Foxtail Coffee Co. comes to Sanford!

Most of us might still have a friend or two that we are close to from grade school, but what about Kindergarten? Ah, those playground days. What would you say if I told you that the owners of the well known local coffee shop(s), Foxtail Coffee Co. are not only still friends from Kindergarten, but that they have successfully come together to create this well known and loved coffee shop? Seems like while most kids were swinging on the swings and climbing on the monkey bars at recess these two were conjuring up a successful business plan…

With Iain’s love and knowledge for coffee and Alex’s successful business background, both locals to the Florida area, used their expertise in all these areas and opened their first coffee shop in Winter Park.

Their newest shop in Sanford makes for their eleventh (!) coffee shop to be opened within just two short years. The love, care and time that they put into each of these coffee shops can be seen in the creativity of the walls, the taste of their hand selected coffees, the smiles on their employees, the details of their branding and the personal touch in their handmade granola.

I sat and chatted with co-founder Iain and learned a little bit more about how Foxtail began and what we can look forward to at their newest location in Sanford.

Tell us about your coffee shop. How did you get started?

We (co-founder Iain and partner Alex) opened our first café and roastery in Winter Park, Florida in Nov. ’16 with the mission to provide a welcoming atmosphere that shifts the way we think about coffee one cup at a time. All our coffee is imported from around the world and roasted in our Winter Park shop.

What made you want to open another shop in Sanford?

We had a lot of requests to come to Sanford. We’re always listening for where people want to see us and we always love the opportunity to serve our Central Florida neighbors. Come to our Grand Opening event this Saturday, May 18^th!

Where do you get your coffee from (regions)? Do you support fair trade?

Our current offerings are coffees from Ethiopia, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and El Salvador. Our selection constantly rotates seasonally as we search for the best cup of coffee we can serve.

Do you have a specialty coffee? (i.e. your “best seller”)

Our most popular coffee is our Farmhouse Blend that we roast and blend in house. The coffee is a natural Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe for sweetness and fruit-notes, blended with our Mexico, Chiapas to add body, and our Guatemala, Huehuetenango to add dark chocolate notes to the blend.

All of our coffees are specialty coffee by definition, coffee scored at 80-points of above on a 100-point grading scale monitored by the SCA.

Will you offer food as well and if so what?

Yes. We offer pastries, a lot of vegan pastries and baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, salads, and more.

Can we buy ground coffee/beans at the coffee shop?

We have bags of all of our origins at the shop and we do grind the coffee but at the counter when it’s being purchased, so it’s ground fresh and to order. Some people would like their coffee ground course for a French press, or ground fine for espresso.

Will you be a work/meeting friendly coffee shop? Free WiFi?

All of our shops include free WiFi and plenty of outlets to stay charged!

Is there seating outdoors?

At our new Sanford shop we have a lot of outdoor patio seating that’s shaded. We have 3 long communal hi-tops and a few tables outside too.

Do you host special events?

Yes! Please contact info@foxtailcoffee.com to connect about events.

Anything you’re hoping to add on in the future or anything your followers can look forward to?

We’re always planning events and special dates to stay involved with the local community. Sometimes we do an event called Free Foxtail Friday where we give cold brew out, we host small farmer’s markets at our shops, and we also create events focused on giving back during the holidays.