Malt Grains Inspire New Coffee Flavor
By GWEN MICKELSON
Sentinel staff writer

SCOTTS VALLEY—Years ago, Linda Welsh took a tour of a brewery, and when she caught the aroma of the grains being roasted in the beer-making process, she thought it smelled better than anything she had ever smelled before.

Welsh, who has run an online home-brew and winemaking supply business called Corks & Kegs since 1999, thinks the memory of that scent may have been the inspiration for her new product, a line of coffees flavored with brewing malt grains.

Linda Welsh has expanded her online brew and wine supply business to offer coffees flavored with brewing malt grains. (Dan Coyro / Sentinel)

Called WelshSpirit to play upon the owner’s name and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as to tie into her other business that centers around the making of spirits, the coffee is nonalcoholic and does not taste like beer.

"Home-brewers have long put the flavor of coffee into home-brew, especially in the darker beers," said Welsh. "I thought, ‘Why not go the other direction?’ "

In 2002, Welsh was laid off from her high-tech job and had more time to focus on the online home-brew supply business. Then last year, when she found her sales dipping, she decided to develop the brewing-grain-flavored coffee idea and introduce what she says is a unique product.

"I did some test marketing and got some strange looks," she says, referring to people’s reaction to flavoring coffee with brewer’s malt. "There were some naysayers along the way, but for me, that’s like waving a red cape in front of a bull."

She contacted flavor-development companies and found one in New York, Technology Flavors & Fragrances, that was interested in working with her. They sent samples of flavors meant to complement the subtle taste of brewing malts, and Welsh experimented to develop the product to her liking. She then went to coffee roasters to work out the flavor-infusion and roasting process, eventually choosing Oregon Coffee Roaster to handle the roasting and shipping of her product.

Within about a one-year time frame, Welsh had a product she thought was ready to sell, and she added it to her Web site and started taking orders.

"I didn’t want a storefront of my own," said Welsh, who has had multiple businesses in the past and says she’s always been an entrepreneur at heart, even when she’s had a full-time job. "Having an Internet business, I can have a Web developer in Hawaii, my Web hosting in Canada, run my business in Santa Cruz and have customers worldwide."

Her business model allows her to keep very little inventory on hand. Because she wants to ship the freshest possible coffees, distribution is handled by the roaster, which ships the same day.

Welsh projects sales this year from all lines of her Internet business to be about $200,000. Looking forward, her mid-range sales projections are $1 million.

The coffee is only available on the Corks & Kegs Web site, but Welsh says she is expanding into the wholesale market locally and hopes to make her product available at New Leaf Community Markets and other area retailers soon.

The coffee is available in two flavors, Hot Berry Cobbler and Malted Hazelnut Cream, and sells via the Web for $10 per pound, plus shipping.

Contact Gwen Mickelson at gmickelson@santacruzsentinel.com.

OWNER: Linda Welsh.

LOCATION: Scotts Valley.

NEW PRODUCT: Gourmet coffees flavored with brewing malt grains.

INTERESTING FACT: Ten percent of the profit on all sales of WelshSpirit coffee are donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Phone (408) 234-4277
LJWelsh@corkskegs.com