I’m Ben, a Bentonville local and the person behind NWA Coffee.
I’m building this because I love coffee, and I want to get to know the people and places shaping it here in Northwest Arkansas. This is a home for what I discover along the way, and an invitation to explore with me.
Why I started this
Finding a coffee shop is easy enough. Getting a feel for a region’s coffee community takes a little more digging.
There are shops you hear about through friends, roasters you stumble across, and events you find out about just after they happen. The information is out there, but it’s scattered. I wanted a place that brought more of it together, with enough care and detail to help someone decide where to go next.
That’s where NWA Coffee began: a personal interest that felt worth building something around.
My background is in design and building digital products, so I tend to notice how information comes together, and where it could be more useful. Here, I get to put that instinct toward something I enjoy, in the place I call home.
A closer look at coffee in Northwest Arkansas
NWA Coffee brings together local coffee shops, roasters, events, and stories from across the region.
Sometimes you’re looking for a great espresso. Sometimes you need somewhere to catch up with a friend, spend a quiet hour, or pick up a bag of beans. And sometimes you’re curious about the person behind the counter or how a local roaster got started.
I want this site to help with all of those things.
You don’t need to know your preferred processing method or have a strong opinion about grinders to belong here. Curiosity is plenty.
The care behind it
Right now, this is a one-person venture. I’m doing the exploring, gathering the details, and putting the site together.
I want the coverage to be useful, accurate, and fair to the people whose businesses appear here. That means making room for the details that give a place its character, checking information, and being willing to correct something when I get it wrong.
It also means recognizing that I’m still discovering this community myself. There will be places I haven’t visited and stories I haven’t heard yet. Part of the pleasure of building this is knowing there’s more to find.
Help me get to know the neighborhood
Know a shop I should visit? A roaster I’ve missed? Have an event coming up, or a detail that needs updating?
I’d love to hear from you.
And if you own a shop, roast coffee, or work behind the bar, I’d especially welcome an introduction. I’m interested in what you’re building and the story behind it.
Thanks for being here. I hope you find somewhere or someone you’re glad to have discovered.