Meet Ferris Coffee & Nut Co. — Bridge Street Market

WRITTEN BY JORDAN KOSSUTH

Photo provided by Ferris Coffee & Nut Co.

Ferris Coffee & Nut Company is a family-owned roaster of specialty coffees and gourmet nuts that has been established on the west side of Grand Rapids, Michigan for almost 100 years now. Founded in 1924, Ferris has always been family-owned – sold from family to family in Grand Rapids – and always a driving force in the local plant grown food and beverage industry. With under 100 employees providing support & maintaining quality, they have an amazing product output with roasting capabilities of up to 3 million pounds of coffee and 6 million pounds of nuts in one day!

SIMPLY THE BEST

When sourcing new products, and thinking about their relationships, Ferris Coffee applies the same values to their vendors that they aspire to themselves – they are looking for the best, not the cheapest, because they know quality is important to consumers. This commitment to excellence extends their reach far beyond the Grand Rapids city limits.

Ferris boasts their own in-house Q-Grader, Sam Mirto, who serves as Vice President of Coffee Operations. Similar to a wine sommelier, a Q-Grader is credentialed by the Coffee Quality Institute to grade and score coffees. He could line up a selection of hundreds of coffees from all over the world and know which ones are the highest scoring using standards developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Along with other members of their Sensory Team, Sam travels to coffee growing countries to meet with suppliers, build relationships, and hand select the highest quality beans for the Ferris Coffee line, providing great flavor in every cup!

BUT FIRST, COFFEE

Finding the right coffee for you can often be an intimidating task, especially when trying to choose between roasts and regions. This can be made even more daunting by fear of judgement for your choices or lack of knowledge. At Ferris, everybody is welcome at the table – they appreciate you for appreciating coffee! Ferris Coffee is committed to providing a welcoming environment to new coffee drinkers, and coffee experts alike. Want to know more about your morning caffeine fix? Visit their Coffee Calendar for an approachable overview of the different roast levels and beans available for purchase!

The Coffee Lab, built in 2018, is another great example of this empowerment through education. They offer a host of classes ranging from Coffee Tasting to Latte Art 101. The Ferris Coffee team wants to foster a relationship with their customers at every interest level, with homestyle classes geared towards budding home brewers and novice coffee drinkers alike.

One of their biggest sellers is the West Coast Blend, consisting of 70% brazil Cerrado and 30% Costa Rica Montanas del Diamante. It boasts an approachable appeal for a variety of palates, with notes of chocolate and roasted nuts. Not too fruity, not too nutty – the perfectly balanced cup of coffee!

A NEW LOOK FOR FERRIS

You can purchase West Coast Blend, along with many other blends, full bean, and single origin coffees at Bridge Street Market in 12 oz bags. This packaging has been redesigned with consumer education in mind, featuring a Brew Guide to easily display proper ratios, quality, and timing techniques.

Their main coffee line consists of West Coast Blend, House Blend, Kent Club, French Roast, and 1924 Espresso, with bright, bold graphics reminiscent of their previous packaging. Single origin coffees, hailing from one specific region, country, or farm, are in a kraft black bag reflecting the quality of the specialty beans inside.

Looking for a colder beverage to cool off during a hot summer day? Ferris Coffee Co Nitro Cold Brew and Nitro Tea are available in cans in the cooler section of Bridge Street Market. These brews are infused with nitrogen, and canned with a nitrogen widget to offer a smooth and frothy finish.

WEST SIDE CONNECTIONS

Ferris has always been involved with Meijer, and with their focus in sustainability and fresh, local products, this relationship blossomed with the inception of Bridge Street Market. In fact, their newest headquarters is located on the ever-growing west side of Grand Rapids on Seward Street, just a few blocks away! So, all those dried fruits, roasted nuts, and flavorful snacking mixes found on the shelves near the registers in Bridge Street Market were created and handpicked right down the street to maintain optimal freshness.

The Ferris Team has carefully curated several mixes to showcase their unique flavors. Cherries, Berries & Nuts has consistently been a fan favorite best seller. Ferris worked with local farmers to create this mix featuring 100% Michigan grown cherries. Their Craft Beer Mix is a salty, crunchy mix that pairs perfectly with a cold beer! And with their roasted coffee beans often used in Founders Brewing barrel aged beers, you can enjoy supporting local all the way around!

LUSH GOURMET

In 2016, Ferris acquired Lush Gourmet, founded by trained pastry chef Bisera Urdarevik. This line of high-quality snacks offers creative flavor profiles with combinations you might not necessarily think of, such as Coconut Lavender Almonds, Dark Cocoa Chili Almonds, and Chai Spice Cashews. (You may even recognize them from our guide to building the perfect charcuterie board!) As an added bonus, all of the Lush products are vegan and gluten free!

MIX, MATCH & MAKE IT YOUR OWN

One exciting new addition to Bridge Street Market is the Grind Your Own Nut Butter machines! You can choose from Ferris Coffee & Nut Co’s freshly roasted almonds, peanuts and cashews to create your own creamy nut butters to take home. Currently these machines are available for operation by staff, and pre-ground nut butters have been packaged on site for convenience. I know we are all looking forward to a return to normalcy – and with that will come the ability to grind your own.

Feeling those DIY vibes? I highly suggest selecting a few Ferris deli containers of sweet and salty treats and throwing them together at home for your own awesome creation. From wasabi peas to dried cranberries, dark chocolate pretzels to any kind of roasted nuts – your snacking options are virtually limitless. Pair your mix with a fresh cup of their coffee and let Ferris Coffee & Nut Co take you away with their handpicked global flavors and locally roasted quality.