Dayton’s Poppets Coffee serves up coffee and tea packed with flavor
Gumption. Ambition. Serenity. These words are more than just desired traits—they’re the names of some of the coffee beans roasted by local roaster Poppets Coffee.
Owned and operated by Dayton locals Michael and Karen Thomas, Poppets Coffee’s goal is to create flavorful, memorable coffees and teas that bring drinkers back for more.
“I’m constantly looking for the next new coffee that tempts my interest,” says Michael.
The roots of Poppets Coffee can be traced back to 2020. Michael and Karen were looking into opening a winery and beer garden before COVID-19 closed everything down.
“We didn’t want to be at the whim of anybody to be able to flip the switch on our business for whatever reason,” says Michael. “Coffee and tea were just luxury items prior to that. We enjoyed it. It was a hobby, so we just decided this is the route we’re going to go.”
They started by selling bags at local farmers markets, taking four or six bags of each flavor to market, and roasting the beans in a barn they built on their property.
Today, they use a full commercial production facility and sell about 200 bags each weekend from their store in 2nd Street Market.
“It’s just grown,” says Michael. “There’s been a lot of growth in the specialty coffee industry as of late, with farmers experimenting with new techniques to bring out new flavors.”
Some of those flavors can be found in Poppets Coffee’s beans. Popular roasts and blends include the 2nd Street Market Blend (which features beans from Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia), the Highlander Grogg (a flavored coffee with tasting notes of butterscotch, rum and vanilla) and Bourbon Pecan. In loose leaf tea, Michael says the most popular flavors are Raspberry Elderflower Rosè, Cinnamon Slap Black Tea and Masai Chai Tea.
However, there is also always something new to try.
“Every month we do a new flavor,” says Michael. “For example, February is when we moved into our permanent space at 2nd Street Market. It’s our birthday month of that location…so birthday cake is the flavor of the month.”
Soon, Poppets Coffee will have another location to celebrate. In March, Michael and Karen announced they will be opening a new tea house at 510 E. Fifth St. in Dayton. “We’re going for more of a relaxed atmosphere. Bottomless cups of coffee, tea by the pot,” says Michael. “We’ll have some of our higher end teas with a tea service type situation, but not fancy. Just a place that you can come get a drink, relax, read a book and visit with a friend.”
Poppets Coffee, 2nd Street Market, 600 E. Second St., Dayton. F & Su 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Sa 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Poppets can also be purchased by the bag at Dot’s Market in Centerville and Hedy and Company, by the cup at Blind Bob’s and Blue Sky Coffee in Fairborn offers some of its teas. Visit poppetscoffee.com to learn more.
