HANCEVILLE — Caffeine has come to Hanceville in a big way, thanks to the official opening of a new coffee roastery in the heart of the city’s historic downtown.

Located beside Hanceville Drug Co. along Commercial Street, Coffee Hour Co. isn’t just your average boutique coffee house. Begun in 2024 by husband-and-wife couple Jacob and Ella Jerrell, it’s a place where raw, “green” coffee beans from all over the world are transformed into their finished, brew-ready state using roasting recipes that the Jerrells themselves have perfected.

That’s a distinct difference that separates Coffee Hour Co. from even the most bespoke coffee shops, which typically grind and brew finished beans that they’ve sourced from an off-premises roaster — one that’s usually located somewhere far away. As a roastery, though, Coffee Hour Co. actually performs that vital finishing step right on site, courtesy of a big industrial-scale roasting machine where Jacob — the head roaster — dials in the nuanced art of applying temperature, time and a cooling-off process to create the ideal bag-ready blend.

“We’ve been at this location and selling bags of our roasted coffee since May or so of last year,” Jacob explained at the business’ recent grand opening and ribbon cutting. “But we’ve not had a retail, walk-in experience where people can come and sample our coffee until now.”

The Jerrells’ on-site roasting operation will continue to drive the bulk of their business, which offers bagged coffee in 12-ounce, 2-lb., and 5-lb. sizes both online nationwide as well as to local corporate clients and churches. But at least once each week — Thursdays from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. — Coffee Hour Co. is now opening its doors for coffee lovers to drop in and order up a full tasting sampler of Jacob’s roasted handiwork.

“You know how you can go to Goat Island or some other fancy brewery and try a flight of, say, three of their craft beers?” said Ella. “This is the coffee version of that: People can come here and be in a tasting room environment like you’d see at a wine bar. They can get a flight that has, maybe, an Ethiopian coffee, a Colombian coffee and maybe one from Brazil. It’s a fun way to try them all and see what makes each one of them stand out.”

For now, Coffee Hour Co. is keeping its walk-in hours to Thursdays, as well as pop-up opening dates that guests can glimpse in advance by following the company’s Facebook page (@coffeeehourco). To skip the tasting and get straight to the ready-to-buy bagged coffee (as well as to learn more of the Jerrells’ coffee roasting journey), visit the company’s website at www.coffeehourco.com.

Benjamin Bullard may be reached by email at ben.bullard@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.