In 1999 Chef Craig Shelton was awarded membership into the Relais Gourmand making him one of only 22 chefs in the United States with this status, signifying that his culinary skills and palate are unsurpassed. In addition, Craig's background in molecular biochemistry gives him a unique insight into the mechanisms of taste and the experience to create unusual and satisfying taste experiences. It is these skills that led to the development of our coffees. Craig wanted to ensure that his guests enjoy every moment of their meal at the Ryland Inn, and that their final impression measured up to everything that had come before in their dining experience.

Everything that was available in the market failed to meet his exacting standards, so Craig set out to create his own blend. Using the model of the great Bordeaux wines of France, he intended to create a "complete coffee": rich yet elegant, with complex layers of flavor - the Ryland Inn Blend.

The Ryland Inn Blend is set apart from all others because of Craig's dedication to ensuring both the quality of the beans, as well as a meticulous proprietary roasting and blending process, which permits the individual taste and qualities of each bean to be imparted into the final brewed coffee. The final result is a flawless coffee that you must taste to appreciate!

His customer's loved the coffee so much, and there were so many requests to buy the coffee, Craig decided to launch the Chef's Coffee Company to market and sell this original blend. This effort has expanded beyond his initial expectations to include additional unique blends of coffee and espresso using Chef Shelton's unsurpassed palate and the worlds finest Arabica beans to hand craft remarkable new taste experiences.

Using his culinary and biochemistry knowledge, Craig has created truly amazing taste combinations where the coffee blend reacts to different environments, tailoring the coffee taste to the lifestyles and surroundings of the coffee drinker. As the Chef says, "What makes us different is that we recognized long ago that the environment can dramatically change the taste of the coffee. The same cup of coffee will taste completely different on a beach, a mountain top, at a horse race, or at a restaurant. So we take that into account as we formulate proprietary blends and roasting techniques to create specific blends for various situations. Each blend we have created is designed to shine in a particular surrounding. This is an outgrowth of my 25 year passion for marrying food and wine".

Furthermore, the freshness of the coffee is guaranteed. We go through extraordinary steps to ensure our customers get the finest coffee in the world, delivered fresh to their homes. All of the beans are roasted to order in small batches, packaged, and shipped weekly using nitrogen, and one-way valve bags that allow the CO₂ to escape the freshly roasted coffee while keeping ambient air out.

In order to complete the full coffee experience we are also offering a line of the finest premium chocolates and biscotti.

Try our Ryland Inn Blend, and our other fine coffees and decide for yourself. We are certain you will agree this is the finest premium coffee you have ever tasted!