This story begins with an email on our neighborhood thread from my friend (and fellow morning walker) Ed Read. Early in January he posted the following:

“Hi neighbors,

I’m unabashedly putting in a plug here for this new coffee shop/ ‘micro-roaster’ just a few steps away from us.

I’m a coffee snob. I LOVE good coffee, especially fresh coffee, where the roast date is within several days. There IS a difference. There really is!

NO more buying coffee that is good ‘if used by 9 mo’s (or more!) from now’. I can now walk by, drop in, place an order for some freshly roasted beans and have them after a short wait or return the next day and literally have beans freshly roasted. He sources from small independent coffee farms all over. He has a great set-up, super equipment, and I’m just totally stoked that I can get such good coffee! 

Like a dream come true for me. 

So, please help out Doug as he launches his new business and start buying your fresh beans here.” 

Within days I had stopped by Celtic Cup Coffee, the brainchild of Doug Ilg, and tried it out for myself. Doug gave me a flight of coffee (light, medium, and dark roast) to try and we talked about his business and how he came to launch this new endeavor. The story can be found on his website, but the short version is that Doug, the founder and roast master, is a computer scientist who had a 30+ year career, including working with NASA and other agencies to devise ways of computing, organizing, storing, and distributing science data imagery from various Earth observing environmental satellite systems. We laughed about our shared experience of finding ourselves, as we aged, being a bit too much of the curmudgeon at work and deciding that it was time for the younger generation to have their shot. Doug’s decision was to follow his passion for coffee—one that began when he was just a boy—and help his community by broadening their home coffee brewing horizons.

After tasting the offerings, I made my choices and Doug roasted them while I waited. It took about 20 minutes, during which time a couple of other folks from the community stopped by, indicated they had seen Ed’s note (and the robust follow-up conversation), and wanted to give Celtic Cup a try. Since then, I’ve been making my coffee at home and loving it . . . which leads to the other part of the story.

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One of my rules for the road of life (#4 to be exact) is “spend less than you make.” These rules are really personal guidelines; not quite a principle but rather a reminder of how I want to live over time.

However, I had convinced myself that it was okay to stop in a local coffee shop and buy a fresh cup of coffee each morning (cost of $3-$5 a day plus a tip) to take with me on my morning walks (see rule #2). This was a habit I began during the pandemic and had continued for the next three years.

Candice would ask why I did it, given that I had a very nice coffee maker sitting on the counter at home. Now $5 each day wasn’t going to break our budget, but it didn’t really follow the spirit of that rule, as I was spending money unnecessarily. I told myself it was to support a local business (I’m a Main Street kind-of-guy) plus I liked getting to know the young people who were working early in the morning. But it still bugged me, and I know it bothered Candice although she was too kind to bring it up.

Celtic Cup helped me set a new path in life, for which I’m grateful. I still support a wonderful local merchant, the coffee is superb (better than what I was getting in most, if not all, of the shops I frequented), my coffee maker is back in business on a daily basis, and since Celtic Cup Coffee isn’t going to feature “all those fancy coffees” you’ll find at a place like Starbucks, I can still stop by Kefa Cafe, or Takoma Bev Co for the occasional latte. Win-win-win!

If you live in the neighborhood, stop by and give Celtic Cup Coffee a try. And if you don’t, email Doug and he’ll chat with you about shipping a pound of freshly roasted coffee direct to your house.

I’m sure that if you do, you’ll get that “Top of the morning” feeling to start your day!

More to come . . .

DJB

UPDATE: Here’s the photo that goes along with the comment I posted below:

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UPDATE NUMBER 2: Here are photos from the April 26, 2025 grand opening of Celtic Cup Coffee: