How does one become a coffee roaster in the most beautiful place on earth? The path wasn't straight, but it was intentional. We are Scott and Jill Thomas, and we started Michigander Coffee Co. in 2025, but the spark was lit in 2017. While living a comfy suburban life and building a family, we were working a lot and felt the need for a place to escape to. So we bought a very rough little log cabin built by the hands of an adventurous couple in 1976 on some land in Antrim County, Michigan. This place had a real magic about it. We brought our three young children here as many weekends as we could to spend time in the quiet with no schedule, no wifi, away from all the demands of normal suburban life. These years were spent making maple syrup, building fairy houses, tracking deer and playing in feet upon feet of snow. Along with that, we spent many evenings by a fire, dreaming out loud.

It didn't take long before the mid-life crisis set in and instead of buying matching motorcycles we opted for something crazier - entrepreneurship. We moved our family north with a scrappy business plan and a lot of #yolo energy and gave it a go. Being coffee nerds ourselves and wanting to do something hands on - joining so many other Michigan makers - we landed on coffee roasting. The first goal was to just turn the beans from green to brown, and pretty quickly the coffee went from drinkable to tell your friends about it. As head roaster and wearer of many other hats, Scott has honed his skills with the philosophy that if you are okay with being bad at something at first, and commit to just getting a little better every day, you can do great things.

Once the training wheels were off, we started our first coffee company in 2019 and haven't looked back since. All the while, we have held onto the gratitude of getting to raise our children here, spend our free time in a place that speaks to us, and have been inspired by countless others who chose uncharted territory. Michigander Coffee Co. is a love letter to this incredible state we call home.

To the rich history, the year-round beauty, and the grit and good nature of our fellow Michiganders, this coffee is for you. Thank you for supporting this business. We hope you love our product and we hope it transports you to your favorite places.

- Jill & Scott Thomas