Little Goat Coffee Roasting Co. has perky appeal

The aroma of excellent, roasting coffee on Newark's Haines Street is so alluring, it cajoles passersby, even those who might have already had their daily caffeine allotment.

The source of this bewitching, beguiling smell is an adorable Sears Roebuck kit house, dating back to the early 1940s, that once was the original home of the Newark Natural Foods Co-op and, later, a hairdresser and skate/snowboard shop.

At Little Goat Coffee Roasting Co., customers can watch the roasting process in action, snuggle on a floral couch near a (non-working) fireplace, or grab a seat in one of two plush red seats that once faced the stage at Wilmington's Grand Opera House.

Want to enjoy the outdoors while scrolling through your phone? A large patio deck has bar stools and railing seats. 

Little Goat was founded by business partners Joe Lins and Olivia Brinton, who wanted to bring their own freshly-roasted, organically-grown and fairly-traded coffee to Delaware.

The coffee shop and micro-roaster at 16 Haines St. opened in September 2017. Brinton says the refurbished building had been sitting empty for about seven years after Switch Skateboarding moved to its current spot at 54 E. Main St.

While the coffeehouse industry nationwide has been cooling off, independently owned businesses seem to be thriving in Delaware.

The total number of coffee shops in the U.S. was expected to grow by just 2.17 percent this year, the slowest growth rate seen in the last six years, according to Mintel Group Ltd., a London-based market research firm.

Yet, over the past year alone, several coffeehouses have opened throughout Delaware's three counties including Legal Grounds Cafe in Elsmere, The House of Coffi in Dover, Mug & Spoon in Rehoboth Beach and The Station on Kings, a new business at 720 Kings Highway in Lewes that's also a garden center, bakery and market.

Coming soon is Harvest House, a Wilmington coffeehouse/healthy foods eatery from Big Fish Restaurant Group. It will move into the former Presto! location at 1204 Washington St. by mid-May.

Drip Cafe, a popular Hockessin coffeehouse and restaurant since 2013, plans to open a second, 40-seat eatery this summer at 60 N. College Ave. in Newark.

A coffeehouse is one of the least expensive new restaurants to open, according to data compiled by Digital Trend Coast, a Chicago-based marketing agency.

Other lower cost food businesses are food trucks and Chick-fil-A franchises. 

The National Coffee Association says 64 percent of U.S. consumers drink coffee daily, up from 57 percent in 2016.

"Younger consumers appear to be leading the charge,” said Bill Murray, National Coffee Association president and CEO. “A steadily growing taste for gourmet varieties is also driving a wider trend toward specialty beverages.”

Caleb Bryant, a Mintel senior foodservice analyst, said the coffee shop market now is benefiting from shifting consumer interest in more premium, albeit pricier, coffee drinks such as specialty coffees, cold brew coffee and artisanal, third wave coffee. 

Brinton says The Little Goat's name comes from a popular legend that hungry goats helped lead to the invention of coffee.

According to the tale, an Ethiopian goat herder noticed his animals became much more lively after munching on fresh coffee berries.

Little Goat buys its green coffee from one importer, Royal Coffee New York, which has access to specialty beans from all around the world. It offers changing coffee varietals ranging from funky, earthy Sumatra to smooth, easy-going Nicaragua to bright, sweet Colombian.

The beans, all organic and fair-trade certified, are roasted in a souped-up Diedrich roaster inside The Little Goat shop that's within walking distance of the University of Delaware's Newark campus.

Coffee is roasted daily, Brinton says, adding the shop just received a shipment of eight 60 kilograms bags.

"We roast pretty much every morning around 6 a.m. Coffee needs to rest about 12 to 24 hours before being served," she says.

The Newark location is not surprising since coffee tends to be the non-alcoholic juice that keeps college students fueled through hectic semesters.

And there's certainly no shortage of coffee in Newark.

A Starbucks franchise is little more than a stone's throw away from Little Goat. Brewed Awakenings at 64 E. Main St. has been one of Newark's favorite coffee shops since its 1994 opening.

Still, Little Goat stands out because of its excellent service and, of course, coffee, which comes in small ($1.75), medium ($2.25) and large ($2.75) sizes.

In the seven months since opening, the shop has been growing its wholesale business. Little Goat is served at Newark's Cafe 67 and Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen; the House of William and Merry and The Perfect Cup, both in Hockessin, and St. Andrew's School in Middletown.

Brinton says several breweries including Iron Hill and the new Midnight Oil Brewing Co. have used Little Goat coffee to make stouts.

A favorite varietal I tried recently was the light and fruity Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that had a distinctive, floral aroma.

Drinks also include cold brew, espresso, lattes, cappuccino, black tea and Tussi Rose chai.  

Not really a coffee drinker? Well, this isn't really the place for you, but a sip of a companion's sweet and decadent peanut butter hot cocoa ($5), topped with a mountain of whipped cream, had me reconsidering my coffee order. Next time.

Brinton, a former bartender for three years at the House of William and Merry, says there also are three tea options, and the shop is continuously adding specialty drinks such as an orange cold brew soda.

They also make all the syrups in house and use dairy by Natural by Nature, which produces grass-fed organic milk provided by dairy farmers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

What you won't find is much food.

Brinton says they do have pastries from The Perfect Cup in Hockessin, but "we're not interested in expanding the food." She says the focus is on serving high-quality hot and cold beverages. Still want a nosh?  

"You can bring food in, it's not a problem with us," Brinton says. 

Hours for Little Goat Coffee Roasting Co. are: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; . 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico