Full steam ahead for the Milton Home Coffee Roastery
Milton’s smallest coffee roastery is brewing up something special.
The shed that houses Milton Home Coffee Roastery recently doubled in size to fit a refrigerator, additional furniture and more bags of coffee. As her business’ popularity grew since its opening in June 2023, owner Lara Ozden K. Ware recognized the need to expand her space to continue serving high-quality coffee from countries around the world.
Ware works with international traders to obtain hand-picked coffee beans from farms in Colombia, Honduras, Brazil, Yemen, Costa Rica, Peru and Nicaragua. She also makes Turkish coffee and chickpeas coffee. Like Ware, both beverages are native Istanbul.
“I’m very particular about getting the best organic coffees and serving a better taste and longer flavor that stays in the mouth,” Ware said.
Coffee expertise is nothing new in Ware’s family. As a child, Ware was surrounded by the smell of roasting coffee thanks to her grandparents’ careers in the Turkish coffee business. Her family initially inspired her to open a coffee shop in Istanbul, and now she’s done the same in the United States.
“I got another life and family here,” Ware said. “I feel like I belong here. That’s why I wanted to root here, building off my grandparents’ business and make their dreams come true.”
Along with her coffee shop in Istanbul, Ware worked several other jobs, including careers in real estate and medical sales. Due to the economic crisis in Turkey, working multiple jobs is necessary, according to Ware. However, no other business gives her joy like the coffee business, she said.
Ware moved to the U.S. in 2017. She landed in Florida where she took language education courses before connecting with people from Delaware who worked in the coffee industry. Three years later, Ware moved to Rehoboth Beach and spent stints at Dreamer Coffee & Juice Bar and Nectar Cafe & Juice Bar.
Once she married her husband, Douglas, Ware moved to Milton. In Milton, she found the perfect place to pursue her passion for coffee.
“Once I saw the city of Milton, I loved the city and wanted to do business in Milton,” Ware said. “That is what inspired me to make it here and that’s why I named it Milton Home Coffee.”
When customers enter the roastery, Ware works with them to determine a drink that would fit their taste. She even inquires about how long customers hope to sip on their coffee to identify a beverage that is either crafted to last or be finished quickly.
“People like what I’m doing,” Ware said. “They find it very unique. I don’t think anyone is doing this from their house. They see what they’re buying – it’s not in the bag. I show them and serve them whatever they want to get.”
No matter what customers buy, Ware says the best part of her small-batch roastery will always be sharing a cup of coffee with another person.
“Coffee connects people to each other,” Ware said. “That’s what coffee means to me.”
Visit Milton Home Coffee Roastery at 28533 Cave Neck Road or go to miltonhomecoffeeroasters.square.site/.
