Small Business Spotlight: Curious Joe Coffee

At Curious Joe Coffee, every cup is an adventure! Owners Gigi and Danny Ritggers started their De Soto-based coffee roastery with a mission: to bring exceptional specialty coffee to Central Iowa while building direct relationships with the farmers who grow it. More than just great coffee, Curious Joe is about connection, sustainability, and storytelling. Each batch is carefully sourced, roasted, and crafted to highlight the unique flavors of its origin, ensuring a top-tier experience for every coffee lover.

From farmers’ markets to local cafés and beyond, Curious Joe Coffee is making its mark one delicious brew at a time. Keep reading to learn more about their journey, what makes their coffee special, and where you can grab a cup!

LLF: Hi, Gigi and Danny! Tell us who you are and more about your business! 

CJC: We are Gigi and Danny Ritggers, owners of Curious Joe Coffee. We are a direct trade coffee importer and roastery located in De Soto, IA, focused on offering exceptional specialty coffee. We are driven by taking our customers on a journey around the world through the sensorial excellence in every cup. Therefore, every one of our coffees tells a unique story connecting coffee explorers to the families that grow their coffee.

LLF: What inspired you to start your coffee business? 

CJC: In 2020, we were looking for a way to start a business that connected our family's cultures and backgrounds. We started out with the idea of importing chocolate, and while researching that opportunity, we connected with coffee growers who gave us some green coffee samples. The coffee was amazing, and there was so much potential for great quality coffee from small specialty growers that were not able to export by themselves. At the same time, we realized that big co-ops and exporters/importers took advantage of small growers, selling their beans at huge margins without actually benefiting or impacting the life of the growers at the origin. This, and our love for tasty food and coffee, led us to seize the day, and we began endlessly researching, planning, and training before beginning to sample and roast coffee. 

LLF: What makes your coffee different from others on the market? 

CJC: What makes us stand out is our unique attention to excellence, our close relationships throughout the supply chain from farm to cup, and the traceability that it brings. Having a personal relationship with all the families that grow our coffee allows us to plan ahead and have batches customized to our needs. This means each coffee can be selected and processed specifically for us and our clients. This level of detail equips us to educate and share why every coffee we pick is unique and how each variety expresses differently based on the region, microclimate, and the fermentation and drying process. We are also able to rely on grower expertise, and how the coffee was grown and processed to best determine the roasting profile to highlight all of the attributes we want in a cup of coffee. 

Another important component of quality is the special attention we pay to the selection of green coffee from origin and before roasting. By selecting the best beans and discarding any imperfections, we can guarantee the cleanest, uniformly roasted beans. 

LLF: Do you work with specific farms or regions? How do you ensure quality and sustainability in your coffee? 

CJC: We work with specific farms, mostly in Peru but also in Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. We actually have culinary and agriculture backgrounds and have trained ourselves to be able to assess the quality of our coffee. Our team consists of dedicated growers and industry professionals who work to ensure the highest standards and quality through every step of the process. Kevin, the Operations Manager in Peru, is in charge of visiting the fincas across Peru; he oversees quality control and the exportation process.   

Moreover, our close relationship with the coffee growers allows us to have a clear understanding of their operations and farming practices, guaranteeing sustainability. We carefully evaluate who we work with in terms of ethics and environmental and social responsibility. We prioritize growers with a mission in their communities, and that includes clear eco-friendly practices such as repurposing coffee cherries and husks, balancing forestry and agriculture, and more. 

LLF: What is the most rewarding part of running a small business? 

CJC: The best part of what we do is our ability to share a coffee bean’s journey from seed to cup with our customers. At the same time, it is very fulfilling to see the impact we have on the lives and business growth of the families who grow our coffee. We are energized by the joy, pride, and delight manifested in our growers when they see the fruits of their labor as their beans reach new markets and fill the cups of Coffee Explorers around the world. It becomes their motivation and provides them with the opportunity to reinvest in their facilities and growth. We are bringing new levels of vertical integration to the specialty coffee supply chain.

LLF: How do you connect with and support your local community? 

CJC: We connect with our local community by sampling coffee and participating in different events during the year, especially the Grimes Farmers Market in Spring and Fall. Curious Joe Coffee supports CanDo Cancer from Ankeny by raising funds and awareness through the sales of our Lady Grace coffee, and in October, we launch a special edition named Natural Grace. We also contribute to other causes through our products or sponsorships. 

Likewise, we support local first responders, hospitals, and the VA by donating coffee. 

LLF: Top 3 favorite small Businesses? 

CJC:

• Meier Family Chiropractic. We met Dr. Nick Meier in his beginnings at his office in Waukee and became friends with him. His business has grown so much in the last three years, and we are very proud of him. He and Dr. Gavin are very kind, gentle local Chiropractors.
• Big Rack Brew House.They have a really nice place located near Winterset. Aaron and his team are amazing at crafting new brews. The Killer- Watt Citrus Wheat is one of our favorites, and it is so tasty, clean, and balanced.
• Lula Lather. We met Trisha and Sarah at the Grimes Farmers Market, and we were delighted by their products. They offer amazing skin care products and are constantly supporting other fellow local businesses. We highly recommend their lotion bars and bug-repellent lotion!

LLF: Where can readers find your coffee?

CJC:

• Online at www.curiousjoecoffee.com
• Metro Hy-Vee stores
• All 5 Borough Bagels locations
• The Traveling Nova, events cocktails, and coffee mobile.
• Canoyer’s Garden Center in Grimes
• Grimes Farmers Market
• Collaborations for local artisan beers: Big Rack Brew Haus and Hi-Fi Lounge
• Different events and pop-ups throughout the year. Check our social accounts! 

LLF: Okay, one last question! If Curious Joe had a signature drink, what would it be and why? 

CJC: A geisha coffee brewed in a pour-over. The geisha variety has a very particular profile and taste—nothing like a regular coffee. It often has notes of white flower blossoms, berries, or peaches and a lingering tea-like aftertaste. It is usually a low-yield crop and very delicate for roasting, so it can be a one-of-a-kind brew. When we have guests over at the roastery, we are always eager to make them try it because it is a noteworthy, special experience.