Our Producers

Locals might be familiar with Braune’s October Pumpkin Patch, their annual event featuring hayrides, pumpkin-picking, farm animals...

It started in an East Austin backyard and grew into a 186-acre farm.

Brenton Johnson must’ve seen Austin’s appetite for farm-fresh produce coming. In 2004, he started growing beautiful produce in his backyard and delighted in his bounty. He loved growing fruits and vegetables, so he took it a step further and began selling at farmers markets (he credits his experience selling grilled cheese sandwiches at Grateful Dead shows as giving him an edge in those early days). His clientele grew to the point that he could launch his own CSA program in 2006, selling to around 30 Austin families; in that same year, his success drove him to expand his operation to 20 acres of land east of Austin.

Even the armadillos are welcome at Middle Ground Farm.

This small 30-acre farm is located along the beautiful Colorado River in Bastrop County, Texas. Their Certified Organic produce is a testament to the love they show for the land and the creatures living on it. Not only does this include native pollinators, but it also includes armadillos. (We like imagining these armored mammals as planting buddies for the Middleground farmers while they harvest.)

We appreciate the giddyup of a good cup of coffee. It fuels our mornings, afternoons, (sometimes nights), and makes us appreciate even more the dedicated team of bean growers, roasters, baristas, and fair trade educators at Texas Coffee Traders.

As co-founder RC Beall describes it,it took a truly terrible cup of coffee in the middle of Montana to plant the seed of an idea for what would one day become Texas Coffee Traders. Fortunately for us, that cup set him on a new path of roasting his own beans and launching his first company in 1981, Montana Coffee Traders.

Over the next 13 years, RC’s poured his heart into his Montana coffee-loving community, but he never lost his thirst for knowledge. In 1990, he traveled to the Monteverde region of Costa Rica and met Carlos Vargas, the manager of a coffee-producing co-op called Santa Elena. RC learned all he could during the visit, and even roasted some of the co-op’s green beans for the farmers, many of whom had never tried their coffee.

During the trip, RC and Carlos outlined a fair trade relationship modeled after the European fair trade movement:

Having read about the fair-trade movement in Europe, RC offered to buy some of their green coffee at a price much higher than usual, along with the benefit of giving a dollar back to the farm for each pound sold. This established one of the first fair-trade relationships in the United States, and began a lifelong friendship between RC and Carlos.

And then came Texas. In the early 90s, RC returned to his roots to marry his childhood friend, Beth. The two opened Texas Coffee Traders in East Austin in 1994 and the company has been slinging lattes and roasting beans from all over the world ever since.

Through it all, they haven’t lost sight of their local mission to give back to the community in all their efforts: partnering with local nonprofits; donating thousands of cups of coffee to countless organizatons; hosting Thursday Night Throwdown latte art competitions; managing a fleet of espresso machine service technicians; and educating the community with a first-of-its-kind SCA-certified program. 

TCF’s love for Austin and its coffee-loving fans is what has us so excited to partner with them!

Of course this Irish family-run creamery is located in Dublin ... Dublin, Texas, that is.

Armagh Creamery’s dairy heritage is over 100 years strong and originates in Armagh County, Ireland, inspiring its namesake. Their dairy farming traditions have passed down through five generations of McDowells, with three generations currently carrying on the legacy. Just like their ancestors, they remain committed to making organic yogurt and cheese in small batches, with pure, simple ingredients and milk from their pasture-raised cows.

So what, exactly are those family traditions? To put it simply: everything is produced from start to finish on the family farm. This farmstead process involves raising their own heritage breed cows, letting them graze on their native grasses, milking them on site for the freshest ingredients possible, and finally, producing their brie-style cheese and double cream yogurt in their own creamery. 

Pure Pastures is a family-owned and operated ranch in Canyon Lake, Texas. They practice 100% regenerative farming techniques and produce some of the most delicious, nutrient-dense meats in the heart of Texas Hill Country.