GALENA, Ill. — It was shortly after 8 a.m. on a recent Sunday morning, and Jayme Frank and Sydney Hall were in the middle of the morning rush.

The two employees of coffee company Galena Roasters bustled around the business’ coffee trailer, which was parked at The Galena Territory Farmers Market. While Frank took orders from a line of customers at the trailer’s window, Hall poured milk into labeled cups and added shots of espresso.

“Peach lemonade with boba,” Frank called.

Hall filled a cup nearly to the brim with lemonade, then expertly added just enough ice so that the drink didn’t overflow.

The Galena Roasters coffee trailer has been on the road for more than a year, serving as the mobile arm for the downtown Galena-based coffee shop and roastery. There, owner Earl Thompson roasts whole coffee beans in small batches, emphasizing quality products with full flavor.

According to Thompson, Galena Roasters began its life in 2018 when his wife, Kimberly, who owns Galena kitchen retailer The Grateful Gourmet, was in search of a new provider of roasted coffee for her shop.

“I was a masonry contractor at the time, and she tried to convince me to roast coffee,” Thompson said. “I looked into it, and it seemed interesting, so I went to a trade show and signed up for every seminar and educational class I could. After that, I was totally hooked.”

Thompson spent about three years roasting coffee for The Grateful Gourmet and gathering wholesale clients such as local hotels and shops.

Then, in the spring of 2021, he opened a Galena Roasters coffee shop at 118 N. Main St. in downtown Galena, followed by the trailer in 2023. The trailer now is licensed to operate in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Thompson said the drinks sold at the Galena Roasters trailer are “nearly identical” to those available in the Galena shop.

“We have a full espresso bar in the trailer, with all of our sauces and syrups and flavors and cold foams,” he said.

The menu includes cold brews, cortados, mochas, cappuccinos, lattes, espressos and caramel macchiatos. For non-coffee drinkers, the business also boasts hot and iced teas, cider, chai, hot cocoa, lemonade and “booster juices,” which include green coffee extract for a hit of energy.

Galena Roasters also offers a menu of seasonal drinks, which currently includes a lavender chai with coconut cold foam, a s’mores-flavored drink and a Samoa cold brew with caramel, chocolate and a cookie.

“We ran that as a special, and it did so well that we’re going to add it to our permanent menu,” Thompson said of the Samoa cold brew.

The trailer also frequently sells breakfast sandwiches and “pancake tacos,” which Thompson described as a pancake with vanilla Greek yogurt and fruit salsa.

“Those have been pretty popular and offer a nice vegetarian option,” he said.

Thompson said the caramel macchiato is among Galena Roasters’ most popular menu items, along with mochas, lattes and cappuccinos.

Frank said she personally favors a brown sugar and maple-flavored latte with cold foam, while Hall typically selects an iced tea or booster juice.

Both employees said they enjoy the variety of locations and customers they encounter when working in the trailer.

“A lot of people who have stands out here (at The Galena Territory Farmers Market) come here every week and have their favorite drinks,” Frank said.

Gail Giglio, who recently moved to The Galena Territory, was visiting the Galena Roasters truck that morning after having previously dropped by the business’ downtown location.

She opted for the lavender chai, which she had enjoyed in her visit to the brick-and-mortar shop.

“It was so good the last time, I thought I’d better have it again,” she said. “The flavor is very different, and I loved it.”

Thompson said the trailer’s schedule is posted weekly on Galena Roasters’ website and social media pages, and it also is available for catering and events.

This month, the business will launch an additional bistro location at Midwest Medical Center in Galena. The bistro will open along with Midwest Health Clinic on Tuesday, Sept. 3, as part of the first phase of the Galena hospital’s expansion project.

Wherever the business goes, Thompson said Galena Roasters’ primary mission is offering high-quality coffee to its customers.

He roasts coffee grown in 15 countries, from Brazil, Rwanda and Costa Rica to Peru, Sumatra and Kenya.

All of the coffees Thompson purchases, roasts and sells are specialty coffee as designated by the Specialty Coffee Association. The organization’s experts set specific guidelines and rank coffee beans on a point scale of 1-100, and coffee must score an 80 or more to receive the “specialty” moniker.

“Roasting the best coffee that I can roast for this market is my goal. We love when someone takes that first sip of their drink, and they’re like, ‘Oh my god,’” Thompson said. “That’s super important to me, because we’re trying to create awareness about specialty coffee and share that with as many people as possible.”