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Aspen Beverage Group (formerly Granito Coffee Works) began as a dream in Chad & Shelly McNair's kitchen in 1993. Chad, a civil engineer, had developed a keen interest in coffee and had experimented with different coffee extraction processes. While searching for the perfect coffee for his wife, he worked his way into a contract with a local café to provide them with a new product, a premium coffee extract for making iced and frozen coffee drinks. The product was born in their home kitchen during the next few weeks. Chad developed a sweetened coffee extract, which could be mixed with milk and used in a "Granita" machine or poured over ice to produce a fabulous coffee drink. The word "granita" actually means “icee” or “slushee” in Italian.

That first product was a success at the little café and the idea for the business began to form in Chad's mind. He presented the idea to Shelly with the promise he would invest only $1,000 of the family’s money with a commitment to her and the Lord that he would never borrow any money for this business. He further committed that within six months, if the business was not doing well, he would quit and go find “a real job”.

Obviously he didn't quit. Gradually, Aspen Beverage Group secured more business and the market for the coffee extracts grew. Eventually, Chad began to offer concentrates to make frozen fruit drinks as well. Aspen Ice concentrates are now used by foodservice operators across the United States and other in several other countries.

After nine years of roasting coffee to create extracts for the frozen products, Chad realized there was an untapped opportunity for the company. With the help of Mark Nash, his Vice President of Operations, Aspen Beverage Group expanded into the world of gourmet whole bean coffee.

Utilizing Specialty Grade beans, Mark and Chad slowly began developing roasting profiles for beans from various origins. The process was slow and tedious. Roasting coffee is an art that requires patience, time and a good palate to be successful.

Development of a name for the whole bean coffee was initiated in August, 2001. Chad and Shelly love Colorado and spend several weeks there every year. Aspen has always been a favorite spot for them. As they began to talk about the name for the whole bean coffee, Aspen seemed to stand out. It is a place of rustic elegance and beauty where people escape the rigors of daily life and relax in the splendor of God's creation. The name Aspen Select communicates what you can expect when you open the bag. From the first scent of the beans to the aromatic fragrance of the brewing coffee we promise you elegance in every cup.

Our motto is "Enjoy the Best" and we are committed to bringing you only the best. Aspen Select utilizes only Specialty Grade beans in our single-origin and blended coffees. Specialty Grade is the top 3% of coffee grown in the world. These beans are inspected for quality and then carefully roasted in small batches. The roasts are “cupped” to assure the consistency and high quality found in every bag of coffee sold.

Initially, Aspen Select Coffee could only be found in small local retail outlets. Our coffees are now available throughout the state of Texas in COSTCO Wholesale warehouses and Sun Harvest Stores. The warm reception of our product within the state of Texas prompted us to develop a website where our gourmet coffees can be provided to customers nationwide.

So we invite you to "Enjoy the Best" and participate in helping us celebrate what God has done through one man's willingness to keep his promises and to trust God with the outcome. Welcome to our dream!