Oberlin boy seeks to make people happy with his coffee business

OBERLIN — When Eldon Foster was 6 or 7 years old, he sketched a drawing of a person holding a cup of coffee to their mouth with the words "Good coffee!" in a thought bubble above their head. The sketch was envisioned as the logo for his new coffee business, "Eldon's Amazing Coffee," which he runs out of his Oberlin home with a little help and expertise from dad Sam Foster. A few years later, Eldon is 10 years old, the business is still going strong and the same drawing still is printed on the label for every bag of coffee he sells to customers in town and beyond. "Buy the green beans, roast the coffee, if the people want it, grind it so you can put it in your coffee maker," Eldon said, describing the process for each bag. "... We put a label onto the bag, open the bag, pour it in and sell it." Eldon's Amazing Coffee offers many varieties of beans and ground coffee, including a Brazil Dry Process Minas Cafe Pequeño, a Ethiopia Sidama Damo and several others, for delivery within Oberlin or pickup. Orders can be placed through a link on the Eldon's Amazing Coffee page on Facebook, and customers can choose their own roast and grind levels. Making money was never the primary goal for Eldon. Sure, having a little extra cash is never a bad thing, but he said some of his favorite memories are when he's seen his beans make a customer happy. His cello instructor recently sent the family an email about how espresso she bought from Eldon made the best affogato — a dessert with espresso over ice cream or gelato — that she has ever tasted. Another time Eldon felt his mission of making people happy was succeeding was when a friend from church told all his coworkers about his business. "He bought like 16 bags of coffee and I came into church with this huge box of coffee and it was like four days of straight roasting," he said. "And it smelled good," Sam Foster laughed. Operating his own business has not been all fun and games for the young entrepreneur. He said there was at least one occasion when he burned a batch of beans because he forgot they were roasting while playing outside. But for the most part it has been a fun experience. It didn't hurt that Eldon comes from a coffee-appreciating family. He has loved the flavors of the drink since he first tasted it and has been roasting it since he turned 7. It also didn't hurt that the family already had some of the equipment needed inside their home. Sam Foster roasts coffee and brews his own beer, and the same equipment for the beer can be used to steep the coffee similarly to a French press. "All of the kids drink coffee and enjoy it," Sam Foster said, reflecting on why Eldon wanted a coffee business. "My daughter, the oldest, she would have a little bit of coffee with a lot of milk in a bottle when she was little, and they've all just loved it." A software developer by trade, he also has the spirit of an entrepreneur. Sam Foster recently received site approval from the Oberlin Planning Commission to open a new brewpub at 29 S. Main St. in Oberlin. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.