Umble Coffee Company brings fresh coffee to Starkville
Dr. Kenneth Thomas, a urologist at Thomas Urology Clinic in Starkville, has found a new passion in life — bringing freshly roasted coffee to the community — through his new business Umble Coffee Company.
Thomas said Umble Coffee Company is an online, subscription-based coffee company, primarily focused on providing individuals and businesses with fresh coffee.
“The grocery store is the right place for a lot of things, but for coffee it’s really not, because a lot of the coffee that you get isn’t fresh,” Thomas said. “A lot of it has best by dates three or even six weeks from the roast date. For coffee you should really be drinking it three weeks from when it was roasted to get the benefits of it.”
Thomas said the benefits include not only a better quality taste, but health benefits including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
“Black coffee has more antioxidants than a cup of red wine or a cup of green tea,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know that coffee is super high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidants. The fresher it is, the better. That’s why an online subscription that comes to you in the mail is a great way to get some good quality coffee and optimize on the health aspects of it.”
Thomas was able to use the skills he learned during his time as a chemical engineering undergrad at Misssissippi State University to learn about the roasting process for his coffee, which he roasts himself.
Umble Coffee Company offers four different varieties of coffee: Noble 8 Breakfast Blend, Roaster’s Crow House Blend, Wolf’s French Roast and Druthers Decaf.
Customers can sign up online at umblecoffee. com, select the coffee and grind and then set up the frequency of delivery. Delivery is free and it can be cancelled at any time. Frequency and type of coffee can also be changed at any time.
Thomas said Umble Coffee Company coffee is also available at 929 Coffehouse and Central Station Grill during brunch.
“I have a heart for Starkville and our community, so anybody or anywhere I can get it to, I’d love to,” Thomas said.
Thomas, who said he was always a coffee lover, said he was first inspired to begin roasting his own coffee after trying freshly-roasted coffee for the first time and wanting to learn more.
“I never knew what a fresh cup of coffee, a recently-roasted, specialty-grade cup of coffee could taste like,” he said. “It tastes a million times different than the more common coffee that we get. It was like a light bulb moment for me. I had it and I could never go back.”
Thomas said he was also inspired by his mother, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last May, which she passed away from several months later.
“The anti-inflammitories and antioxidants don’t cure cancer by any means, but it is a healthier move for lowering risks for cancer among other means,” he said.
Thomas was also able to sell his mother Faye Thomas his first bag of coffee for only $1, which he said is something that will always be special to him.