Elizabeth Heller, Paper Frog Coffee

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Guest: Elizabeth Heller
Based: Woodbury, CT
Online: https://paperfrog.coffee/

The Coffee People Podcast traveled to the Specialty Coffee Association Expo in Houston, TX, to interview coffee pros at the Roastar, Inc. booth on the convention floor. Over two days, we recorded six episodes of Season 14. The third episode features Elizabeth Heller, Co-Founder of Paper Frog Coffee in Connecticut. We discuss her motivation to start a coffee company after a burgeoning career in music therapy, her discovery of a passion for art, and the effort required to pursue sustainable small business options. Also, we meet Clyde, the frog.

Elizabeth wasn’t originally on our list of interviewees for the event, but the Paper Frog Coffee booth was across from Roastar’s. I wandered over early on the first morning to see if they had any coffee brewed to get me moving before my official duties during the Expo. They didn’t, but the enthusiasm and general joy exuded from the booth won me over fairly quick. I invited Elizabeth over for a chat during a break in the action.

An excitable barista chats with a guest at a coffee booth in a convention center. Three shelves with colorful coffee bags are on the wall in the background. — Joyful vibes at the Paper Frog Coffee booth. Photo credit: @papercoffee on Instagram.

The biggest surprise during our conversation was that the booth was Paper Frog Coffee’s official worldwide launch. Talk about going big to introduce yourself to the world.

Beyond the conversation, Elizabeth and I swapped bags of coffee, and she gifted me with Clyde the Frog. Clyde has been a faithful travel companion over the past month, keeping me company on the long drive home. He even made the journey up to Yosemite with us for the holiday weekend. Clyde likes all trees, but he loves the big Sequoias the best.

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The Paper Frog Cofffee packaging was recently featured on the SCA design blog, and is produced by the Coffee People Podcast's presenting sponsor Roastar, Inc. They are a premier coffee packaging company utilizing digital printing. Roastar enables small-to-gigantic coffee businesses tell a big story. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4gIsHff.

Paper Frog’s design is well-rounded, especially for how new the brand is. There are flagship bags, limited-edition bags, and round tubes. Each features illustrations from CoFounder Elizabeth Heller. The whimsical designs are often inspired by films or characters from literature with a twist from the mainstream.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Don’t forget the Free Coffee Tour is kicking off next week. Meet us at our first stop in San Juan Capistrano, CA. We’ll be buying coffee at True Love Coffee Co. thanks to our friends at Hacea Coffee Source on Tuesday, June 2nd, at 9:00 AM.

True Love Coffee Co.
32122 Camino Capistrano,
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

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