Kayak Coffee Evolves From Experiment to Enterprise
When Ben Larson first roasted coffee in a popcorn popper, he had no idea the experiment would chart his next adventure. Today, Larson is the co-owner of Kayak Coffee in Carmel. The roastery is known for small-batch quality, sustainably sourced beans, and outdoors-inspired branding. Founded in 2020 with his wife, Jessica Larson, the business blends Ben’s lifelong love of coffee with his passion for kayaking and the outdoor recreation world where he once worked.
Larson credits a spark of curiosity in 2016 or 2017.
“I think I was reading an article about roasting coffee at home,” he says. “I didn’t know anything about coffee. I just knew I liked it.”
Intrigued, he learned that home roasting was possible with simple equipment like an air popcorn popper. The tiny batches yielded only one pot, but Larson was hooked. He roasted outside in the summer and in his garage in the winter, steadily refining his methods.
By 2019, Ben and Jessica, who also own Indy Soft Water, a water softener company located below the roastery, decided to take coffee roasting more seriously. With Jessica’s encouragement, they invested in a commercial Diedrich coffee roaster from Idaho. Its arrival six months later marked their shift from hobby to enterprise.
“The roaster does about 11 pounds at a time,” Ben says. “Compared to my two-and-a-half-ounce popcorn popper batches, it was a big change.”
Kayak Coffee launched in early 2020, not as a pandemic pivot, but simply by timing. Still, the landscape of independent roasting shifted dramatically in the years that followed, with many small roasters emerging and eventually fading. Kayak Coffee, however, grew steadily and organically.
“Our first year was mostly friends and family,” Ben says. “Every year since, we’ve grown. Last year, we doubled. Now we’re roasting around 200 to 300 pounds a week.”
Ben is meticulous about what goes into every bag. Kayak Coffee exclusively roasts specialty Arabica beans. They are shade-grown, hand-picked, and sourced through reputable importers who work directly with farmers.
“We’re pretty picky about where our coffee comes from,” he says. “Everything we buy has a history behind it. Sustainability is important to us.”
Ben says there is a stark contrast between specialty coffee and commodity-grade beans found in traditional supermarket brands. Commodity coffee is often grown in large, sun-exposed fields, sometimes at the cost of deforestation. Specialty beans thrive at higher elevations under natural shade, producing cleaner, more complex flavor profiles. Many Kayak Coffee offerings are certified organic. Those that aren’t are grown using similar practices.
Flavor, Ben says, begins well before the beans reach the roastery. Importers taste the beans, identifying flavor notes. He then roasts, evaluates, and sometimes blends coffees to develop new profiles. Single-origin options, such as Honduran organic, highlight the unique character of a single region. Signature blends, including Warming Hut, Harvest Moon, and Back Deck Blend, are the result of experimentation and seasonal inspiration.
“The fun part is being creative,” he says. “Blending is like home cooking — changing the ratio changes the result. You experiment until you find something delicious.”
The business name came to Larson in the middle of the night, an intuitive blend of his passion for coffee and family kayaking adventures. More than branding, the theme reflects a community he loves. Kayak Coffee connects him to that world as he sells at whitewater events, outdoor festivals, and farmers markets.
“We go to outdoor events, set up a booth, and meet people,” Ben says. “It’s been a great way to grow the company.”
The Larsons started Kayak Coffee aiming for a nationwide online customer base, not expecting it to become a local favorite. However, after selling at farmers markets and gaining word-of-mouth referrals, a vibrant local following emerged. Today, Kayak Coffee serves both online customers and supplies groceries, churches, coffee shops, and businesses across Indiana and the Midwest.
Despite the company’s growth, operations remain small. Ben runs the roastery with one part-time employee. Jessica leads the family’s main business downstairs. Larson’s son and a family friend help during summer markets. The roastery, housed in existing warehouse space, includes the roaster, green-bean storage, packaging, and shipping operations.
Looking ahead, Ben sees steady, sustainable growth over major change.
“We’ll keep doing what we’re doing,” he says. “We could add another roaster if needed. For now, we’re enjoying the journey.”
That journey — from popcorn popper to roasting hundreds of pounds weekly — reflects a true adventure. For coffee lovers everywhere, Kayak Coffee offers a taste of that adventure in every cup.
For more information, visit kayakcoffee.com.
