About Us
Coffee is a drink to be shared with friends... Or at least with cake!
Wake the Land Coffee
About Us
Zack and Cristy live in Berne, Indiana with their three children, Avery, Elsie, and Milam. They met in high school and became friends, played in a band together, and got married in 2006. From music, to ministry, to coffee, they strive to put their heart into everything they do. Not only are they trying to teach their children a strong work ethic and business model, they believe people are always more important than things. Everything they do is a means to create a trustworthy, dependable model to the people around them.
The Roasting story
Beginnings
In 2011, Zack had a growing interest in the process of roasting his own coffee. For Christmas, his wife, Cristy gave him his very first roasting kit. A stovetop popcorn popper, a thermometer, and some green coffee.
Next Step
He later moved on to a Behmore roaster. The roaster was great, but very limited in roasting quantity. For a short period of time, he roasted on two Behmore Roasters. A roasting room was established in their basement at this time, and a kitchen hood vent was installed to help vent the smoke.
Stepping Out
In the spring of 2016, Zack, Cristy, and their three children began selling roasted coffee at the Farmer’s Market in Berne, IN. Before long, they needed to be able to roast a larger quantity and a gas grill was then hijacked into a larger roaster. At first, materials were purchased and he made his own drum, but eventually he purchased a drum milled specifically for roasting on a grill. This worked well for a while, but controlling the roast was hard and when winter hit, it was nearly impossible to maintain the heat of the grill at an appropriate level.
Commercial roaster
In 2018, they purchased their first commercial roaster from Mill City Roasters. It was placed in the basement of their home. Stepping up to a commercial grade roaster opened the possibility for expansion into online and wholesale sales.
It was discovered that in order to grow, the roaster needed to be located outside of their main dwelling, so Zack and Cristy embarked on an adventure to build a roasting shed on their property. The shed was completed in the summer of 2021.
New Beginnings
Coffee is more than just something to drink
Coffee is a catalyst for relationship...
We believe relationship with Jesus Christ should be first and foremost. This allows people to step out beyond themselves and develop relationships with other people in order to shape the world around us. Coffee is just one of the ways to bridge the gap.