un·can·ny
adjective \ˌən-ˈka-nē\
: strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand.
a : seeming to have a supernatural character or origin
b : being beyond what is normal or expected
A daydream in the waking world, Uncanny debuted at the Keller Farmer’s Market in 2014 with an intention of bringing quality coffee to an otherwise desolate specialty coffee landscape. After a four week stint, however, we (né myself) realized our savvy wasn’t up to our own standards, and set out to learn as much as we could about the coffee industry.
Ten years later, we’re ready for a rebirth.
What is “Cottage Food Law”?
The Texas Cottage Food Law allows anyone to sell certain foods made in their home kitchen without needing a license or commercial kitchen space. These folks (us included) can sell directly to consumers at places like farmers' markets or online, but their gross sales can't exceed $50,000 per year. Allowed foods include baked goods, candies, jams, and dried fruits, but not foods that require refrigeration like meat or dairy products.
We roast and package Uncanny Coffee in our dining room. But humble beginnings house big dreams: We hope expand into a showcase roastery and cafe space by 2027.
how do you roast coffee?
Coffee roasting is a complicated bit of alchemy disguised as a straight-forward process. Just as no two people are quite alike, each coffee has a unique set of traits that we strive to emphasize with the roasting process, prioritizing body, sweetness, and clarity of flavors.
We started this business with an Aillio Bullet R1, pictured here on the cupping table. It’s quite small — each batch yields only two 12 oz bags. But despite the small amount, we taste every single batch to ensure they’re up to our quality standards.
What’s the roaster’s name, you ask? Why it’s ATOM II, named after our fetching four-legged facility foreman, Atom.
tell me more about atom
Atom is a black tube of a doggo, roughly 35 pounds of dachshund, pug, and belly-rub-loving energy in a neat and tiny package. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the runt of an 8 puppy litter, shortly after Uncanny’s founder returned to Texas from living in Seattle, Washington.
The Seattle coffee scene is what inspired us to get into coffee. There simply wasn’t a coffee culture quite like it in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex at the time. An opportunity, you might say. But coffee is more complex than we thought, and it took us a while to truly be confident in our craft. We’re a little scrupulous. Atom has been there every step of the way.
His biggest strengths are wooing excitedly when we return home from taking the out the garbage, tip-tapping around nervously while we roast coffee, and going to his spot (a little dog bed) for treats, which he knows as “prizes”.
What is your business model?
We’re doing our best to bootstrap Uncanny into becoming what we’ve always dreamed: A showcase roastery and cafe space. We want to offer education to coffee enthusiasts and baristas alike, while giving industry-leading training to our baristas and roastery staff and offering a living wage.
Till we get there, you can find Uncanny Coffee Roasters popping up at a local farmers market or events around DFW. By supporting us, you’re fueling the daydream.
