When Shane Case couldn’t find anywhere locally that made the fresh coffee he’d come to love, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Case founded his own coffee company — Mylke — in 2017, and is now updating his inventory to include nitro and cold brew kegs that can be rolled into restaurants and coffee shops.
Case’s friend introduced him to fresh coffee a few years ago.
“People say they don’t like coffee, but that’s because it’s old,” Case said. “Fresh coffee doesn’t taste bitter.”
After his friend moved away, Case began buying roasted coffee from a number of vendors. Soon, he decided to buy his own roasters. However, they were a lot more expensive than he realized.
So, Mylke — which is based out of Island in McLean County — started selling coffee to the local farmers market and other coffee shops in the area, including many in Owensboro.
“It exploded way bigger than I expected,” he said. “It’s really competitive when you get into the commercial side.”
With Mylke gaining steam across the region, coffee shops and restaurants in Louisville, Leitchfield, Bowling Green, Greenville and Evansville, have begun purchasing Case’s coffee to sell.
Case said he just began implementing the cold brewing kegs this year. He also created a sweet, cold brew creamer that has taken off.
“The keg deal will start going to restaurants,” he said. “Nitro coffee is getting really popular.”
Niko’s Bakery & Cafe in Owensboro has already begun working with Case to start implementing the cold brew kegs in its shop.
“I’ve got three or four coffee shops on the line right now that we’re trying to work with,” Case said.
One of Case’s biggest hurdles with the business stems from people comparing Mylke coffee prices to the brands of coffee they buy at stores. But even that obstacle has lessened over time, as more and more local coffee roasters open up shop around the Owensboro area.
Looking ahead, Case hopes to continue roasting fresh coffee and open up his own brick and mortar store within the next five years.
“There’s a lot of cool people and it’s very fast moving,” he said of the coffee industry. “It’s a really fun business to be in.”
Check out Mylke’s Facebook page for more information and details.
