The Over 100-Year Old Coffee Brand Ina Garten Depends On

Like many people, Ina Garten appreciates a good cup of coffee. She's open about the fact that, in her house, it's her husband, Jeffrey, who makes the coffee; and a fine job he does. In 2018, Garten, otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa, shared a video on Instagram (below) of him making the perfect pot of coffee. Viewers can see him scoop the coffee out of a paper bag emblazoned with a blue truck and the name Dallis Bros. Garten confirmed in 2014 to Bon Appétit that, "The coffee I drink is from a company called Dallis Brothers." The company, founded in New York in 1913 by Russian-born brothers, Morris and Abe Dallis, began by selling its house-roasted beans door-to-door in Brooklyn and Queens by way of a horse-drawn wagon.

Garten famously believes in using good ingredients, so her stamp of approval on any given item causes her fans to pay attention. While she loves the flavor of Dallis Brothers coffee in the morning (alongside her simple, go-to breakfast of Irish oatmeal), it's feasible to assume she uses the same brand in her recipes that call for brewed coffee — like her chocolate cake and coffee granita. It may even play a role in her recipes that call for ground coffee, like her coffee-rubbed New York strip steaks. Dallis Brothers Coffee makes small batch and higher-end coffees, so it's a great example of a small business that wasn't afraid to change with the times. That could help explain how it continues to thrive over 100 years after its founding.

Ina Garten isn't one who believes in secret ingredients. On the contrary, if she puts something into one of her recipes, you can count on the fact that it's one she recommends. Not only does she share these items and brands in several of her cookbooks, she also lists many of them on her website and discusses them freely in interviews. While some of her choice brands are on the fancier end (like Urbani White Truffle Butter), others are approachable and attainable, like Libby's brand canned pumpkin and Hellman's mayonnaise. 

Another of Garten's favorite products, Hecker's flour, is an old New York-founded company just like Dallis Brothers Coffee. It was also founded by two brothers (John and George Hecker) who immigrated from England and began their flour business in 1842. Rao's, the company which makes Garten's preferred jarred pasta sauce, began as a restaurant in New York City in 1896 and became one of the most renowned restaurants in the city, with tables that are nearly impossible to get to this day.  Even the Barefoot Contessa's favorite cookie brand, Tate's, hails from New York (Southampton, to be specific), but was founded more recently compared to these other brands (1980). Being from New York certainly isn't a prerequisite for becoming an Ina-approved product. There are plenty of brands on her list that are from other states and countries. The only question now is who makes better coffee, Alton Brown or Jeffrey Garten.