Vendor Spotlight: Union General Coffee Company

​Every Saturday at the Horton Farmers Market you’ll find a cozy red trailer. The source of a familiar aroma, freshly roasted beans and brewed coffee. When you meet Jon for the first time, you can tell he’s built this business on passion and determination. The Union General Coffee Co. was born out of a love for the craft of coffee. 

​Originally from England with a background in plumbing, hydronics, and a lifetime of self employment, he’s no stranger to hands on hard work and on the fly problem solving. After moving to Canada over two decades ago, he gradually put down roots in St. Thomas, raising a family, restoring derelict houses, and eventually deciding to take a leap of faith into a personal venture—coffee. 

​What originally started as a backyard roasting hobby, giving coffee to friends and family and learning from other passionate roasters, turned into a full-fledged business. After COVID, friends and family told him he should go for it! And so, without any loans or bank support, he and his wife Martha poured their savings into building a roasting operation complete with a coffee shop on wheels from the ground up. From their first little roaster that was only capable of roasting 3 pounds at a time, to his cozy roasting shed and solar powered coffee trailer, every step has been a calculated risk. He recalls recently needing to remind himself of how far he’s come since starting. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day of being a small business owner that it’s important to take stock and be reminded of your progress. 

​If you ask any coffee roaster what matters most to them, one if the words you’ll hear repeated is: consistency. Achieving that is an art and a science. For Jon, roasting is a dynamic living process. The beans are always shifting with the season, humidity, pressure, and age. So, the roast needs to be adjusted regularly according to the evolving conditions. Some days its about letting the coffee “do its thing”, even after these last few years of getting into the groove, there’s always more to learn. “I use the profiling software, but I also go back to the basics. I watch the beans, I listen, there’s a rhythm to it”. That blend of intuition and technology gives Union General’s coffee a distinctive balance. They remain invested in the journey the beans have taken to get to them. “We always want to know—who grew this? Were they treated fairly? Because without them, we wouldn’t have anything to roast”.

Like many small roasters, Union General has faced the hard realities of global coffee economics. Rising costs for green beans, shrinking margins. Raising prices isn’t something any small business wants to do, but it’s a move many roasters have had to make due to rising costs. From where coffee is grown in origin, to the journey it takes to get to us, costs are up across the board for all players in the supply chain. Push sometimes comes to shove, but they remain committed to quality at a fair price.

Their fully electric roaster, powered by 60amp power supply is not only efficient but also more environmentally responsible than the gas fired alternatives. Every decision from sourcing to setup reflects their core values rooted in transparency, sustainability, and quality. Union General has been on the market circuit from the start, from Dutton to Aylmer and rural Foodlands, they have spent a lot of time and energy getting their name out there. Putting in 12-14 hours days was getting tough, so they have decided to slow down a bit, and focus their energy into showing up bright and early every Saturday at Horton. It’s here where community connections and customer loyalty are strongest. “The first year, we were doing 3 or 4 different markets, but it was exhausting. We’d set up the trailer, do an eight hour roast the day before, and walk home with $60 after costs” he says, “It just wasn’t sustainable”.
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Now they are looking to the future, with dreams and ideas to drive them further. Expanding beyond territory previously covered and conversations about future collaborations in the works. So next time you’re at the market, stop by and say hi – Jon is always down for a chat (if you can catch him at a point when he’s not running around). Whether you’re looking for a nice cup of dark roast or looking to pick up a bag of something new to try, there’s a story behind everything and they’d love to share it with you. “People always say, ‘you make the best coffee’ and I think yeah—we really do try our best”.

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Jacob Wilcox, EDC Summer Marketing Student

Jacob is a St. Thomas-born, Wallacetown-raised artist and writer who recently completed a BA in Visual Art at York University. An avid Elgin County enthusiast, he has a deep appreciation for local businesses, rural life, community connections, and grassroots initiatives. From a young age, Jacob has been involved in local theatre--most notably Dutton’s community theatre, WEDS. As a practicing artist, he blends photography, writing, and illustration in both his personal work and marketing initiatives, with a focus on visual storytelling and brand identity. He is drawn to the beauty in the mundane, finds art in everyday life, and hopes to carry that perspective into a future career in community stewardship and education.