What’s Brewing: Kahvia Coffee Co.
Kahvia Coffee Co. is the Northland’s newest cafe for specialty mochas, smoothies, and more. But you have to attend or work at Esko High School to enjoy it.
The student-run coffee shop fully opened this week. An entrepreneurship class of primarily juniors and seniors came up with the concept, logo, schedule, and menu. They learned about ordering equipment and designing a space.
“There’s a lot of hoops to jump through, which we weren’t really expecting,” senior Jake Graddy said of the learning process. “We thought it was gonna be a lot more straightforward, but there’s a lot of regulations, especially within a school.”
The Esko community has a history of deep connections to Finland, and “kahvia” means coffee in Finnish. Alec Halvorson designed the logo for their aprons, sweatshirts, and coffee sleeves. He loves that they use Duluth Coffee Company’s Zenith Blend.
“That’s what we kind of wanted to aim for is local companies,” Halvorson said. “They’re super ethical, great company to work with.”

“We really decided to push that we wanted to build like the community around Esko and really like keep students at the school, which was kind of an issue that we had, especially with PSEO students,” Graddy said. “Really gives a reason for people to stay here.”
Proceeds will go back into the shop to upgrade equipment, and the students may take some profits to support other clubs too.