Coffee and pipe tobacco go hand in hand. In many cases, you might be pairing coffees with your tobaccos without intending to. Whether you're a coffee enthusiast with all the gadgets to brew that perfect cup or someone who has a quick mug to fuel the day, our Smokingpipes Roasts line features something for everyone, including house blends unavailable anywhere else, alongside specialty coffee from our favorite roasteries around the country. We've partnered with our friends at Methodical Coffee right here in South Carolina and are pleased to share the first three Smokingpipes Roasts blends, available now.

Initial Idea for Methodical Coffee at Smokingpipes

Many of us here at Smokingpipes are coffee connoisseurs. The idea to start selling coffee began years ago when our own Alan Britt and Shane Ireland, among others at the organization, befriended Methodical Coffee's Director of Roastery Operations, Bo Parker.

"It goes without saying that we're all fans of Methodical," says Alan. "Personally I've been drinking their coffee for years now, and I've been into the more craft side of coffee roasting and manufacturing for a long time, even before I was into pipes and cigars. It was my original rabbit-hole hobby." Alan's first experience with Methodical was at the Muletown Pipe Show in 2023. "I met Bo and Justin Cottner and had no idea they were coffee roasters at the time."

Bo is also a pipe smoker, so a bond naturally formed between Methodical and Smokingpipes. "Bo ended up giving me a sample at the show that I took back, and I just instantly fell in love with the coffee." He believes Blue Boy, their flagship and best-selling coffee, was the first he tried. Soon enough, Alan also hooked Shane onto Methodical, and although Shane is still primarily an aged-tea drinker, he also loves specialty coffee and likewise fell for the roastery.

It has been a working idea to carry coffee at Smokingpipes for years. "We love coffee so much," says Shane. "The original idea was just to carry existing coffees. It wasn't until we got really close with the Methodical guys that we considered making our own coffee blends."

It has been a working idea to carry coffee at Smokingpipes for years.

Alan was confident that Methodical were the people they needed to explore this endeavor with first. "They're our people and we're their people," he says. "They're fans of what we do, and we're fans of what they do, and that's maybe the best way to start a partnership. It's great to buy good products, but it is even better when you're supporting great people."

Shane shares that he has tried myriad specialty coffees over the years from small producers and friends who are at-home roasters. "There's a lot of good coffee out there. What got me really hooked on Methodical was their quality control, consistency, and overall caliber. It's as high as I've ever found." He has liked every coffee he has tried from them, and adds that Methodical's standing among its peers factored heavily into the decision — outside experts consistently rank it among the country's top roasters.

Beyond quality, Methodical's values extend to programs that support younger coffee producers. "It's not just about fair and direct trade," says Shane. "They're actually supporting producers who are trying to either come up in the coffee business on their own or take their family farm in a new direction and territory. They support people who are doing experimental processing and collaborate with other coffee producers. Their whole business model and vibe aligns with what we at Laudisi also strive for.

"They also have something for everybody," he says. "They produce coffees that your standard dark-roast coffee drinkers are gonna love, and then they produce coffees that really push the boundaries of what you thought was possible when tasting a coffee." No matter your preference or prior conceptions about coffee, they've got you covered. "We just fell in love with their factory, their location, their roastery, and their company culture — all of it."

Bo's own relationship with tobacco made the collaboration feel inevitable from the start. When he joined Methodical, he told his pipe-world friends about it right away. "Coffee and tobacco are so connected," he says. "Cuban culture is to get up with an espresso and a cigar. There are tons of people across the world who connect coffee and tobacco... they're cousins or best friends or something."

There are tons of people across the world who connect coffee and tobacco... they're cousins or best friends or something.

At last year's Chicago Pipe Show, Methodical provided coffee for the Smokingpipes table, which everyone enjoyed. Then, back in April, Bo was in San Diego for the World of Coffee Expo, where he met up with Shane for tacos. That's when Shane finally asked the real question. "We've talked about this for at least two years now," Bo recalls him saying. "What is the reality of selling coffee on Smokingpipes? Are y'all geared for that? Could you handle the volume?"

Even with the idea on the table for years, Bo says the moment still caught him off guard. "My jaw hit the floor when he said he wanted to do it — and with Methodical of all roasteries." Proximity — Methodical and Smokingpipes are both based in South Carolina — and aligned values made the answer an easy yes.

With both companies onboard, collaboration began on the first of the Smokingpipes Roasts coffees. "I've maybe never been more excited about something we've done here at Smokingpipes," says Alan. "I love supporting roasteries that are local to the Carolinas. What Methodical does, from seed to buying a cup of coffee in one of their shops, they're trying to further coffee culture and share their passion."

That commitment extends to how Methodical trains its people, too. "Their baristas go to their headquarters," he says, "and they have an entire training course that they put these baristas through... They're trying to do the exact same thing for coffee and build the next generation of not only coffee growers, but coffee drinkers." At a roastery like Methodical, they're not simply crafting a latte, they're crafting coffee culture.

At a roastery like Methodical, they're not simply crafting a latte, they're crafting coffee culture.

Smokingpipes' House Blends: Smokingpipes Roasts

The idea has now flourished into a new line at Smokingpipes: Smokingpipes Roasts, consisting of coffees from our favorite roasteries, starting with Methodical Coffee, as well as Onyx Coffee Lab, and Portrait Coffee, with more additions to come in the future. As for creating our own line of coffee, we will be collaborating with the brands we carry to present Smokingpipes Roasts house blends. The first three of the line were made in collaboration with Methodical Coffee.

"All the research and development," says Shane, "tasting, and curating the lineup of coffees that we would sell under the Smokingpipes Roasts brand probably wouldn't have happened without the Methodical guys. We would've just been offering a handful of coffees. Instead, they were generous enough to collaborate with us on it."

Several people from Smokingpipes, including Alan and Shane, visited Methodical's headquarters in Greenville, SC, and spent the whole day blind-tasting coffee to decide which three single-origin, naturally processed coffees we would offer. Bo is pleased by the variety and uniqueness of the trio of coffees. "They're all really cool," he says. "The Smokingpipes guys picked three very different coffees — the flavor profile, the roast profile, and how they're presented; it's very much a wide spectrum. Whether it's somebody who picks up a cup of coffee on their way to work or someone who has thousands of dollars worth of coffee gear — no matter where you are on that spectrum, the three coffees fit anybody."

Parting Gift

If you're new to the specialty coffee world or are just craving a daily driver to enjoy without having to think too deeply about the complexity, Parting Gift is made for you. It's a Brazilian single-origin coffee with notes of baker's chocolate, peanut brittle, and brown sugar.

"It's roasted a little darker than we normally roast," says Bo. "In the general coffee world, it's a medium roast, but to anybody who's into specialty coffee, it's a darker roast." Parting Gift goes well with breakfast as well as all-day drinking. "It has more of a hearty mouthfeel and that classic coffee taste," he says. "It's nutty, like peanut brittle. It'll work well for anybody who wants to throw coffee in a French press and go, but pour-over drinkers who want to zero in will still find real nuance in it."

Alan recommends Parting Gift for someone who has never stepped into the specialty coffee world. "It's a comforting cup. I think Parting Gift takes it one extra layer, as there's an incredibly pronounced sweetness. I personally get brown-sugar sweetness."

As for pairing recommendations, Bo suggests standard English or codger blends, like Black Duck by Cornell & Diehl, and Burleys like Eight State Burley. "Those old-school, very traditional English blends that are Latakia-forward do really well with it." He also notes that, in his opinion, a straight Virginia pairs well with it too. "The coffee itself has more of the caramel nuttiness, and the Virginias have more of the bright, orange citrus and sweet notes. It pairs well together because they're contrasting; you're not getting the exact same thing out of both."

Shane shares that English blends add woodiness and creaminess, which will help you pull out the sweetness and cocoa notes in the coffee. "I would say that that's gonna be true for all three of them, but maybe particularly for Parting Gift."

Slow Sown

Perhaps the most unique profile of the three Smokingpipes Roasts blends, Slow Sown was Shane and Alan's favorite. It's a Colombian single-origin coffee with notes of dark chocolate, strawberry, and a boozy red wine.

"It is super wild," says Bo. "It has some experimental stuff. It's still a natural coffee and it's still labeled natural — it still fits within that realm — but it is funky and not a typical coffee. People who are very much the classic coffee drinker will be shocked by how wild this coffee is, but could also find that it's one they like because it does have more of a robust mouthfeel and depth to it." He shares that Slow Sown is a coffee that can take time to work with to dive into the tasting notes and complexity. "It works really well with tobaccos you don't want to take time with, so you can just focus on the coffee."

Slow Sown features notes of port wine and has a fermented quality. "There's a stoved strawberry or plum thing going on in it," says Bo. "For a pairing to match it up with, I'd say something along the lines of an aged straight Virginia or a Virginia/Oriental blend. If you're wanting to do some contrasting with it, you could really go anywhere on the spectrum, because it is such a divisive, striking, and bold flavor profile that any other tobacco you put with it is gonna have some seesaw effect of contrasing those two flavors."

A Dark-Fired tobacco or a Virginia/Perique is Shane's recommendation for potential tobacco pairings with Slow Sown. "You'll really get those fermented, boozy, dark chocolate, dark red cherries, and red fruity notes out of both."

Alan agrees, sharing that Slow Sown is his recommendation for anyone wanting to venture into something crazy in coffee. "For Perique lovers, Slow Sown is gonna be an amazing pairing. I drink it almost exclusively with VA/Per blends. I feel like it's a match made in heaven, even as a cigar smoker primarily. It has such a fermented quality that it is almost begging to be enjoyed with a big, bold VA/Per like Escudo. It's phenomenal in that way."

One of the most fermentation-forward coffees Alan has ever tried, Slow Sown is a coffee he could rant and rave about all day. "We're incredibly happy to offer it at Smokingpipes and be able to share it with people."

Wild Hymn

The third coffee is Wild Hymn, which Bo describes as a catch-all coffee. "If Parting Gift is for the classic coffee drinker — somebody who doesn't want to think about a ton — and Slow Sown is obviously the most nerdy coffee, by far the wildest, craziest, out-there thing, then Wild Hymn fits perfectly in the middle of those two." It is an Ethiopian single-origin coffee, featuring notes of tangerine, fruit punch, and apple butter.

"It is very approachable for people who are just starting a journey into coffee," says Bo, "or for people who know what they like and want to go the higher-end route but haven't necessarily built a palate yet or gone totally into zeroing in on each flavor note. "It is the best representation of specialty coffee," he says. "It has the very traditional Ethiopian flavors: It's juicy, bright, and there's a really nice balanced acidity. The mouthfeel on it has a little bit more of a jammy mouthfeel than we've seen in the last 15 years in specialty coffee." This style of coffee made everyone in the coffee world geek out. "A natural Ethiopian that was roasted light was not something we knew was possible. It's a nice homage back to those days of coffee nerding."

Bo believes Wild Hymn sings with a nice VA/Per. "For example, Red Carpet by C&D works nicely with the natural Ethiopian coffee, because it has a similarity in the acidity." Where the coffee leans to blueberry and raspberry sweetness, the tobacco leans more citrusy, like an orange marmalade kind of a sweetness. "When you put them together, you get this fruit salad kind of thing going on. But the coffee has a little bit of a hearty mouthfeel, and the Perique adds a little bit of that darker stoved fruit and a thicker mouthfeel to it. They just sing really well together."

Shane agrees, naming Orlik Golden Sliced as a great option to smoke with Wild Hymn. "It is really citrusy, bready, and hay-like. It's light and zesty. You can pair that with Wild Hymn, which is lighter and fruitier, and then you're gonna get some interesting citrus notes and more sweetness from both."

No Wrong Answers

When it comes to pairing coffee with tobacco, there's really no wrong way to do it. "You can either find tobaccos that have similar notes," says Shane, "and pair them to coffees that have similar notes, and see how they play off of each other, or you can pair contrasting notes and really pull out more from either the tobacco or the coffee." What makes the experience fun is that the pairing options are endless. "A good cup of coffee is gonna go really well with damn near any cigar or any pipe tobacco."

A good cup of coffee is gonna go really well with damn near any cigar or any pipe tobacco.

At the end of the day, pairing comes down to what you qualify in your mind as a "good" coffee and tobacco match. "I might say Wild Hymn works really well with Va/Pers," says Bo, "but if you're not a Perique guy, that might not work well for you. So you need to find the one that works for you. It's all about exploration and experimentation."

This trio of Smokingpipes Roasts blends isn't the only addition on-site. We are also carrying dynamic Methodical Coffee blends.

Methodical Blends at Smokingpipes

There are five Methodical blends joining our portfolio on-site: Blue Boy, Pink Lady, La Pastora, Willow, and Belly Warmer — each touching upon a different flavor profile to span an array of coffee preferences.

Blue Boy

Methodical's flagship and best-selling blend for the past six or seven years now, Blue Boy is a blend of two coffees, both washed and Central American in origin. "It is basically s'mores in a cup," says Bo. "There's a milk chocolate note, burnt brown sugar marshmallow, and then a really nice backing note of graham cracker." A medium roast, it fits most everybody. "I don't think there's anybody who gets Blue Boy and goes, 'No, I hate it.'"

"For your everyday coffee drinker that hasn't dived headfirst into craft coffee or specialty coffee," says Alan, "Blue Boy is the flagship. It's gonna be the most approachable, in my opinion, while also giving you something unique that you're not gonna get from generic coffees."

Pink Lady

The other flagship at Methodical, Pink Lady is a celebration of Ethiopian coffee, blending a washed Ethiopian with a natural Ethiopian. "It's the blend that every coffee roaster has to have," says Bo. "I really enjoy both components of Pink Lady on their own, but the combination of the two is really great for me."

This blend carries notes of brightness and mixed berries. "In the coffee world," he says, "it's very much a Starburst kind of thing. Pink Lady's got a ton of acidity. It's really good on espresso, which is kind of wild to say that a coffee known for being super bright and super fruity does well on espresso, but it just works really well."

La Pastora

The next blend, La Pastora, is a single-origin coffee. "Pipe smokers really love that coffee because it is more traditional," says Bo. "It has a pretty hearty nature, and it's a Costa Rican coffee — I'm a big Central American coffee fan. The great thing about it is you can get a little bit more of a watery mouthfeel depending on how you brew it, but all the flavor notes are there."

La Pastora features tasting notes of ginger snap and almond brittle. "It is very much a breakfast blend. It's a little bit lighter of a mouthfeel, but still has a nice ginger snap, almond brittle kind of characteristic to it, which is a very traditional washed coffee flavor."

Willow

Of the five blends, Willow is Alan's favorite. "It's a really special coffee," he says. "It's actually a part of the Young Producers program, where young producers grow experimental lots so they can basically practice growing coffee. Those coffees are then blended from multiple lots from different farmers and combined into this blend that is Willow."

Willow is the newest blend of the quintet. "It's a celebration of our partnership with Unblended Coffee Importers," says Bo. "Unblended goes and works with young coffee producers in Colombia and has all of them come together, bringing the coffee, trade secrets, and techniques they're excited about to share with other producers." During this program, 10-20 different farms and producers are represented, and they have a summit and put their coffee into a batch to be blended together. "The result is a beautiful masterpiece of what coffee can be and where coffee is headed. There's a lot of roasters across the country, and others across the world, who have this same coffee, this same blend, that we call Willow."

The result is a beautiful masterpiece of what coffee can be and where coffee is headed.

Alan notes that getting into specialty coffee can make you more critical of coffee that is marketed as a blend rather than single-origin, but you should not judge Willow that quickly. "I think it is one of the most unique and one of the most incredible coffees I've ever had. It's extremely fermentation forward. I think people who like Virginia/Periques — especially heavy Perique blends — will love Willow."

Belly Warmer

The last blend is also the darkest of the lineup offered on Smokingpipes: Belly Warmer. "It is a blend of two coffees," says Bo, "darker roasted, very traditional, very hearty, and a very thick mouthfeel. That's gonna be the most traditional coffee from the ones that Smokingpipes will be carrying." The casual coffee drinker will likely find a lot of comfort in a cup of Belly Warmer.

Discover Specialty Coffee

A totally new industry is daunting to explore, both from the consumer's and the organization's perspective. Bo, Alan, and Shane all have high expectations for what the future of coffee at Smokingpipes could look like, and the offerings to come are exciting. "I hope the customers, on any version of the coffee spectrum, find something they can enjoy," says Bo. "I love a world where folks who've never dabbled in the world of coffee but love pipes and cigars go, 'All right, cool, let me try this out, let me see if there is something there.' But I also love a world where people who have been coffee nerds will have the opportunity to have a coffee that was curated, roasted, picked, and sold by people who love pipe tobacco and cigars too."

The crossover between coffee and tobacco is a beautiful relationship, and Bo doesn't really separate the two in his own mind. "You don't always have to have a pipe with your coffee, and you don't always have to have a coffee with your pipe, but it really does work well together." Shane agrees, believing that curating your taste in one passion can improve your experience with another. "Like any experience that you are methodically tasting — no pun intended — it is going to influence how you taste everything else."

Smokingpipes is a one-stop shop for both hobbies. "That's just incredible," says Bo, "that a customer can go onto the Smokingpipes website, pick the cigars they want, pick the pipe they want, pick the pipe tobacco they want, pick the lighter or the tamper, and throw in a couple bags of coffee that they already know have been curated to work well together."

Smokingpipes is a one-stop shop for both hobbies.

The variety of products at the customer's disposal allows for greater experimentation. "I would also encourage customers to look at different brewing methods," says Shane, "trying coffees at different times of day, not just in the morning, pairing them with different tobaccos and cigars, and really getting into the world of coffee in the same way that I think many of them enjoy their pipes and their cigars."

Coffee At Smokingpipes

We are excited for you to discover coffee at Smokingpipes, and hope you enjoy the roasts as much as we do. "Specialty coffee is just a wide world that is so much fun to explore," says Shane, "and it goes really well with one thing that we already love: tobacco." Alan is eager to share these coffees with Smokingpipes customers as well. "Tobacco is my heart and soul, but specialty coffee has been part of my life for even longer than that," he says. "I fell in love with the people at Methodical and what they do. It really is something that I'm passionate about."

Bo is incredibly humbled by this collaboration experience, and looks forward to what's to come in the future with Smokingpipes. "We are so honored for the opportunity to get to work with you," he says. "We don't take it lightly. We know the clout and reputation that Smokingpipes has — you could literally pick any roaster in the world, and they'd jump at the chance. As a coffee nerd on one side and a tobacco nerd on the other — and I've done both for over 20 years — it's been really neat to live in both of those worlds, but to have friends who have a foot in both waters has been even more cool."

Don't miss out on our newest boutique product on-site: specialty coffee, including Smokingpipes Roasts house blends and Methodical Coffee, available now.