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Why We Started 803 Outpost Coffee: A Journey From the Appalachian Trail to Your Cup
Why We Started 803 Outpost Coffee: A Journey From the Appalachian Trail to Your Cup
Most people don’t quit their jobs, lace up their boots, and walk into the woods for months at a time. But then again, most people don’t find their life’s purpose between two white blazes on the Appalachian Trail.
We did.
We were a husband‑and‑wife team who had spent years doing what we thought we were “supposed” to do — working corporate jobs, chasing promotions, sitting in traffic, and wondering why every day felt like a repeat of the one before it. Eventually, the noise got too loud and the meaning got too quiet. So we stepped away. Completely. We traded office chairs for backpacks, deadlines for trail miles, and fluorescent lights for the endless canopy of the Appalachian wilderness.
We didn’t know what was next.
We just knew we needed to walk.
The Trail Has a Way of Stripping Life Down to the Truth
Somewhere between Georgia and Maine, something shifted. When you’re out there long enough, the trail becomes a mirror. It shows you what matters, what doesn’t, and what you’ve been too busy to notice.
We found clarity in the rhythm of hiking.
We found peace in the silence.
We found purpose in the wild places that held us when we didn’t know what came next.
The trail has a way of meeting you exactly where you are — tired, unsure, hopeful, searching — and giving you the space to figure out who you want to become. Somewhere between the climbs, the rainstorms, the quiet mornings, and the endless stretch of white blazes, we realized we weren’t just walking away from something. We were walking toward something.
Toward a life with more meaning.
Toward work that felt honest.
Toward a mission bigger than ourselves.
And yes — somewhere in there, my ultra‑coffee‑snob personality made its grand appearance. I was the guy who refused to drink instant coffee on trail, even if it meant carrying extra weight. (My wife was a saint for putting up with this.) But that stubborn love for real, high‑quality coffee ended up becoming a spark — one we didn’t fully understand until much later.
The Moment Everything Became Clear
When we finally stepped off the trail — sunburned, blistered, humbled, and more alive than we’d ever felt — we knew two things:
We wanted to build something together.
And we wanted it to honor the wilderness that changed our lives.
That’s how 803 Outpost Coffee was born — not in a boardroom, not in a business plan, but in the dirt, the trees, the silence, and the soul of the Appalachian Trail.
We set out to roast the kind of specialty‑grade coffee that makes you pause mid‑sip… but also to give back to the wild places that gave us so much.
Because the trail didn’t just give us a break from life.
It gave us a new one.
Why “Outpost”?
Because an outpost is a place of refuge.
A place to reset.
A place to reconnect with what matters.
That’s what the trail was for us.
And that’s what we hope our coffee becomes for you — a small daily ritual that slows life down just enough to appreciate it.
Giving Back to Mother Nature
Our mission goes beyond roasting incredible coffee. A portion of every purchase supports reforestation and conservation efforts — a way to protect the wild places that shaped our story.
If you want to learn more about our mission, visit our
About Us page → https://803outpostcoffee.com/pages/about-us
or explore how we give back here:
Giving Back → https://803outpostcoffee.com/pages/about-us
From Our Trail to Your Mug
803 Outpost Coffee isn’t a corporation.
It isn’t a boardroom idea.
It isn’t something we sketched on a whiteboard during a quarterly planning meeting.
It’s two people who walked into the woods searching for something — and walked out with a mission.
We roast every batch by hand.
We obsess over freshness.
We choose specialty‑grade beans because anything less feels like a compromise.
Every bag we ship is a reminder of where this all started — on a dirt path, under a canopy of trees, with nothing but time, breath, and purpose.
From the Appalachian Trail to your cup…
this is our story.
And we’re honored to share it with you.
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