{"id":8038,"date":"2019-03-01T19:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T03:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=8038"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:50:42","slug":"kamiak-coffee","status":"private","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2019\/03\/01\/kamiak-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"Private: Kamiak Coffee: A Globally Better Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Grant Schoenlein and\u00a0Kyle O’Malley, Kamiak Coffee cofounders<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kamiak Coffee Company: Helping Brew a Better Cup<\/h1>\n

By Meagan Garrett<\/h2>\n
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Schoenlein and O’Malley showcase Kamiak Coffee products<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As WSU freshmen, Kyle O’Malley (Fin., Ent. ’17) and Grant Schoenlein (Fin. ’16) knew before they graduated they didn’t want to follow a traditional career path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pitched an idea for an on-campus roastery to Elson S. Floyd,\u201d says O\u2019Malley. \u201cI envisioned a specialty caf\u00e9 space that also sold product, much like Ferdinand\u2019s does with their shop, but with coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The on-campus roastery didn\u2019t happen, but the idea stuck with him. O\u2019Malley says he always knew that if he started a business, he would want it to have a global impact.<\/p>\n

He soon met Schoenlein who was studying finance, and the pair began honing their business skills, gaining guidance from the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> (CES) and experience from the CES Business Plan Competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Business Plan Competition was the best thing I ever did in college,\u201d says O\u2019Malley. \u201cIt was the hardest I\u2019d ever worked and the most time I\u2019d put in to anything that wasn\u2019t for a grade, but it was the most valuable time I spent.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley and Schoenlein developed their craft coffee idea (think fancy beer, but with coffee beans) fairly easily. Being coffee lovers and “constant connoisseurs” unable to find a better cup, they decided to roast their own beans. From that decision, the two left their jobs in 2018 to become business partners in the world of specialty coffee roasting.<\/p>\n

Together, they launched Kamiak Coffee Company<\/a> in Moscow, Idaho.<\/p>\n

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Beans from the Democratic Republic of Congo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Building an ethical, international company<\/h3>\n

O’Malley and Schoenlein created a business philosophy that would govern the global practices and interactions of the company. Kamiak imports raw beans (green coffee) ethically sourced from farmers who implement environmentally responsible coffee growing practices. The coffee is specialty grade, meaning it contains zero defects in a 200\u2013300 gram sample. It is also certified \u201cfree trade,\u201d meaning buyers pay above commodity price for the beans they import, and farmers are paid a fair wage for their product.<\/p>\n

Only 1 percent of coffee grown in the world meets these criteria.<\/p>\n

Kamiak specifically seeks out farmers who grow incredible specialty coffee, but also have incredible stories. They are currently roasting a coffee that comes from a farm in the Democratic Republic of Congo where 25 percent of the farmers are widows of the civil war in that country. The developing coffee economy has given these women and families a way to heal and recover economic security. Another coffee currently available on their seasonally rotating menu is from a cooperative farm in Colombia run by 140 women banding together to bring economic security to their region.<\/p>\n

A grounded future<\/h3>\n

Today, Kamiak does business with more than 70 suppliers from across the globe and has a retail and wholesale customer base that grows daily.<\/p>\n

Their vision for the future growth of the company remains grounded by three main values:<\/p>\n