TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's the coffee that fueled the cowboys of the wild west: Arbuckle Coffee.
While it has its roots in the 1800s, Arbuckle Coffee's modern roots are firmly planted right here in Tucson: an 'Absolutely Arizona' brand, if there ever was one.
WATCH FULL STORY:
"The Cowboys out west, that's the only coffee they knew," said Josh Willis of Arbuckle's Coffee.
Willis runs the thriving Tucson business that's been part of his family for 50 years. Prior to Arbuckles' modern era, however, the cowboy coffee had been around for more than a century, and to understand its success, you have to go back to the beginning—to the 1860s in Pittsburgh, Pa.
"It was a lot of labor to have a good cup of coffee," Willis said.
In the company's early days, John Arbuckle III revolutionized the coffee industry by roasting coffee beans and grinding them on-site.
Then, he started packaging the coffee in one-pound bags. They used a new process of glazing roasted coffee beans to protect them from the air and preserve their flavor.
Arbuckle Coffee became the first national brand.
"Late 1800s, they were the top roaster in North America," Willis said.
Arbuckle Coffee quickly became a staple in chuck wagons and earned the reputation as the "Coffee That Won the West."
"It was a very hard way of life and that cup of Arbuckles, on the tailgate of the chuck wagon, was what got them going early in the morning with their breakfast," Willis told me.
In Tucson, Mose Drachman became the sales rep for Arbuckle Coffee Co. in the Arizona Territory, becoming one of the company's top salesmen.
By 1906, Arbuckle Coffee was producing 25 million pounds of roasted coffee each month and the company headquarters, now in Brooklyn, stretched an impressive 12 city blocks.
However, in the 1930s, Arbuckle Coffee was sold to General Mills and the storied name disappeared.
Decades later, the brand would resurface as we know it today.
"I like to say that Dad is the founder of the modern era."
—Josh Willis
This 'second chapter' takes us back east yet again, and back to the state of Pennsylvania, where Josh's dad, Denney Willis, owned seven fast food restaurants.
But he had a problem at those restaurants.
"He had the worst cup of coffee we've ever tasted in our entire lives. It was horrible."
That feedback led Denney Willis to discover the Ariosa trademark and the Arbuckle Coffee brand. The elder Willis bought the trademark and began to develop the brand after moving to Tucson in 1979.
"It really started a whole lifelong learning journey for my dad. He just absolutely loved the product, he loved the history," Willis said.
Arbuckles immediately became a Tucson-area brand, but went national again thanks to e-commerce.
"Our website launched in 2002, so that really brought us back to more national attention," Willis said.
Today, the company sells Arbuckles' to customers in all 50 states, and even around the world. And though the website drives most of the business today, they still keep a small store locally inside their coffee roasting and packaging operation on Tucson's Southside.
Denney Willis and his wife Pat have since passed away, but Josh Willis carries on the family's Arbuckles' tradition.
Arbuckles' now has two roasters that heat and rotate the coffee beans through a 15-minute roasting process.
The finished product? Perfection for coffee lovers.
"A cup of Arbuckles' Ariosa, or any other Arbuckles', should be full-bodied, a rich clean profile, a touch of smoke, subtle chocolate but low acidity," Willis explained to me.
Arbuckles' Coffee continues to grow in sales, roasting well over 100,000 pounds each year. Josh Willis says there's always room for more growth, which means he'll be carrying on the Cowboy Coffee tradition, and the tradition started by John Arbuckle more than 150 years ago.
And while the product and customer loyaly can speak to how renowned the coffee is, Willis also reminds us, "the brand history is amazing."
It's that history that makes the "Coffee That Won the West" Absolutely Arizona.
——-
Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
