In 1987, a love for coffee and $5,000 bought an old Sivetz roaster. The goal was simple - to see if our founders, Gretchen and Peter, could roast great tasting coffee, since getting delicious, freshly roasted coffee was hard to come by in the Central Valley of California. After months of cupping, roasting, testing, and learning, Gretchen and Peter decided they could do it - they could bring amazing coffee to their community. So, on April Fool's Day, 1988, when roasting coffee in a garage from the '30's in Downtown Modesto seemed like a joke, Clayton Coffee & Tea opened.
Since that day in 1988, we have roasted enough pounds to serve over 100 million cups to those who trust that we will bring them the best coffees we find. We have also gone through a few logo changes, added tea and espresso equipment to our lineup of offerings, and helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners create an amazing beverage experience for their customers.
Over the course of these last few decades, we have realized one important thing - coffee is a catalyst. Coffee helps either start, jumpstart, or end the day. Coffee can inspire, ignite conversation, and unite family and friends. Coffee facilitates connection and fosters appreciation. We roast great coffee to promote those experiences because we believe they are important. We like to make people happy because it makes us happy.
As we grow, we are committed to our environmental responsibility both locally and globally. For us that means purchasing responsibly, understanding the story of our growers, and being conscious of our carbon footprint. We are still committed to doing what we have always done well, which is to change the way people experience coffee.
We roast coffee on a vintage roaster, in small batches, by hand, everyday.
We are Clayton Coffee & Tea.