Getting its name from the Spanish words “amar” (love) and “vida” (life), Amavida Coffee & Tea is a favorite spot for a coffee break. The company is committed to conducting their business with a strong ethical foundation and a sense of fairness, while also maintaining lasting relationships with their customers, farmers, suppliers, employees and the community. The staff share the latest coffee news on the company’s blog at amavida.com.
Amavida imports sustainable Fair Trade and Organic coffee beans from more than a dozen countries. They also roast beans and are a local wholesaler of specialty coffees to businesses throughout Northwest Florida and nationwide.
Amavida pays as much attention to its food menu as it does its coffees and teas. Owner Dan Bailey wants customers to get to know the types of cuisine from the places where they source their coffee. The lunch menu offers authentic Latin street food you can find in the coffee growing regions. Popular choices include the arepas, which are traditional corn cakes from Venezuela and Columbia, classic Mexican tacos and the Caribbean empanadas.
“We love the lifestyle and share values with Seaside. It’s where we live, work and play,” says Jennifer Pawlik, program manager and benefit officer for the company. “Amavida Coffee wanted to open in Seaside because we found we have a common sense of community. As a business we want to be more than a place in the community, but rather a place of community. Seaside models local living and New Urbanist concepts, and we are proud to serve people here in our neighborhood.”
Throughout the years, Pawlik says, there have been big and small changes at Amavida. “We’ve gone from a small roaster and a single cafe in Seaside, to roasting locally and sending coffee to over 15 states while operating four cafes in the area,” she adds. “Though still small, and always undergoing changes, some of the best highlights are where we have grown but stayed the same.”
Amavida Coffee is owned by the Bailey family and run by a team of people who are growing with the company, and many of whom are raised here on the Panhandle. Over the years the team at Amavida Coffee has changed slightly, though with the support of the community many of the people on the team have had opportunities to develop themselves professionally and influence the company and coffee industry for the positive.
Future plans for Amavida include connecting people here with their coffee producers abroad. “In 2017, we relocated our roaster facility and would like to bridge the gap between coffee producers and coffee drinkers by inviting visitors not only to experience specialty coffee from our cafe perspective, but also to come and learn more from the roasting and importing side of things,” Pawlik says. “We’ll even invite patrons as far as the coffee farm through delegations with On the Ground Global.”
Visit us on the web at Amavida Coffee.