VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — Coffee drinkers in Venango County have some new options thanks to the effort of a local teacher.

Eric Campbell may be best known to many local students for his biology lessons at Rocky Grove High School, but his name is becoming synonymous with good coffee for many other Venango County residents.

According to Campbell, his interest in coffee began in 2004 when he started volunteering at Fresh Grounds, a nonprofit ministry/coffeehouse in Greenville that is volunteer based and provides job training to area youth as their first job and resume building for the staff.

“When I moved to Erie for my Masters (degree) I stepped away from volunteering there and started drinking coffee more, but I was always looking for good quality coffee, and I don’t think there are really many quality coffees in the aisles of the grocery stores,” Campbell told exploreVenango.com.

Then his love affair with coffee really took off when he moved out of state for a while.

“I drank a lot more coffee when living in Alaska for two years.”

Eventually, through his studies, jobs, and personal interest, Campbell developed a better knowledge of coffee, how it is grown, how things like soil type and acidity affect the flavors, and even different methods of roasting and serving coffee.

So when he began looking at starting a side business to supplement his teaching career, coffee seemed like a natural choice as something he was already interested in and knowledgeable about.

It was during the summer of 2021 that he really delved into researching coffee as a business venture and considering ways to bring more of the high quality coffee he enjoyed to the people of Venango County.

According to Campbell, he wanted to find a good balance of quality and price, offering coffee better than people can find in grocery stores, but at prices that are still reasonable.

While researching and planning for his business, he also sampled coffee from over 20 different roasters to come up with his menu, carefully choosing roasters to work with.

“I currently work with multiple roasters that can custom roast beans for me.”

According to Campbell, all of the roasters he works with are within a two-hour drive from Venango County, ranging mostly from Pittsburgh to Erie.

His menu of coffee blends includes organic coffees, single origin coffees (including coffee from Guatemala and Peru), about a dozen different flavored coffees like French toast and banana foster, and a couple premium roasts like a barrel aged whiskey coffee.

“I also can do custom orders, fundraising, and wholesale rates for businesses,” Campbell noted.

He debuted his business in October 2021, running it entirely from his Cooperstown home as a side business while also continuing to teach full-time.

Campbell operates his business online through mrcampbellscoffee.com, offering everything from his personal blend of favorite single origin coffees to “Shoofly Pie” coffee flavors of molasses, brown sugar, and spices.

Campbell personally delivers packages across the Venango County, Mercer County, and Meadville areas to save on shipping but also ships to other locations, allowing those both far and near to start their day off with a quality cup of coffee.