At 16, Reid Burford is about the age where one might expect to find him working as a coffee shop barista, but that is not the case. Instead, the Benicia High School junior roasts and distributes his own coffee as part of his business Howling Hounds Coffee Roasters. What’s more: he has been doing it since he was 14.

Burford has been a coffee enthusiast since he had his first cup of joe at the age of 12. This interest was magnified as a result of going to coffee shops over the years.

“I was very interested in the process of roasting coffee and brewing it,” he said. “I saw these big, fancy, shiny espresso machines at the coffee shops, and I always found it interesting to watch the baristas prepare the coffee.”

Burford became interested in brewing coffee and then decided he wanted to start roasting coffee. After becoming impressed with the products of his roasting, Burford felt the entrepreneurial spirit start to kick in.

“I was planning on starting this company right out of college and maybe getting another job, but of course I couldn’t wait to start my own company,” he said. “My dad encouraged me to start my own company at 14, and he helped me with the financial stuff because I am under 18, but most of the work was done by me.”

Thus, Howling Hounds Coffee Roasters was born in 2016. The name is a reference to Burford’s two Basset hounds who often observe his roasting process. Burford said he wanted to choose a name that reflected the uniqueness of his company, and his dogs— particularly their howls— reflected that.

Burford roasts his coffee at home, and he has a website where patrons can order beans or blends online. The coffee is not roasted until after people place their orders

“I receive the order through an email, and it tells me if they want it in whole bean or if they want it ground and what blend they ordered, so then I will go roast that coffee, package it up myself and either deliver it by hand if they live locally or I will mail it out if they live in a different city or state,” he said.

Instead of roasting the beans in large batches, Burford said they are roasted in one batch at a time to maintain consistency. Additionally, they are sourced from various coffee distributors, including Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders in Orange County, Sweet Maria’s Coffee in Oakland and Moschetti, Inc. in Vallejo.

“Fabrice (the owner of Moschetti) actually sells green unroasted coffee beans as well, so I buy about three of four different kinds of beans and then I use two of those to make my most popular blend, the Lazy Basset,” he said. “I’m kind of putting my own special touch on the beans.”

Howling Hounds sells a variety of blends, single origin and decaf products, with beans originating from coffee producing meccas like Brazil, Honduras and Ethiopia.

Burford has been giving business cards to local businesses to try and establish partnerships. He had partnered with Julie Chiodo, the owner of Bayside Vintage Living, to have his coffee sold at her store until the business closed at its location in April. Nonetheless, Burford is open to having his product sold at other businesses.

“I would love to do partnerships with any other place that would like to serve coffee,” he said.

Additionally, Burford plans to major in business finance at a Pacific Northwest college, preferably Oregon State University or the University of Washington. He plans on taking his business with him, and opening a shop after he graduates from college.

“If it goes very well there, then I might expand a little bit, but I also love being in control of the business so I definitely want to keep it small and local.”

Burford said patrons accustomed to drinking coffee from large chains or purchasing blends from grocery stores will notice a huge difference in the taste of his coffees.

“My coffee beans are roasted very carefully and always fresh roasted,” he said. “A lot of people who have tried it say it’s not bitter at all, and it’s just a completely different experience.”

“If they’ve only been drinking Starbucks or big chain coffees, then it’s probably going to be a life-changing difference for them.”

For more information on the business, visit howlinghoundsroasters.com.