About Us

Coffee Memphis is Robert and Stephanie Scrivener, along with our six kids that love to help out! 

Robert here: I grew up in a little city in the muggy Mississippi Delta, far from malls, coffee shops, and cool places to hang out. During college, I quickly found out I couldn't afford $5 fancy coffee every day, so I resorted to buying whole beans from grocery stores and small shops! It became painfully apparent that most coffee available on the shelf isn't very fresh, and is usually roasted to oily black cigar ash oblivion. Thanks to Myspace, I met Stephanie in 2006 while studying at Delta State University, and subsequently moved to Memphis to marry her and start a new career as an aircraft mechanic.  In 2015, I was temporarily assigned to maintain a company turboprop stationed in Plattsburgh, New York, for two weeks. While I was there, I found a local coffee roastery, Adirondack Coffee Roasters. The family running it was very kind, and eagerly showed me around their roasting room when I asked to see how it was done! I had one specific request: 

"I'd like to get the freshest coffee beans you have!" 

As it turns out, fresh roasted coffee offgasses CO2, a lot! The first Aeropress brew I made with that coffee bloomed so high it completely overflowed the press and made a huge mess all over the hotel lobby coffee and tea table, much to my embarrassment. That was the start of my coffee roasting hobby, which I dove in to with a thrift store popcorn popper and a sample pack of green African coffee. Unfortunately I found that African coffees require a deft touch at the roaster and can be an acquired taste. I thought that was some of the nastiest coffee I'd ever had! 

Here we are, almost a decade later, launching a coffee roasting business, as a natural extension of my interest in finding and sharing consistently great coffee. Coffee is a lot like underwear and deodorant - it's intensely personal! So it's a real compliment to hear from customers and friends who enjoy the coffee I roast. None of this would happen without the constant support and encouragement from Stephanie, who has been after me to sell coffee for several years now! She runs all of the website, marketing, and social media, and is a great partner and friend. This business wouldn't be possible without her hard work and insight!