The origins of the Saluda Grade Coffee Company began back in the 80's when the owner's career involved traveling the world to solve water quality issues for US food and beverage manufacturers and hotel chains. Those visits to Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia provided ample opportunities to taste coffees of the world on a local basis. He was hooked on the differences of geography and flavor profiles, between the latitudes and elevations and the degree of roasting. He began planning his weekend layovers around visiting coffee farms.
Fast forward to the present. After retiring, the founder and his wife were rehabilitating a defunct bed and breakfast in the Blue Ridge mountains of western NC when they were approached by the owner of the local coffee shop. A shop that had been in continuous operation for 20 years was going to close...., or the coffee nerd rehabbing the B&B might have an interest in keeping it open. The B&B guests love the coffee at the inn, so let's keep the community's iconic gathering and gabbing spot moving forward. Now, let's curate our personal and customer favorite espressos, single origin and blended coffees and brand it with a local national scale memory maker - The Saluda Grade Railway!
The historic railway is now in the midst of a rail trail conversion - 31 miles through NC and SC - with the entry into the Blue Ridge Mountains starting in Tryon, NC and proceeding up through the Town of Saluda, across the infamous Green River and on to it's termination point in Zirconia, NC.