With opening on the horizon, Uptown Hearth is now roasting its own coffee

Matthew Bussard carefully weighs coffee beans, making sure the blend of coffee is just right before loading it into the roaster.

There are different blends for each variety — Half Moon, Nucleus, Railroad — all named after streets in and around Columbia Falls.

The coffees come from all over the world, Bussard and partner Chas Brandt noted recently as they demonstrated the roasting process with their brand new roaster at Uptown Hearth.

Bussard, Brandt and his wife, Hillary Sheldon and Terri Feury have partnered in Uptown Hearth on Nucleus Avenue.

Feury founded Uptown Hearth in 2016 and Bussard joined in 2017 as the bakery’s coffee connoisseur.

But the pandemic wreaked havoc with restaurants and the decision was made to close the popular eatery in November 2020.

The partners then went to work on expansion plans, complete with a new building. When it opens later this summer or early fall (an exact date has yet to be set) the new facility will feature a brand new dining space with windows where one can watch Bussard and Brandt roast the very coffee they’re drinking through the window.

For now, Bussard and Brandt have set up the U.S.made roaster in the back of the old building as they carefully craft new blends.

Both have years of experience in the coffee industry. Brandt started roasting beans in his teens and Bussard worked at Montana Coffee Traders for nearly 10 years.

They’re currently selling their new roasts under the Uptown Hearth brand at Persimmon in Columbia Falls, Markus Foods in Whitefish and Third Street Market in Whitefish.

Spotted Bear Spirits uses Uptown Hearth Coffee in its coffee liqueur.

They continue to expand their distribution as well.

The process of roasting coffee is both scientific and fantastically fragrant.

The beans are carefully brought up to temperature where they first take on a blonde hue and smell like cereal. They then begin to brown and will pop as they fully roast into the beans that coffee drinkers are familiar with.

The whole process takes about 15 minutes a batch.

They source their beans from a distributor based in Minnesota, who gets the raw product from growers around the world, including Indonesia, Central South America and Africa — each with its own unique qualities and flavors.

Brandt likens growing coffee to growing grapes for fine wines. The soil, slope, climate and temperature all play huge roles in the quality of beans, he notes.

You might think that Brandt and Bussard always have a cup of brew in their hands — not so. They said they drink a couple of cups a day. The rest of coffee tasting is called cupping. Like wine tasting, you smell the coffee and then swirl it around in your mouth and then spit it out, to get the full flavor profile.

Right now, they’ve been roasting their blends a couple times a week, as they slowly build up their clientele.

They say now is the “golden age” of coffee, as beans from around the world are available. But climate change is a growing concern.

According to a recent study in The Guardian of London, climate change is already impacting coffee crops around the world, according to new research.

For example, in Tanzania, where 2.4 million people’s livelihoods rely on coffee, production has fallen by about 137 kilograms per hectare for every 1 degree Celsius rise in the minimum temperature on farms. Overall there has been a 50% decline there since the 1960s.

Coffee is not just a necessity for those looking for their morning kick start, it’s the backbone of agricultural economies across the globe.

So if they had one last cup, what would it be?

For Bussard, a simple cup of Nucleus espresso, made with an Aero Press. Ditto for Brandt.

Uptown Hearth isn’t just coffee and baked goods, however.

The upper two floors will offer short and long-term CoWorking office space for area businesses who don’t necessarily need a longterm lease.

Folks interested in Uptown Hearth’s coffee or rental space can contact staff directly through email at: hello@uptownhearth.com