OBERLIN, Ohio — A northeast Ohio boy is already breaking into the coffee business. He even roasts beans in his family’s basement.
Eldon Foster is 10 years old now. But he’s already an experienced entrepreneur.
He came up with a plan for a coffee roasting business when he was just seven.
“I had the whole thing in my mind, took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down my logo and from now on it’s been that same thing. My logo was and still is a man holding a cup of coffee and saying to himself, ‘this is good coffee,'” said Eldon, the proud owner of Eldon’s Amazing Home-Roasted Coffee.
Eldon has been roasting and selling coffee to people for three years through his Facebook page, “Eldon’s Amazing Coffee.”
“I wanted to earn money. Then, after that we actually started up a real business and people really liked it and it started growing,” he said.
He roasts about 20 pounds of coffee a month and has varieties from all over the globe.
“Peru, Java, Papua New Guinea, French Roast. We have a lot of different kinds,” he said.
It’s a high-tech operation.
Eldon uses a computer linked to the bean roaster because each variety of coffee has different roasting levels.
“So when we put it in we have a roast curve. This and it’s a previous roast that had gone well and if it hasn’t gone well, we can fix it,” said Eldon.
Eldon’s father, Sam Foster, taught him how to roast coffee.
He said Eldon has already learned a lot about personal responsibility.
“It’s something we can do together, something I can help him grow. And I think it’s, it’s developed a lot of skills, a lot of just personal character having to follow through when a customer orders. He figures out when and how to fit it into his daily schedule,” said Foster.
Eldon not only loves roasting coffee, he likes drinking it too.
He’s only allowed one cup a week. Wednesday is his day.
“(My) parents try to limit the amount of coffee I drink because we only have one pot and if I drink all the coffee, then my parents don’t have enough coffee,” said Eldon.
Eldon’s dream is just beginning.
He hopes to one day open his own store.
“So, roasting coffee and giving it to people just makes me happy,” he said.
