Kayla Clark, a University of Wyoming educator who joined the Haub school as an assistant lecturer in 2021, has a newfound love for working in the coffee distribution business.
Pour Ta is a business that specializes in serving coffee from around the nation in biodegradable, single-serve, pour-over filters. Three local roasters are selected each month to spotlight their coffees and ecologically friendly operations.
“One thing that is super important to us is that we work with roasters who are committed to a transparent relationship with their farmers,” said Clark.
“It is somewhat of a reflection of what I would give to my friends and people that I love, and what I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want to give something that I don’t believe in.”
The idea for Pour Ta was inspired by Clark and her spouse’s need for quality, sustainable, single-serve, pour-over coffee. There are over 25 million Keurig and K-Cup users in the United States, according to intelligentblends.com, and Clark saw a need to address the amount of plastic that single-serve coffee machines use.
“With a traditional coffee subscription, there is a significant amount of waste,” said Clark, “If you try a coffee and you don’t like it, you’re having to throw away a bunch of ground coffee or a bunch of beans. That’s something that we eliminated because it is a single serve, it’s less wasteful.”
Working in the Department of Communication and Journalism, Clark has expertise in graphic and digital design, with her research interests including 14th century style letterpress printing. Recently contributing to the “Habitat: Artists’ Books” art exhibition that was featured in Coe Library in October of this year, she is dedicated to being involved in her community.
“An inspiration to us was having a product that we thought was a great idea, and then wanting to build something better and more accurate to what the coffee industry desires as well.” Clark said,
“We wanted to create more opportunities for medium to small sized roasters in our communities.”
Given her background and extensive knowledge in graphic design, Clark felt a heavy sense of importance in her process of designing her brand. She had a clear image of how she wanted everything to look, down to the minute details.
“The colors of the packaging are sourced from the process of growing, roasting, and processing coffee. We see the bright red and orange that comes from the color of the coffee cherry when it’s on the plant. The greens come from the leaves of the coffee plant,” Clark said,
“Arbitrary decisions can often result in not feeling connected or not having a story and being connected to the brand. Being a part of a story and having the outside factors or the visuals so integrated is what makes it more meaningful.”
Clark estimates that they have worked with approximately 100 small and medium-sized roasting companies across the United States and they plan to work with many more in the future.
“Small and medium voices are being heard, and we are able to give them more of a voice than the mainstream coffee industry is.” Clark said.
Locally, they have worked with Motive Coffee Company, a roasting company that is local to the Laramie area. Jeff Gruver, the president of Motive, has been working with Clark for some time.
“He’s been a super strong supporter from the beginning. He’s really helped us experiment and develop our proof of concept and how we communicate with roasters. He’s really been a star in helping us develop the way that we talk about things.”
Clark enjoys showing her students the work that she does for Pour Ta. The business has immensely affected her life as an educator in a positive way, forcing her to hone-in on her time management skills, and allowing her to incorporate her passions in the classroom.
“Integrating it into the classroom setting is something that I really value. Being able to share my business plan with students to help them learn about business and print. All of it funnels into the classroom in a positive way.” Clark said,
“It’s good for students to know that what they’re learning in their classes does have a transferable skill.”
Through the trials and tribulations that come with starting a new business, Clark has continued to express a positive attitude.
“One of the most rewarding things is remembering how hard it was in the beginning, when not everything was going right,” Clark said,
“It has been a really great growing experience, rolling with the punches and figuring it out instead of being defeated.”
