Where did the name of wilkins coffee come from? According to a post on Michael Procopio’s blog Food for the Uninformed: “Wilkins sold the coffee roasting business to The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company at about the same time that Wendell Wilkins Sr. started his roasting operation in Dedham, Massachusetts. They were partners and, later, formed a holding corporation, which is now known as Waring International.” According to the company’s annual report for fiscal year 2021: “Winding Foods Company, Inc. is a privately held specialty coffee manufacturer and distributor under the equity partnership program of General Electric, and also under the umbrella of The Coffee Club. It manufactures and distributes coffee, tea and flavored gourmet beverages under brands names such as Forever Vanilla, Nantucket Squeeze, and Wilkins Brand.”
As for the original name of Wilkins Coffee: it was derived from a man named Robert Wilkins who worked as a surveyor in the Tidewater area of Virginia. As he routinely roasted coffee beans on his own stove made from the roasted beans by hand, he came up with the name ‘ward’ – a mixture of ‘ward’ and ‘crisp’. The first brew was described as “a pleasing blend of mellow and delicate over-ripe flavor”. Eventually, the name ‘ward’ was changed to ‘wilkins’ to simplify the pronunciation. In recent years the company has switched to using the name ‘ward’.
How do you make a good cup of coffee from home? There are a number of manufacturers of coffee machines that make a decent pot of coffee, but they all use pre-ground coffee. Some people would rather drink pre-ground than ground, but not everyone can afford it. When coffee shops use pre-ground coffee beans, the beans are ground fresh right at the store by someone who does the job. The result is a fresher product and less carbon dioxide in the air.
You don’t have to drink pre-packed coffee either: There are a number of different coffee pod makers that will brew your coffee fresh at home, or in a pod (porta-pods) so you can enjoy your new coffee anytime of the day. If you prefer to drink your coffee cold, the pods work great because you can always store them in the freezer. That way when you want a cup of hot coffee, you don’t have to go and get one.
Wilkins Coffee is based in the US, where it started forty years ago: It has four stores in New York, two in San Francisco and one each in Dallas and Seattle. There are more than forty flavors of coffee and a wide variety of other products. Wilkins also makes some wonderful gourmet teas, espressos and other drinks. You can find their products in most grocery stores and many specialty coffee shops as well.
In fact, the only thing different at the locations is the brand of coffee: The coffee used at the stores is generally the same, but all of the packaging is different. All the products have the same quality standards as the rest of the line. I recommend you give the Wilkins Coffee brand a try if you’re looking for a good tasting and reasonably priced cup of coffee. You can’t go wrong.
