Home Grown: Bare Knuckle Roasting Co. takes pride in small-batch coffees

In this June 8, 2017 photo, Jordan Fallon, background, makes a cup of coffee as Emma Hull, left, and Kelsey Bartlett enjoy a fruit smoothie after the two attended yoga. Fallon owns and operates Bare Knuckle Roasting inside the Jefferson City Health Food Store.
In this June 8, 2017 photo, Jordan Fallon, background, makes a cup of coffee as Emma Hull, left, and Kelsey Bartlett enjoy a fruit smoothie after the two attended yoga. Fallon owns and operates Bare Knuckle Roasting inside the Jefferson City Health Food Store.

Jordan Fallon has been home-brewing signature coffee for nine years and sharing his microbrews for four as the founder and owner of Bare Knuckle Roasting Co. He sets up shop in local farmers markets, grocery stores and community centers to sell his special-crafted brews as well as shipping his roasted coffee through mail-outs.

Microbrewing is the process of brewing beverages in especially small, controlled batches. This process is generally used to create craft beers, but Fallon has taken inspiration from West Coast "fourth wave" coffee, which he described as coffee made in specialized conditions to be brought to your doorstep. He produces microbrews for Jefferson City and the Central Missouri area from his primary location within the JC Health Foods store on Missouri Boulevard, and he roasts his small batches in a workspace outside Jefferson City. He can also be found at the Capital City Farmers Market and the Shirks Country Market in Centertown.

"Our motto is 'Bare Knuckle Roasting: fighting for excellence' because we never felt like you really can achieve excellence, especially when it comes to coffee. It's always something you're reaching for," Fallon said.

Q: What is your product, and what sets it aside from others?

A: "We do strictly single-origin, whole-wheat coffee. We also have ancillary programs like the cold brew program; we do manual brew methods But what sets it aside is that rather than focusing on the coffee as a normal commodity, we focus it as a strictly specialty product."

Q: How did you get into brewing?

A: "I made the mistake of drinking really good coffee on the East and West coast when I was young, and then I came back to Mid-Missouri. My personal stance is that we receive most things in Mid-Missouri five to 10 years later than the coasts do. So when I drank good coffee on the coasts about nine years ago, I came back here and couldn't find it."

Q: What is involved in brewing?

A: "A lot of sample roasting, a lot of selection. Every time you get another new coffee in - man, you're basically relearning to roast."

Q: Where does your coffee come from?

A: "We get our coffees imported all over. We use five different importers currently, Cafe Imports being our number one green bean importer. As far as the region of the coffee, we literally purchase the coffee by whichever is in season, or whatever is really good that year."

Q: How has the season been?

A: "This year has been great - it's been really exciting. Our cold brew is getting a lot bigger. Our coffees have really reached new heights; we're exploring some new roast curves and stuff, trying to get some new flavors out of it."

Q: How much coffee do you produce and distribute?

A: "We only roast five pounds at a time, so that's what we're working with because we want that coffee to be as pinpointed as possible. The larger you grow your coffee, the harder it is to keep a handle on all of it."

Find Bare Knuckle Roasting

  • JC Health Foods, 1406 Missouri Blvd., Jefferson City
  • Capital City Farmers Market in Jefferson City
  • HyVee, 3721 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City
  • HyVee, 929 State Highway D, Osage Beach, Mo.
  • Shirks Country Market, 345 Route U, Centertown, Mo.