If I were to create an imaginary word find about Landgrove Coffee and its owners, Hannah and Jon Binninger, the words listed would include drive-thru, mountains, master packer, and Vermont. Although there isn’t a neat little box for you to cross out words diagonally, vertically, or horizontally, in this article you will find their meaning and relation to the company.

I interviewed Hannah in East City Park while we watched her son, Clem, eat a Co-op scone and play. The Binningers have supplied the Co-op with their roasted coffee for about the last six years. There are nine varieties of coffee available in Bulk Foods and three types in one-pound bags if folks are looking for pre-packaged coffee. The organic dark roasts and the organic Ethiopian are the most popular.

Although the roastery is named after Landgrove, Vermont, the town where Hannah grew up, it’s definitely an Idaho business. Jon and Hannah met in the mid-1990s in Boise while Hannah was working for The Peregrine Fund and Jon at a drive-thru coffee stand that he co-owned with a friend. A few years after their meeting, Jon decided to move onto wholesale coffee. They started the business in Sandpoint in 1998 and purchased their first roaster from Diedrich, a roaster machine manufacturer based in Sandpoint. They also lived in McCall and Salmon before landing in the Palouse seven years ago. Hannah explained that living in Troy is a “good, happy medium for family and for business.” Each of Jon’s parents live within a reasonable drive and it’s a great location to run the company. They also appreciate the two universities nearby and the access to mountains and rivers.

Landgrove Coffee is hand-picked and comes from all over the world. Here’s a snapshot of a typical week in the roastery: Monday, a long day of roasting; Tuesday, deliveries/shipments; Wednesday to Friday, more roasting and sample roasting. Jon and their part-time employee complete most of the roasting. They own three roasters: one that produces 25 pounds of roasted coffee at a time, another which produces 60 pounds, and a sample roaster. Hannah is responsible for keeping the books and has also named herself the “Master Packer.” She labels and bags coffee, and packs and ships boxes. She reuses about twenty boxes a week and is grateful for the local businesses that donate them—she likes cutting down on waste. She appreciates that her duties enable her to have irregular hours, which allows for more time with her children—Flora, age four, and Clem, age two.

The coffee is sold to stores in Northern California (Jon’s brothers own coffee businesses there) and the Midwest. Hannah truly enjoys the connections she’s made locally though. She shared that Clem makes deliveries with her and at the Co-op he’s made friends with employees in Produce and in Checkout. Local places besides the Co-op that have Landgrove for purchase are One World Café, the Filling Station in Troy, and La Boheme in Lewiston. If you can, try to attend one of Jon’s coffee cuppings (like a wine tasting) and learn the art of capturing the aroma and flavor of a coffee.

When the Binninger’s aren’t doing Landgrove business, you’ll most likely find them outdoors with family or doing seasonal work. Jon guides trips and does horse packing for folks including the Forest Service along with completing trail/usage surveys for the Idaho Conservation League. Hannah does river raft guiding on the Lower Salmon River. She plans to do two trips this summer. While perusing their coffee selection in the Co-op, their love for the region definitely rang true when I read that for every pound of “Clearwater Wild” sold, they will donate money to Friends of the Clearwater. I like that.

So fair reader, if you have completed the article then you have completed the imaginary word find. I hope you’ve enjoyed the read and the game.

Johna laughed and smiled when Clem scrunched his nose while trying a sip of his mom’s citrus kombucha. She hopes they can be friends.