Full Octave Coffee Roasters

Full Octave is two people and a roaster in Ozark, Missouri. Joe and Joanne run it. There is no storefront in any traditional sense. One visitor drove out hoping to walk in and found only a sign on a garage. The business happens at the Springfield farmers market, where they will grind your bag on the spot, and through local home delivery and online ordering. The delivery used to be free in the local zone and recently picked up a fee, which drew some grumbling from longtime customers used to the old terms.

The coffee that people come back to is the Bourbon Barrel Aged Sumatra. It is described as tasting of bourbon, which it should, given the process, and it is the single most-named bag in the lineup. The Nicaragua blend is a steadier daily drinker. Ethiopian blends and Tanzanian Peaberry round out the brighter end, with a Brazilian Peaberry on the nuttier side. Turnaround between roast and delivery runs to a few days, which is the entire reason to buy from a two-person operation instead of a national brand.

The limits are obvious. No place to sit. No place to walk in for a cup. The new delivery fee adds a wrinkle for locals who were used to getting beans handed over without extra charge. If you are coming from outside Southwest Missouri, online ordering is the path, and you are giving up the on-the-spot grinder at the market that locals get to use.

For home brewers in the Springfield area who want fresh roasts from named roasters they can talk to at the market, Full Octave is exactly the kind of small operation worth supporting. For travelers and walk-in seekers, the sign on the garage will not greet you with what you were hoping for.