Great coffee. Bad attitude. Absolutely no apologies.
Let’s get one thing straight.
The world didn’t need another coffee company. Especially one with a fancy name, overpriced beans, and some coffee snob describing delicate notes of Himalayan moonlight.
Oh, give me a damn break. We had a better idea.
Great coffee. Fair prices. Your rules.
Back in 1999, Mean Bean started with a dream, a coffee roaster, and a slightly unhealthy obsession with great coffee. We roasted small batches, experimented with flavors, and gave coffee away.
Then people started coming back for more. HELL YEAH! We were onto something.
Then this little smart-ass showed up.
Meet Mr. Mean Bean. Self-appointed Head Bully, Chief Troublemaker, and quite possibly the most obnoxious coffee bean ever to escape a burlap sack.
According to him, he was born a poor Colombian bean, trapped with a bunch of boring beans who were perfectly happy being ordinary. Not him. One day, BAM! Arms, legs, eyes, and that famous goofy grin.
He announced “SCREW THIS BAG. I’M GOING PLACES!”, landed at Mean Bean Coffee Roasters, declared himself Head Bully, and started taking credit for everything. We haven’t been able to shut him up since.
Galena, Illinois. Where the fun began.
In 2010, we opened our retail store and roastery in historic Galena, Illinois. We built a wall with over 60 coffee flavors, where customers could mix, match, and create their own blends.
Then came our famous A-Cup wall, over 100 flavors where you could build your own box, one cup at a time. YOU PICK ’EM. WE PACK ’EM. YOU DRINK ’EM.
Then life happened.
Family came first. We sold the Galena store to care for our parents and moved the roaster to the family farm in Sheffield, Illinois. We converted an old corn crib into a working coffee roastery.
No corporate headquarters. No boardroom full of suits. Just fresh-roasted coffee, real people, and one loudmouthed bean who thinks he’s the CEO. We let him believe it.
Over five million flavor combinations.
At Mean Bean, you don’t just buy coffee. YOU CREATE YOUR OWN DAMN MASTERPIECE. Choose your coffee. Pick up to five flavors. Name your creation. Design your label.
Want to call it My Ex Was a Bitter Bean? Mr. Mean Bean would probably buy a case.
So here’s the deal.
We’re not here to tell you how your coffee should taste. We’re here to give you the freedom to create something that’s yours.
Because around here... life’s too damn short for boring coffee.
