'Hot' Coffee Guru Dave's Pairs With Yellow House

In the scheme of things, it may not be that big of a deal. Then again, maybe it is.  

Yellow House in Stonington Borough has served the same coffee brand for the past 17 years. And that’s cool because, as owner Shanna Geary said, it was great coffee. But, she felt, it was time for a change. And, she said, it gave her the chance to help support the local economy and choose a coffee that is roasted especially for its drinkers. Every day. No, not just brewed but roasted and then delivered, blends created especially for Yellow House and its customers.  

Dave’s Coffee of Westerly and Charlestown RI was the choice.

“Small local businesses, we have to help each other,” Geary said. “Dave’s has such a great reputation and the coffee is one of a kind, really amazing. This was an easy choice.”  

Dave’s Coffee is craft-roasted in Westerly by hand in a small, gas-fired roaster where the roast masters have “complete control over every aspect” of the process. Dave’s can roast from 30 to 700 pounds of certified organic coffee a day. According to Dave Lanning himself, and his website, roasters “follow the progress of every batch and log time and temperature details every minute” until the final few moments when, “the flavors have been brought out and the natural sugars have begun to caramelize making a sweet, smooth, delicious coffee.”  

Dave’s has become the darling of many a barista and coffee purveyor and his syrups have been featured in Food & Wine, on the Food Network and online at BuzzFeed among myriad others.  

When asked about partnering with Yellow House, Lanning said, “It’s awesome.”   “So glad to finally be in the Borough, though local Stonington people already know us, now they can enjoy it closer to home.”  

Lanning visited with Geary and her staff to train them in the ‘art’ of preparing Dave’s Coffee.  

“I think it’s important,” Lanning said, adding, “we can have the best coffee but if it’s not prepared, brewed correctly,” well, it is just coffee. There’s technique involved, he said.  

Geary said she’s excited about the fact that Dave’s is preparing proprietary blends just for Yellow House: the Borough Blend and the Yellow House Blend.  

“We’re really excited and we’ve already gotten a great response from people. They know what Dave’s is and they’re happy we have it.”