Spilling the Beans on Great Coffee in the Robins Region

Z Beans in Warner Robins and Over the Border in Bonaire serve up some of the best coffee beans in the world.

By Lori Currie on July 13, 2023

Nathan Lambrecht

Although coffee is grown worldwide, many javaphiles say the best-tasting brew is from beans grown in Ecuador and Guatemala. Why? Ecuador is one of only 15 countries that grows both arabica and robusta beans, the two main categories of coffee.

Guatemala has more diverse microclimates than any country in the world, so Guatemalan coffee farms produce beans like no other. Lucky for the residents of the Robins Region, the area boasts two coffee companies committed to bringing these global flavors to the masses.

Nathan Lambrecht

Serving Up Great Coffee in Warner Robins

In October 2022, Sally and Gus Lempsink and their son opened the first franchised Z Beans location, serving up great coffee in Warner Robins. With six locations, Z Beans supports farmers in Ecuador by importing their beans, a fact that was especially important to Sally, who was born and raised in Ecuador.

“Serving Ecuadorian coffee makes me very happy as it has given me the chance to bring a bit of my first home, Ecuador, to my forever home, Warner Robins, while providing our Ecuadorian coffee farmers with the opportunity to continue their excellent job of producing this great product and making it available on an international scale,” she says.

Z Beans Warner Robins serves an Arabica coffee variety from multiple regions and multiple farmers in Ecuador.

“The farmer, process and roast will determine the flavor,” Sally says. “For instance, if you are drinking coffee from Milton Rivadeneira, you can expect a citrus undertone with a dark chocolate finish, whereas a coffee from Ramiro Pauta would have more of a banana undertone.”

The undertone is determined by the other crops grown around the coffee, a key differentiator between the coffee from Ecuador and coffee found elsewhere.

Customers flock to the Lempsinks’ coffee shop for the macchiatos, mochas and chais, as well as their delicious pastries. “Our cinnamon rolls don’t last too long on display,” Sally says. “And customers also rave about our homemade burritos, croissants and biscuit sandwiches.”

Over the Border Coffee

Score Outstanding Coffee in Bonaire

Over the Border Coffee in Bonaire distributes flavorful but balanced coffee from Guatemala.

The husband-and-wife owners Tabitha and Loiber Samayoa started the business in 2018, sourcing the beans from Loiber’s family farm in Huehuetenango, Guatemela. Loiber was born on the family land in 1984, and the family has been harvesting coffee beans there since the early 1900s.

The land is over 5,400 feet above sea level, which guarantees maximum flavor and is farmed exclusively by the Samayoa family from start to finish.

In 2018, Tabitha successfully imported the first 1,000-plus pounds of green coffee from the farm, then started the process for a larger amount in 2019.

That effort was stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic, though in 2020 another 10,000+ pounds of coffee landed in Georgia. Business really started booming in December 2020 when Over the Border officially launched its website, enabling customers to purchase coffee beans online, and Tabitha became involved with the Robins Regional Chamber. “It’s a different magnitude of any business that I’ve ever run,” Tabitha says.

With more than 200 acres of coffee growing on the family farm, and even more family coffee connections in the region, there’s no end to the supply of high-quality Guatemalan coffee available at Over the Border.

The coffee beans offered by Over the Border are Arabic and Bourbon, and they are cupped at 87%. “They produce a nice, balanced flavor with a citric acidity caramel and milk chocolate flavor,” Tabitha says.

Over the Border’s coffee is different because the coffee beans aren’t mixed, and all of the coffee is single origin, so it has more of a pure taste. For Tabitha, who is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent, the taste of Guatemalan coffee can’t be beat.

“I tried it, and I never went back to anything else,” she says.