was the real fun of it. At any given time, my coffee bar was buried behind a dozen pounds of roasted coffee beans from all over the world and roasted to various profiles.
I settled on sourcing organic and fair trade beans, and prioritizing purchases from women producers all over the world. I developed a relationship with a Mississippi-based importer who has taken my preferences and introduced me to farmers and co-ops that I otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
At the same time, I began developing my brand. I had long settled on Athena Coffee Roasters. The name combines my love of Greek mythology with my business goal: to uplift and empower women around the world. I worked with David Maddox, a very talented Memphis designer who loves Greek mythology as much as I do, to create the logo. He did a fantastic job of telling my brand story through one central image.
In summer 2020, Athena Coffee Roasters set up at my first farmers market, the Olive Branch Farmers Market. We started with two blends: Persephone and Eos. In keeping with my theme, my blends get goddess names. Persephone is the goddess of Springtime. She is sweet and mild, Eos is the Titan goddess of dawn, and she gives you a loud and bright morning pep talk.
Over that summer, we began to offer single origins at the market too. Athena Coffee Roasters developed a small following online and had several regular customers at the Olive Branch Market. By fall 2020, as the Olive Branch market was winding down for the season, we expanded to the Oxford Community Market. Later that year, we released another blend called Artemis, named after the goddess of the hunt because she kills it in every brewing style.
Athena Coffee Roasters continued with its presence at both the Olive Branch Farmers Market and the Oxford Community Market throughout 2021 and released another blend: Aergia, goddess of idleness and therefore our decaffeinated blend. We also made some splash appearances in Memphis in 2021. We participated in the Memphis Flyer’s Crafts and Drafts event in October, as well as the Memphis Farmers Market’s holiday markets in November and December.
For 2022, we have a very packed year. Not only will we continue at the Olive Branch and Oxford markets, but we are also doing the full season of the Memphis Farmers Market too. Additionally, we are participating in the Collierville Farmers Market, which runs May 26 – Sept. 29, and Germantown Farmers Market, starting June 16 – Aug. 25.
We just secured our manufactured goods certification from the FDA. We are now working with local coffee shops and grocery stores to bring our products to their customers. We are also launching our online shop in the coming weeks.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Anytime you are learning something new, you have bumps. Lots of bumps.
But I like to call those “learning opportunities.” As I said, I had to teach myself to roast in the midst of a global pandemic, and I largely learned through trial and error. But I felt like a mad scientist at times, learning how much region, elevation, and harvest method play into bean development through the roasting process.
If I didn’t give myself the freedom to be creative and make mistakes, I wouldn’t be so good at creating blends or even roasting single origins to their best profiles.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Athena Coffee Roasters is known for specialty roasted coffee beans. It is a woman-owned business, and all beans are roasted by a woman. We source organic and fair trade coffee beans from around the world and prioritize green bean purchases from women producers.
Our mission is to uplift and empower women around the world. We offer a variety of single origins and blends. Our blend names follow our brand name, in that each blend gets a goddess name. To date, we have four blends: Persephone, Eos, Artemis, and Aergia.
We believe that small business is the backbone of healthy, thriving communities and want to partner with local shops and retailers to offer our products.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love how self-aware and unapologetic Memphis is. This city is nothing if not authentic. I love the people. I love the food. And I love the Grizzlies!
But Memphis is not without its share of problems. I want Memphians to be empowered. I want them to thrive! I would love to see the small business world, especially the micro-business world, just explode in this community.
Think about it: by supporting a local business, your money is staying in your community. It’s being reinvested where you live, eat and educate.
Contact Info:
- Email: athenacoffeeroasters@gmail.com
- Website: athenacoffeeroasters.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athenaroasters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athenaroasters
