Shaler grad's coffee company helps dogs in need

Jordan Karcher, 30, hadn't planned on adopting a dog prior to meeting his Dalmatian, Molly, at a 2012 Santa Monica, Calif., rescue event.

Meanwhile, she had no idea that she would inspire Karcher to launch a coffee company dedicated to supporting canine rescue organizations.

“She kind of sheepishly crawled over and curled up into my lap and tucked her nose into my jacket, and you know, at that point, the whole plan changed, and I was just saying, ‘What do I need to do to leave with her today?' … And we started a whole kind of new journey together,” he said.

Karcher, a 2005 Shaler Area graduate, founded Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. in 2014 while earning his Notre Dame University MBA. The fair trade, organic coffee company donates 20 percent of proceeds from purchases to support one of the 50 rescue partners closest to customers' locations. Molly's image is proudly displayed on products leaving the Lawrenceville-based business.

Since its inception, Grounds & Hounds has donated more than $100,000, in addition to in-kind donations. Karcher, who resides in the Strip District, said Western Pennsylvania is one of the company's more active markets. The business counts Humane Animal Rescue, Animal Friends and Beaver County Humane Society as local partners.

“It's about a cause I'm very passionate about and it's trying to help find a way to solve an issue for animals who should not be at risk or euthanized or even entering into the shelter system into the first place.”

Karcher spent a portion of his youth in Wexford. While at both North Allegheny and Shaler Area school districts, he was active in sports. He earned a bachelor's in international business from Florida International University, where he had a full baseball scholarship, until injuries sidelined him. Following graduation, he moved to California, gaining experience working in the wine and spirits industry in Sonoma and Los Angeles.

“But my hobby on the side was always coffee. I was always really fascinated with the coffee industry, the roasting, the process, the growing, the agricultural aspect, learning about the different regions.”

He also said, when creating a consumer product, he wanted something that would have an ongoing consumer appeal, “where they're buying eight, 12 bags per year, rather than just purchasing one (dog) collar every three years.”

Above all, he strives to create a brand that people will love not exclusively because it helps dogs, but because it is a great product that also supports animal welfare.

“I wanted to create styles that would match general preferences that people have, so I wanted to have a breakfast blend, I wanted a dark roast, a medium roast, you know, a light roast single origin that has a chocolate profile, a light roast single origin that has a more citrusy profile.”

Grounds & Hounds is offering an official Puppy Bowl blend in honor of Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl XIV, which is airing opposite the Super Bowl. Customers who purchase the coffee, only available through Feb. 3, will receive a Puppy Bowl bandana.

“Puppy Bowl Blend is a Guatemalan and Papua New Guinea blend. We really haven't used much Guatemalan coffee previously, so I really liked how the two styles blended together and created this really nice, like, molasses sweetness.”

Thirty percent of proceeds from Puppy Bowl blend will fund the transfers of at-risk shelter pets of all ages to foster homes.

Grounds & Hounds is available by the cup at Lawrenceville's Coca Café and The North Shore's The Foundry Table & Tap and by the bag at Giant Eagle Market District. View a store locator and purchase online at: https://groundsandhoundscoffee.com/

Erica Cebzanov is a Tribune-Review contributor.