Meet the Dawg Family!

Our mission, is the same now as when we began over 20 years ago; to source and roast the best coffee beans at the best prices, to bring people together as a community over coffee, and to always listen to what our customers have to say.

The heart and soul of Sarasota’s Java Dawg Craft Roasted Coffee is master roaster, Chris Keesecker. For more than 25 years Chris has been perfecting his skills, both in finding sources for high quality green coffee, and developing specific roasting methods for various beans and blends. Today Java Dawg continues Chris’ dedication to bringing quality coffee, with attention to detail, to provide the perfect cup of coffee

Chris discovered his passion for coffee while living in Paris in the 1980’s. Immersing himself in French culture, he was enamored by the bold taste of coffees served in cafes and bistros. And upon returning to the states he became even more passionate about finding a really good cup of coffee….but that was hard to find.

He surmised that the secret to great coffee is in how it is roasted, stored, and brewed. Those first small batches he roasted came from all over the world – Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Tanzania, to name a few – as he experimented with the blending of dark roasts and medium roasts, coffee flavorings, and high-quality water processed decaffeinated beans.

By 1993, Chris had a selection of coffees he could package and sell or brew. He became the coffee vendor at the Sarasota downtown Farmers’ market and customers raved about the flavor! Chris continued his pursuit, ever evolving and In 2009, Java Dawg Craft Roasted Coffee was launched.

In case you’re wondering, ‘Java Dawg’ was a nickname Chris’ local running club had bestowed upon him. It stuck. With the farmer’s market as the center of distribution Chris then knew he had to make a splash among the many vendors and booths, so a retired English double-decker bus was purchased to be refit with a complete café kitchen. The bus has became an iconic anchor to the Saturday morning market.

These days, there’s more brewing for Java Dawg than just hot coffee. Both the Big Dawg bus and the Pup are offered for hire locally for special events and programs. Java Dawg coffees and flavoring techniques are requested by craft beer brewers, specialty coffee roasts are formulated for charities and packages of beans by the pound are mail-ordered all over the country.