From bean to brew, a coffee story

FRESH BREW: Michael Kapos, vice president of sales and marketing at Excellent Coffee, a family-owned business in Pawtucket. Two of Excellent Coffee’s staple brands are Ocean Coffee Roasters, an “ultra-premium, micro-roasted” coffee, and Downeast Coffee, which has been produced for nearly 60 years. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
FRESH BREW: Michael Kapos, vice president of sales and marketing at Excellent Coffee, a family-owned business in Pawtucket. Two of Excellent Coffee’s staple brands are Ocean Coffee Roasters, an “ultra-premium, micro-roasted” coffee, and Downeast Coffee, which has been produced for nearly 60 years. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Michael Kapos’ grandfather used to drive the family station wagon door to door selling Table Talk Pies in the 1950s, until one day – in ’53 – he started bringing roasted ground coffee to sell along his route. Eventually coffee would become his livelihood, the livelihood of his son and grandson, and a thriving Pawtucket business.
Excellent Coffee Co., at 259 East Ave., Pawtucket, is today a full-fledged wholesale coffee provider offering a wide variety of coffee to businesses, restaurants, retailers and coffee shops of all sizes throughout the region.
Kapos’ grandfather, also named Michael, originally sold coffee in Pawtucket and New Bedford, but eventually moved all operations to Pawtucket – hometown to his wife, Helen. The Kapos family sold pre-roasted and ground coffee throughout the region until the 1980s, when they built a roasting facility, which gave the business a boost.
“They would drive around Rhode Island soliciting diners and coffee shops trying to sell the coffee,” Kapos said, referring to his father, grandfather and great-uncle. “They slowly grew the business over time, and in the early ’80s they built the roasting facility, which really allowed us to step up and control our own destiny.”
Kapos, vice president of sales and marketing, runs the business with his father – who is also owner and CEO – William “Bill” Kapos. William was studying in college when his father suffered a stroke rendering him incapacitated.
“He came in full time and, although my grandfather worked in some capacities, my father really took over running the business,” Kapos said.
Excellent Coffee sources its beans directly from brokers and farmers. Kapos recently returned from a trip to Colombia, where he met with local coffee farmers to test products.
The majority of the coffee is sourced from Central and South America, but the family buys beans from several countries in Africa and even some rarer types from Asia as well.
Depending on the type and cost of the coffee bean, Excellent Coffee buys by the container, which can come in at about 40,000 pounds. Higher-end and more exotic brands are purchased by the bag, or pallet.
Once the beans reach Pawtucket, the Excellent Coffee team creates proprietary blends. They also continually experiment with new tastes, mixing different beans and roasts.
“We could be blending an African coffee with a South American coffee,” Kapos said. “We have those new [blends] that are always being developed, but we also have our staples and – as coffee taste changes – we develop with the times and try to be a pioneer in new technology and the likes of the consumer.”
Two of Excellent Coffee’s staple brands are Ocean Coffee Roasters, an “ultra-premium, micro-roasted” coffee, and Downeast Coffee, which has been produced for nearly 60 years.
You can’t buy an Excellent Coffee cup of joe at its Pawtucket headquarters, but some of its larger Rhode Island clients include T’s Restaurant, Newport Restaurant Group and Chow Fund Food Group, to name a few. It also distributes directly to various establishments along the Eastern Seaboard, and through food distributors around the country.
Johnson & Wales University uses Excellent Coffee’s products in lessons, which Kapos says gives the family business an added edge in the competition for up-and-coming culinary experts.
“There are a number of chefs who come out of school, and they give us a call,” Kapos said.
But the coffee business doesn’t come without challenges, and Kapos says Excellent Coffee is constantly adapting. Coffee, which is arguably the world’s most traded commodity after oil, is a volatile product subject to crop devastation and drought.
Kapos, however, says the wholesale industry is different because a damaged product typically affects him and his competitors the same, which he calls “exciting.”
“We’re all in the same boat,” Kapos said. “It’s not like the local hardware store where Lowe’s can come into town, making it more difficult. We can compete with any size coffee provider and we can compete very well.”
Kapos sees growth and expansion for the future.
“We want to be setting trends for the future and keep raising the bar on quality,” Kapos said. “Growth is definitely a priority. … We’re taking a hard look at branding and trying to bring it all together to set us up to make a real push and grow our name at the forefront of the coffee industry, and grow to be a national player.” •

COMPANY PROFILE
Excellent Coffee Co.
Owner: William Kapos
Type of Business: Coffee company
Location: 259 East Avenue, Pawtucket
Employees: 32
Year Established: 1953
Annual Sales: WND

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