Heine Brothers’ Coffee, Louisville, KY

Fair trade coffee in nine cozy neighborhood locations

by Carrie Daut | August 18, 2011

When the caffeine craving hits during vacation, don’t head to the nearest Starbucks. Experience something local. When in Louisville, find the nearest Heine Brothers’ Coffee – and get your “heine” over there.

The first Heine Brothers’ Coffee location opened in Louisville in October of 1994. Today, they remain locally-owned and operated, and they’ve expanded to a total of nine area stores. Collectively, they serve over one million drinks each year.

From its birth, Heine Brothers’ has been an organic, fair trade coffeehouse. With 7 house blends and 12 single-origin coffees, Heine Brothers’ provides customers with cups of joe from some of the best coffee-producing areas of the world (including Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Sumatra and Ethiopia), while ensuring their farmers earn fair wages.

They’re serious about it too. Founders Mike Mays and Gary Heine travel directly to these countries to meet with local farmers. Heine Brothers’ sends its employees on Habitat for Humanity trips to Central America. And in 2000, Heine Brothers’ co-founded Cooperative Coffees, the first organic, fair trade green coffee purchasing cooperative in the world.

(Insider Tip: They also give back at home. When you buy a bag of their award-winning Mountain Dream house blend, 50 cents goes to stopping mountaintop removal mining in Eastern Kentucky.)

The Heine Brothers’ menu itself is filled to the brim with options: French press, espresso, cappuccinos and lattes. Chai, Italian sodas and smoothies, and even fresh-squeezed lemonade made with lemons from a local fruit market. They sell baked goods, paninis and locally-made granola and raw honey as well.

This Insider orders the iced coffee on hot days, medium coffee of the day on chilly ones. Her roommate, on the other hand, has been addicted to the frozen cappuccino for years.

Each Heine Brothers’ store has a personality of its own, reflecting the neighborhood it belongs to. Some showcase local art, while others host live music, and almost all stores decorate their walls with beautiful photos from their partner countries.

Heine Brothers’ has locations in Louisville’s Highlands, St. Matthews, Crescent Hill, Westport Village and Schnitzelburg neighborhoods. All stores offer free wifi, while parking, outdoor seating and drive-thrus vary by location. Most stores are open from 6:30 a.m. to at least 10 p.m. For more information on Heine Brothers’ Coffee, visit them at heinebroscoffee.com.