The Founding of Zelie Beans Coffee

The Founding of Zelie Beans Coffee

I have always loved coffee. I still remember my first cup, at eight or nine years old — loaded with cream and sugar, of course, but I really liked it. By high school, coffee had become part of how I saw a new place. When my parents took us skiing in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, or New Mexico, the first thing I did in every new town was hunt down the local coffee shop and order my favorite drink at the time: a café mocha.

The summer before my senior year of high school, I landed a job at a local coffee shop in Tomball, Texas. I worked there on and off for the next five years, until I entered seminary for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

While studying at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, I still wanted good coffee — but my budget wouldn't stretch to the coffees I really wanted. That was when I discovered home roasting. I could buy raw, green coffee and roast it myself, giving me better coffee to enjoy and to share with my brother seminarians.

Fast forward a few years. I discerned out of seminary, spent time with the Salesians of Don Bosco, and moved back to Houston, where I worked in youth ministry. I met my wife, we married, and we welcomed two daughters, with a third on the way. She taught high school Theology in Catholic education while I worked in youth ministry — and through all of it, I kept roasting coffee for the two of us. As our family grew, we began talking about side hustles to supplement our income, and my wife suggested I sell the coffee I was already roasting. Honestly, I thought it was a crazy idea. But, as the dutiful husband, I told her I'd look into it.

My investigation wasn't promising. Getting the right equipment and setup to roast coffee for sale is not an inexpensive endeavor. So I brought it to God in prayer: if you want this to happen, you'll need to help me find a way. That very same day, I was having a coffee at a new local shop and roaster. I had met the owner once or twice, and when I saw him I decided to ask a few questions. As we talked, he began asking questions of his own. Then he said, "You can roast here and store your green coffee here if you want." I was stunned. "Are you serious? You'll let me roast here?" He confirmed it — all he asked was that I take a few of the classes he offered.

That was it. I was going to open a coffee roasting business.

Next came the name — and I knew that if I was going to start a business, I wanted a vision and a mission to guide it. One night, while holding our second daughter, Zelie, in my arms, I called her "Zelie Bean." I turned to my wife and said, "That's the name of the business — Zelie Beans Coffee!" She simply replied, "And what are you going to say when Evelyn asks why there isn't an Evelyn's Beans Coffee?" I told her I would figure something out for our oldest.

With a place to roast and a name in hand, I began to shape the vision and mission. I knew that if I was going to build a business, I wanted it to rest on a strong Catholic foundation. With St. Zelie as our patroness, we would be family-focused. And from my time with the Salesians of Don Bosco, I had seen how young people so often leave struggling farming communities for the glamour of the city — a move that too frequently pulls them away from their families and their faith. As I talked this through with the friend who designed our logo, a phrase came to us: "Families Helping Families Through Specialty Coffee." Right then, that became our mission. I knew that if we sourced our coffee well — making sure the families growing, picking, and processing it were paid fairly — we could help give them real hope for their future.

First official roasting class circa 2018

That was almost eight years ago now. It was only a side hustle for the first year, until God made it clear that I needed to pursue it full time. It has not been easy, and my family and I have had to sacrifice a great deal. But every time I feel ready to be done, I ask God — and once again He makes it very clear that this is still what He wants me to do.