There’s nothing like a good cup of joe to help you rise and grind. Now, when purchasing their coffee, residents have the option to support a small, local business.

Penn’s Woods Coffee officially launched May 23. But for owner Nathan Lawyer, the dream of owning his own coffee business has been a long time in the making.

“I was reflecting on my life and decided I was in a good space to start my own thing,” said Lawyer. “The idea for Penn’s Woods Coffee came to me earlier this year so I set a date and made it happen.”

Nathan Lawyer, owner and creator of Penn’s Woods Coffee.

Lawyer has a deep love of local history. When choosing names, he wanted to honor the places and things that make this area special. Penn’s Woods Coffee currently offers three regular coffee flavors for the discerning palette. They also have Kinzua instant coffee. All flavors are named for nearby locations.

They offer Littleton, which is a light roast with bright notes of citrus and dried fruit.

“Littleton was the name of the Main Street area before it was called Bradford,” said Lawyer. Kingsbury is a dark, robust roast with a luxurious texture and the perfect blend of sweet and bold flavors, with notes of toffee and cocoa.

“Kingsbury was the name of one of Bradford’s original founders,” said Lawyer.

Finally, the Penn’s Woods flavor is a medium roast that features rich, nutty notes of hazelnut and maple. Lawyer said it is a perfect, everyday cup.

Lawyer noted that “Pennsylvania” literally translates to “Penn’s Woods.”

When sourcing his coffee, Lawyer knew that he needed to search far and wide for the best possible blends.

“We use 100 percent arabica roast beans sourced from Central America to provide some of the best quality coffee you can get on the market,” said Lawyer.

One of the biggest issues Lawyer faced when sourcing coffee was finding a local roaster. Right now, he sends his beans out to be roasted elsewhere. He hopes one day that Penn’s Woods Coffee will grow large enough to bring the roasting operation home.

“In a few years, I would love for this to take off,” said Lawyer. “I would love to bring more of the coffee roasting production into Bradford and create jobs.”

People have been incredibly supportive of the new venture so far, Lawyer said.

“That is something that can be said about this area is that people support each other,” said Lawyer. “Bradford’s got a lot of heart and I feel blessed to be building my business here.”

Two local businesses, Pizza Napoli and The Grocery Stretcher, are currently selling Penn’s Woods Coffee.

“Both of them have been really supportive of this venture,” said Lawyer. “It has been great to have other business owners to bounce ideas off of and get inspiration.”

Throughout the summer, Lawyer will also host pop up coffee shops around the area at various community events.

“I know I have some people out there who want to try a cup before they buy a whole bag of coffee,” said Lawyer. “This is the perfect opportunity to see what we’re all about.”

For Lawyer, who has spent the last 11 years living in Bradford, one of the best things about Penn’s Woods Coffee is the ability to give back.

Two local groups will sell Penn’s Woods Coffee as a fundraiser in the fall. They are the Bradford Owls Marching Band and the Otto-Eldred Music Boosters. For Lawyer, the cause couldn’t have been closer to his heart.

“When they reached out to me I was very excited because I was a band kid and I want to do anything I can to support music education in our schools,” said Lawyer. “I really want to be able to leverage this business to create a common good.”

Lawyer hopes that his new business will become about much more than a good cup of coffee.

“Penn’s Woods Coffee is meant to represent all of Pennsylvania on some level,” said Lawyer. “There is a beauty to all these rural communities and what they contribute to our culture and way of life.”

To keep up to date on all the excitement or find pop-up events, follow Penn’s Woods Coffee on social media. The new local brand is available to order online at pennswoodscoffee.com.