Granito Coffee Works began as a dream in Chad & Shelly McNair's kitchen almost ten years ago. Chad, a civil engineer by degree, found himself unexpectedly searching for a job. While out buying a cup of coffee for his wife he worked his way into a contract with a local café to provide them with a new product, a coffee "slushee". The product was born in their kitchen during the next few weeks. Chad developed a sweetened coffee extract, which could be used in a "Granita" machine to produce a fabulous coffee slush. The word "granita" actually means icee or slushee in Italian.

That first product was a success at the little café, and the idea for the business began to form in Chad's mind. He presented the idea to Shelly with the promise he would invest only $1,000.00 with a commitment to her and to God that he would not borrow any money. He further committed that within six months, if the business was not doing well, he would quit.

Obviously he didn't quit. Gradually, Granito Coffee Works secured more business and the market for the coffee extracts grew. Eventually Chad began to offer frozen fruit drinks also. Nine years into the process of roasting whole bean coffee for the purpose of creating the extract for the frozen products, Chad realized there was an untapped opportunity for the company. With the help of his Vice President of Operations, Mark Nash, Granito Coffee Works expanded into the world of gourmet whole bean coffee.

Utilizing Specialty Grade beans, Mark and Chad slowly began developing roasting profiles for beans from various origins. The process was slow and tedious. Roasting coffee is an art and it takes patience, time, and good palate to be successful.

It was August of 2001 when the development of a label and name for the whole bean coffee was initiated. Chad and Shelly love Colorado and spend several weeks there every year. A favorite spot for them has always been Aspen. As they began to talk about the name for the whole bean coffee Aspen seemed to stand out. Aspen is a place of rustic elegance and beauty where people escape the rigors of daily life and relax in the splendor of God's creation. The name Aspen Select communicates what you can expect when you open the bag. From the first scent of the beans to the aromatic fragrance of the brewing coffee we promise you elegance in every cup.

Our motto is, "Enjoy the Best" and we are committed to bringing you only the best. We use only Specialty Grade coffee in our single-origins and blends, which is the top 3% of coffee beans in the world. These beans are inspected by hand and carefully roasted in small batches. The roasts are cupped by Chad and Mark to assure consistency and high quality in every bag of coffee sold.

Initially Aspen Select could only be found in small local retail outlets. We are now available throughout the state of Texas in grocery stores as well as Costco Wholesale warehouses. The warm reception of our product within the state of Texas prompted us to develop a website where our products could be easily provided to customers nationwide.

So we invite you to "Enjoy the Best" and participate in helping us celebrate what God has done through one man's willingness to keep his promises and to trust God with the outcome. Welcome to our dream!