About us
BIGGER THAN COFFEE
Our Story
HI, I’M DONOVAN, THE AVID COFFEE KID. IT ALL STARTED WHEN MY PARENTS RELUCTANTLY, (AFTER MUCH OF MY BEGGING), GAVE ME A SIP OF THEIR MORNING BREW. I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD, AND SINCE THEN HAVE PURSUED COFFEE THROUGH ROASTING AND BARISTA WORK FOR OVER 6 YEARS.
WHEN COVID-19 HIT, I LOST MY JOB AS A BARISTA WORKING AT SUNERGOS COFFEE IN LOUISVILLE, KY. AFTER ONE WEEK WITH NO JOB, A SPARK STARTED IN ME TO CREATE A WEBSITE FROM SCRATCH, THAT ONLY OFFERED HIGH END COFFEES FOR THE TRUE COFFEE LOVER. IN APRIL OF 2020, I STARTED MY SIP OF COFFEE, NOW CALLED, ITHMAH COFFEE.
Our mission
IT CAN'T JUST END AT A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE - I KNEW FROM THE START THIS HAD TO BE BIGGER. THAT'S WHY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WE'VE MADE OUR CHARITIES JUST AS IMPORTANT AS OUR COFFEE, WHERE EACH BAG DONATES TO OAK-LIFE.ORG, AND IF YOU LIVE IN INDIANA OR KENTUCKY YOU'LL DONATE TO ELEVATEINDY.ORG AND ORPHANCAREALLIANCE.ORG. THIS MEANS YOU'RE SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL YOUTH, AS WELL AS ORPHAN CARE ON A GLOBAL SCALE.
our coffee
THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD COFFEE OUT THERE. WHY ARE WE SPECIAL? WE SET THE BAR REALLY, REALLY HIGH FOR THE COFFEES WE OFFER TO YOU. EVERY COFFEE IS HAND SELECTED, ROASTED, SAMPLED, CUPPED, AND GRADED FOR QUALITY AND FLAVOR. IF I DON'T WANT TO DRINK IT, YOU WON'T SEE IT ON OUR SITE. WE OFFER EVERYTHING FROM CROWD PLEASERS TO EXOTIC AND RARE COFFEES. THIS ISN'T GRANDPAS CUP OF FOLGERS, THIS IS A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF COFFEES THAT ARE EXCITING, ADVENTUROUS, AND DOWNRIGHT FUN TO DRINK!
Our work
OUR TRUE GOAL IS VERY SIMPLE, BUT IS DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH WELL - TO OFFER COFFEES OF EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY, WHILE DOING GOOD IN THE WORLD. NOT JUST GOOD, BUT A REAL MISSION TO FUEL THE NEXT GENERATION. OUR THREE CHARITIES FOCUS ON ORPHAN CARE, FOSTER CARE, AND LOW INCOME YOUTH. TOGETHER THESE CHARITIES ARE POWERFUL, AND MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE ACROSS THE GLOBE, AND RIGHT DOWN TO YOUR COMMUNITY.
WHAT DRIVES US
BESIDES OUR CHARITIES, WHAT HAS DRIVEN ITHMAH FROM THE BEGINNING IS INNOVATION IN COFFEE. COFFEE HAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED ARTISTS AND ENGINEERS. FARMERS AND ROASTERS ARE EXPERIMENTING AND DISCOVERING NEW COFFEE PROCESSES AND METHODS THAT CREATE A MORE RARE AND ENJOYABLE CUP, BUT ALSO A MORE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT. THESE ACTIONS MOVE US TOWARDS FOURTH WAVE COFFEE, WHICH COMBINES EVEN BETTER QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR FARMERS AND CONSUMERS ALIKE.
Indianapolis and Louisville
Growing up around Louisville, almost everyone in the early 2000s had a "Keep Louisville Weird" bumper sticker on their cars. Even today, Louisville prides itself with an abundance of small business that offers unique and exclusive experiences.
In 2020, My wife and I decided to move to Indianapolis in search of something fresh and new from the familiarity of Kentuckiana. Dazzled by the bigger city, we got an apartment in Speedway and that's when I began roasting!
Three years into Indy, and I had bought two sample roasters, a coffee trailer, a 10lb air roaster, made connections, and lots more. On top of working in a downtown coffee shop "Commissary Barber and Barista" where I was head of coffee and training. It was a good season, but it was time to go back home to Louisville!
the rest is history!
WHAT'S NEXT
With our roastery setup in the Portland community of Louisville, we're excited to dive deeper into supporting the community through coffee and charity!
