Coffee is a family affair for Evan Vega.
He and his wife, Dani Kahn, own HG (Higher Grounds) Coffee in Apache Junction and his mother, Diana Vega, owns the HG Roastery and Café at 354 N. Country Club Drive, Mesa.
Dani and Evan distribute their coffee to both Diana’s Mesa cafe and to the two Superstition Springs farmers markets at 4755 E. Main Street, Mesa, and in Apache Junction.
The business started with Diana, who opened HG Roastery and Cafe in 2013 in Gilbert.
“We were a small cafe,” Dani said. “We roasted all of our coffee in the lobby of the Gilbert location.”
That location closed in 2021, when Vega and Kahn moved their roastery to their current location. The following year, Diana opened the Mesa coffee shop.
“My mother-in-law serves breakfast, lunch and pastries out of her shop and does catering,” Dani said. “We focus just solely on the coffee and distribution.”
One of the more popular items at the Mesa cafe is the carrot cake that Dani noted receives numerous positive online reviews.
“People love it because it’s also gluten-friendly,” Dani said. “We also do a lot of coffee cake. We have a popular one called the Cherry Strudel. It’s like a cherry pie crumble. We try to keep it simple with the food there as we focus on the coffee. You can get a great latte or a caramel macchiato.
“We have a drink called the Salt And Light, which is salted caramel and white chocolate. That is one of our most popular specials. We serve those daily.”
Dani and Evan were inspired by his mother to get into the coffee business.
“She always wanted a coffee shop,” Dani explained. “Diana worked for a lot of catering companies. She did a lot of customer service. She went to college for her culinary degree. We all worked at the Hilton together. She hired me when she was the catering director. She decided she wanted to get out of the corporate world and start her own coffee shop and she enlisted our help.
“I didn’t choose the coffee life; the coffee life chose me.
“I love coffee. I drink coffee. We fell into it. My husband, who has been roasting for over 12 years, initially wasn’t going to be a coffee roaster but he has become quite skilled at roasting.”
Evan previously was an engineer at the Hilton, but also has a food service background like Dani.
“It definitely helps with customer service and understanding how to serve and following Christ in that, as well, is a big thing for us,” Dani said.
“Our faith is a huge part of our business. If you come into our coffee shop, we have scripture on the walls. We always like to tell people, ‘We’re the co-owners but God is the owner of our business.’ And that’s helped us significantly with everything we have built there, the relationships we’ve made and the service we provide. It’s critical for our business.”
The couple prides themselves on providing fresh coffee to customers.
“None of our bags go out that are older than three or four days,” Dani said.
“A lot of people say, ‘Wow! This coffee smells so good. It’s so strong. You open the bag, and it hits you with all this flavor.’ Freshness is how we stand out.”
For those who aren’t coffee connoisseurs or want to learn more about what makes a good cup of coffee, Dani said, “We’re happy to go over what it means to enjoy your cup of coffee and what you’re looking for.
“We get coffee from all around the world. We have a great distributor who goes to individual farms in South America, Africa and Mexico.”
She said a lot of coffees are in small lots, so it’s higher quality. “We source our beans from high-quality farms and people who care about what they’re sending out.”
Expansion is in their future plans, but Dani said they want to keep the roastery business regional.
“We want to make sure our coffee is fresh because if you’re shipping it out-of-state or really far, it’s going to get old. It loses its flavor and caffeine content. More importantly, we want to get more people educated on how to make a great cup of coffee.”
They plan to do that by going to festivals and farmers’ markets and showing people how fresh roast matters.
