Skya’ana Coffee Co.
A good cup of coffee comes from good beans. At Skya’ana Coffee Co., Tina is house roasting and serving quality coffee in her community.
Fresh Local Coffee on Prince of Wales
In a wooden building nestled in the middle of Klawock sits Skya’ana Coffee Co., a local coffee roasting company that supplies the coffee shops catering to locals down the road in Craig. Tina Isaacs Steffen has owned and run coffee shops for more than 12 years, and in 2016, with support from Spruce Root’s Path to Prosperity competition, she expanded the business to include coffee roasting. Steffen celebrates tradition and heritage, with deep roots and investment in the community. Even the name, Skya’ana, is a tribute to her native culture and comes from the Haida word meaning “to be awake.” Steffen says, “I could go anywhere, but I want to be here in my community. Building and supporting the people here is what’s important to me.” So far, Tina and her son have attended coffee school and made visits to the farms where they buy their beans, all in the name of bringing better and more sustainable coffee and growth to their community.
“I mean I could go anywhere, but I want to be here in my community. Building and supporting the people here is what’s important to me.”
Partnership with Spruce Root
In 2016, Skya’ana was one of two winners in Spruce Root’s Path to Prosperity business competition and received a $40,000 award. They participated in the annual intensive business Boot Camp weekend and deployed their award funding for technical assistance and consulting services to grow their business.