For Wendy Tobergte, coffee is similar to bourbon: Both possess unique varieties of flavor profiles, in addition to having strong cult followings.
Tobergte is firmly in the enthusiast camp, holding deep regard for the process of importing and roasting specialty coffee beans. She joined forces with her sister Mary Beimesch and niece Liz Elleman, who shared a similar passion for coffee. Beimesch developed an appreciation for it as it became an integral part of her workday as a pharmacist.
Beimesch said Liz had always wanted to own and operate her coffee shop. Unfortunately, the timing was never quite right, as Beimesch felt the shop’s demanding business schedule would impact the amount of time they could spend with their family.
After retiring from pharmaceuticals in 2023, Beimesch explored the possibility of purchasing a coffee roastery with Elleman and Tobertge.
“I came across a coffee roasting business that was for sale in Lexington, and the three of us were looking at it,” she said. “We did not get that business, so we came back, continued our research, and decided we could start up one closer to home and for a lot less money.”
While they ultimately decided not to purchase the business, the process provided them with the impetus to pursue launching their own roastery. Today, that vision is a reality.
“We’re a specialty coffee roaster, and if you want a great cup of coffee, great beans produce great coffee,” Tobergte said. “We have great beans from around the world.”
Last Wednesday morning, the trio celebrated the grand opening of Archer Roasters & Co. – a specialty coffee roasting company that sources beans worldwide. The company’s headquarters is at 1720 Petersburg Road in Hebron, inside a renovated landscaping facility. Archer Roasters & Co. is named after Beimesch’s grandson Archer and Tobergte’s grandchildren.
At Archer’s, each of the three founders has a primary specialization: Beimesch works as the head of business, Elleman is the creative director and Tobergte is the master roaster.
Tobertge said Archer’s specializes in roasting Arabica beans, a type of bean that accounts for around 60% of the global coffee production, according to the United States International Trade Commission. Arabica beans are commonly grown in the ‘Coffee Belt,’ including Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua. To acquire their beans, Archer’s uses Café Imports – an independent Minneapolis-based importer and developer of specialty green coffees worldwide.
Archer also possesses some of the most cutting-edge technology in the coffee roasting industry by purchasing an authentic Mill City 3 Kilogram Drum Roaster, which the trio has fondly nicknamed Betty. The roaster can take the fresh, green coffee beans and cook them in different phases.
“Betty, our roaster, then roasts the beans until they reach their perfection or their flavor profile,” Tobertge said. “On our bags are all of the professional cupping notes and those are some of the nuances that we try to hit in our coffees by roasting them for a certain time and a certain temperature.”
Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore, who was present at the ceremony, lauded the trio for taking the risks to start the business. Like Tobergte’s bourbon comparison, Moore likened coffee to tobacco, another one of Kentucky’s specialty industries.
“When you think of some of this specialty Kentucky stuff, you think of bourbon,” Moore said. “I grew up on a small tobacco farm, and that was a craft at the time of how to do that better than anybody else in the country – the tobacco industry. But now bourbon, and even more so now here in Boone County: coffee.”
In addition to specialty coffee beans, Archer’s also sells teas and hot chocolates – all of which are available for purchase on their website.
