Conrad’s Folklore Coffee is among the best in the world

Conrad, Montana – Conrad, Montana’s Folklore Coffee may appear to be an ordinary pit stop for freshly made coffee, but it packs a powerful punch.

Folklore Coffee, owned by Andy Pollard, was one of the underappreciated coffee shops in the entire state when it first opened its doors in 2014.

“It’s really fun to see everybody take their first sip and be like, this is really good,” says store manager Jessica Bailly.

“We wanted to do coffee at its kind of highest form. We realized that the small towns we grew up in were pretty underserved. And so we got this idea of trying to serve coffee of that high quality in smaller communities and just seeing if it took,” says Pollard.

What many people are unaware of is that Folklore has been recognized as some of the best coffee in the entire world, not just in the United States.

The Golden Bean competition, an annual gathering of coffee roasters from around the world to compete at their respective regional levels, was where Pollard entered his roast five years ago.

For instance, Australia-Asia and North America each make up one area.

Most recently, Pollard took home two bronze and one silver medal from the regional competition. He has even won gold at regionals in the past.

A contestant must place in the top two in their zone to advance to the World Series and compete against the best of the best.

By entering his roast into the filtered category the previous year, Pollard qualified for the Golden Bean World Series. His beverage finished third among contenders from all across the world.

Pollard attributes his success to his connections with nearby farmers.

“First thing I always have to say about a coffee being special is that it was farmed really well. Then from there, my job as a roaster is to figure out what the farmer did and what products they have and then how to show what they’ve done. And so we take the coffee and we just try to show what’s naturally there,” he says.

Andy claims he plans to participate in the 2024 Golden Bean World Series in February and that he is constantly seeking ways to raise the caliber of his goods.

In Conrad, at 322 S. Main Street, is Folklore Coffee.