SigMT

FORT BENTON, MONTANA SiG MT 13 URBAN AFFAIRS Neighborhoods Old Bridge Coffee Roasters: Imports Return to Fort Benton S MT 1500 Front Street, Fort Benton, MT Text by Heather Bode • Photography by Eric Visocan With the demise of the steamboat age, the river town of Fort Benton lost its major avenue of trade with the outside world. But today that's changing… through coffee. Amanda Bedford opened Wake Cup Coffeehouse fieen years ago. "When I first opened, I was interested in roasting, but I knew nothing about it," she says. "Now there's this burst of fresh life," says Bedford. "A lot of businesses have been bought by energetic entrepreneurs." It's a time of innovation. In November 2018, with the encouragement of a knowledgeable friend, Bedford opened Old Bridge Coffee Roasters. Old Bridge is a separate entity from the Wake Cup and rents space within the coffeehouse at 1500 Front Street. Bedford says her roaster, Jake Berger, is very detail-oriented which makes him a perfect fit for the comprehensive position he holds as chief roaster and coffee machine technician. "We source beans from three different importers," Bedford says. "ey provide a nice variety of beans for us to choose from. We have roasted coffee from Brazil, Ethiopia, and others. People here tend to like the rich chocolatey espresso, but we think once they try something new, they'll like it. Now that we have this good base, we want to introduce something new." Choosing appropriate beans is done through cupping. "Every coffee has a different profile based on elevation, the country, and the farm it's grown on," says Bedford. "We cup every sample. We roast everything at the same level to give us a good idea. ere's such a process to it." Bedford runs the Wake Cup, the airbnb upstairs, and Old Bridge. What keeps her going? "I started this because Fort Benton needed a gathering place where you meet friends and where you tell family important news. at's kept me going," she says. Where Can You Find Old Bridge Coffee? • Wake Cup Coffeehouse • Grand Union Hotel • Milk & Honey in Geraldine • Mae & June Vintage Market in Helena • Wake Cup's Coffee Cart-start looking for it at major events! • Order on their website: oldbridgecoffee.ecwid.com/ Old Bridge's roaster, Jake Berger, learned his trade from Levi Chagnon. Berger has worked at the Wake Cup for 5 years and says roasting is something he always wanted to do. Before ordering a bag of coffee beans, Berger and Bedford cup samples. Bedford says, "We might be really excited about a coffee, and then we cup it and it's so much different than we thought." There's no better way to start a morning than grabbing a cup of Old Bridge Coffee and drinking it on Fort Benton's old bridge.

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