It’s no secret we love breakfast. It’s our favorite meal of the day. Scrambled, over-easy, poached, hard-boiled: we’ll take our eggs any-which way. And while a protein-packed meal of eggs each breakfast from now until forever would be just fine by us, we occasionally like to add a side or two. Bacon? Yup. Toast? Sure thing. And beverages? You bet’chya. Coffee, chocolate milk, tea, and maybe a tall glass of OJ (though finding a Montana based orange juice company was pretty tough).
The Challenge
Our team set out to create the best breakfast in Montana, nay, planet earth. Create a simple but delightful breakfast using only the highest quality ingredients sourced right here in the Big Sky state of Montana. Nothing fancy here. Some eggs, some toast, some bacon and some coffee. A real cowboy or cowgirl kind of breakfast :)
The Rules
We based our findings on the company’s meticulous sourcing of ingredients, responsible treatment of animals and a solid company culture with real Montanans getting their hands dirty doing what they love.
Bread
We gotta give this one to Wheat Montana. There’s something in the air … and dirt here that just produces those wheat grains packed with big sky flavor.
The Whole Grain Story
You down with WGC? We’re talking of course about the Whole Grain Council. Which defines whole grain as consisting of 100% of the kernel, and therefore all nutrients and vitamins. These types of labels and awards aren’t just to add some cool color to the packaging: they matter.
Coffee
Look no further than Drum Coffee Roasters. Visit their Broadway location in Missoula, and you might have to talk over the roasting of beans happening three feet away from you.
Here’s a quote from Drum Coffee’s website directly from the owner (and drummer for Fitz and the Tantrums!)
“Drum's espresso blend named "Luigi" is based on flavor profiles Wicks loved in roasts from David Schomer's Espresso Vivace in Wicks' hometown Seattle and good friend Jamie McCormick's Abraço in Manhattan's Lower East Side-two of Wicks' favorite roasters-and he describes it as "a classic Italian espresso" that's "balanced and comforting, not lemony like you find in many 'Third Wave' cafes. "We are starting the new trend in coffee called "No Wave!" says Wicks (only half kidding). We're keeping the high quality but getting rid of the snobbery and bringing back the fun and community vibe that cafes should have."
You can find their beans in local grocery stores with some of the coolest packaging around and if you’re feeling cool, head to one of their locations in Missoula. Ask ‘em if they carry Farmer Boy Eggs ;)
Eggs
It’s the reason you’re here. The one, the only, the world’s greatest.
Farmer. Boy. Eggs.
Dairy: Kalispell Kreamery
From their website: “Nestled in the Rocky Mountains our creamery and dairy are housed side by side producing the purest all-natural milk and milk products in Montana!”
Why We Love Kalispell Kreamery: It’s not every day we drink a tall glass of chocolate milk with our breakfast, but when we do, it’s definitely Kalispell Kreamery brand. Their patented cream on top delivery is a little funny to get used to. But once you do, there’s no going back. It’s tough to even categorize this as Chocolate Milk. It’s sort of like comparing a county fair to Cirque Du Soleil.
All Natural? Check
Hormone Free? Check
No Added Antibiotics: Check
That’s three-for-three in our book.
Pork
Bacon. It’s what for breakfast. And when you want local grass-fed pork from a family business, look no further than the Tucker Family Farm. Like our world’s greatest eggs, the difference is in the taste. Other bacon tastes like salted cardboard compared to Tucker Family Farms. Check them out, tour the farm, and support their awesome vision toward farming and food. Check out their family gallery here.
Tea
All teas are not created equal. The Lake Missoula Tea Company cares about relationships and it’s ingrained in the culture.
What separates Lake Missoula Tea Company from the pack is their dedication to sourcing ingredients and bringing that research and taste back to Missoula. Sure, it would be great if these ingredients came from the soil of the ice-aged Lake Missoula, but that’s not really possible, so we’ll let them travel the world to bring back the finest in what this planet has to offer.
From the website: “Strong ties to the tea farms we visited in Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Kenya and Colombia give us great confidence that we offer the world’s best tea. These trips allow us to build a sustainable, organic source of quality teas from farms working at the village scale. Despite being relatively inaccessible due to their remote, wildland settings, we’ve witnessed the establishment of a workforce – pickers, processors and farmhands – helping drive local economic development.
Our leaf collection boasts every variety from fine Taiwanese oolong to Yunnan black produced by ancient tea trees to Elephant Friendly TM certified Assams. We are confident in the quality of our teas and our ability to continue to source new and innovative brews.”
That’s it!
What do you think of our list? What did we miss? Have a favorite local brand that treats animals with the respect, sources amazing ingredients and has a fun and personable company culture? We’d love to hear about it. Let’s chat more.