Meet Clay Eiland | Owner & Founder of Coffee Eiland

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clay Eiland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clay, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My path to Eiland Coffee actually started with an unexpected detour. When I received a letter from Apple notifying me that they were discontinuing their authorized reseller program, I found myself at a crossroads. Fortunately, my parents, who ran a coffee shop back in the mid-90s, pointed me in a new direction and suggested I connect with the person who used to supply their wholesale coffee, DFW Coffee Exchange. That conversation opened a whole new world for me. After six months of working with them and learning the business, I knew this was something I wanted to build on my own, and Eiland Coffee was born on June 1, 1998.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Right now, Eiland Coffee is in a hyper-growth mode unlike anything I’ve seen in the past 15 years, and it’s been eye-opening in the best way. As I’ve been talking with more people, I’ve started to realize that so many of the things we do for our customers that I consider completely normal, the customer service, the training, the equipment setup and maintenance, are things a lot of other businesses simply don’t do. You don’t always see it from the inside, but when others point it out, you realize that’s exactly what sets you apart.
Part of what makes our coffee itself so unique is our 1969 German cast iron roaster. It roasts coffee like nothing else in the world. Hot or stone cold, it tastes incredible, and modern roasters just can’t replicate that. If I were trying to acquire it today, there’s no way I could afford it. It’s selling for nine times what I originally paid, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten my hands on it when I did.
But if I’m being honest, one of the things I’m most proud of has less to do with equipment and more to do with knowledge. Early on, I was invited to Seattle by the President of La Marzocco, and that trip changed everything. At the time, everyone in Dallas, myself included, was doing it wrong. I came back with a completely new understanding of the craft: proper milk texturing, the right temperatures, how to pull a ristretto shot, correct cappuccino measurements, and how to properly set up a machine. I want to be clear that none of this was something I created. I am genuinely grateful to the people in Seattle who took the time to teach me. I was simply the one who brought it back to Dallas.
And that’s exactly what I did. I had about 10 coffee shop accounts at the time, and I became the only coffee person going out to train onsite. It wasn’t always easy to get people on board. When they saw how much espresso I was using, they thought I was just trying to sell them more coffee. People were steaming milk to 170 degrees, and I came back preaching what I called “Seattle temp,” between 130 and 140. But over time, things started to shift, and I truly believe that trip played a big role in changing the coffee culture here in DFW.
Through all of it, I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist, and I think that’s a big reason our coffee is as good as it is. But one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned over more than 27 years in business is that you simply cannot be a perfectionist in everything. Sometimes you have to walk past things that aren’t perfect. As long as the coffee stays at that level, I’ve learned to let some other things slide. And the same goes for people. We all make mistakes, and that’s okay. That’s how we learn and grow together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Honestly, it would depend a little on the friend, but there are a few places I’d always make sure to hit. We’d start with brunch at Urban Egg, then make our way over to HG Supply for food and drinks, which is just such a cool place to hang out. If they were up for something a little more upscale, I’d take them to Uchi for sushi, which never disappoints. And almost every friend who visits ends up wanting to stop by my cafe at Canyon Creek, which is always a highlight.
Beyond that, Dallas always has something going on. Whether it’s a local sports game or an event at the Perot Museum, there’s never a shortage of interesting things to do and see.
But I’ll be honest. I’m not much of a going-out person. I spend most of my time here at the roastery, and when I’m not here, I’m happiest spending time with my wife Noel.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest shoutout goes to my wife, Noel. She stood by me through the years when the business wasn’t making much money, and honestly, her belief in what we were building meant everything. We worked out of our house for 12 years — taking orders, roasting, and delivering all across the metroplex — and it wasn’t easy. She was even the one who pushed me to upgrade from our 5-pound roaster when the orders started growing. Without that nudge, I’m not sure we would have scaled the way we did.
It’s humbling to look back at those early days. I was recently going through some invoices from when we first started, and after flipping through four or five pages, I realized that not a single one of those businesses is still around today. That hit me hard. Specialty coffee wasn’t really a thing yet in the late 90s, so we were all navigating uncharted territory, and most didn’t make it.
I also want to recognize the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Even after being in business for nearly two decades, EO was where I finally gained a clear understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and learned how to work with them. It’s never too late to grow as a business owner, and EO proved that to me.

Website: https://www.eilandcoffee.com

Instagram: eilandcoffeeroasters

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EilandCoffee