Grounds For Conversation | Joylight Coffee Roasters

By Jen Leclair
Photos by Brian Peters

For Jack Hishmeh, coffee has always been more than just part of the morning routine.

It should be an invitation to slow down, notice the details and connect with the people around you. It is also an opportunity to discover flavors that challenge everything you thought coffee could be.

That belief is at the heart of Joylight Coffee Roasters, the business Jack launched in 2022. What began as a late-night basement operation has grown into a full-time craft centered on thoughtfully roasted coffee, meaningful relationships and a desire to create a positive impact locally and around the world.

Joylight’s name and mission are rooted in Jack’s Christian faith and Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

“Joy is something that persists through hardship,” Jack said. “Happiness is a feeling that comes and goes. Good coffee can make you happy. A hug can make you happy. But joy is something that is a characteristic.”

COFFEE AS AN EXPERIENCE

Jack’s appreciation for specialty coffee began in high school, when a mentor took him to PT’s Coffee on College Hill in Topeka. There, he tried a pour-over coffee with a pronounced blueberry flavor.

His reaction was immediate.

“How can this be coffee?” he remembered thinking.

Until that moment, Jack’s understanding of coffee had largely been limited to convenience and a caffeine boost softened with cream and sugar. The pour-over experience opened the door to a different world, one in which coffee could be complex, expressive and enjoyable on its own.

During the pandemic, curiosity led him to begin roasting coffee himself. His first roaster was a small, manually operated device. He would spend 10 to 13 minutes at a time moving small batches of coffee over an open flame, carefully monitoring the temperature and learning through trial and error.

Eventually, Jack upgraded to a drum roaster and began using software to better understand the data behind each roast. As orders increased, his basement could no longer accommodate the coffee, equipment and production demands.

In 2024, an unexpected opportunity helped Joylight take its next step.

TWO ROASTERS, ONE ROOF

Kevin Conard of Blue Jazz Coffee Roasters approached Jack after trying Joylight’s coffee and learning more about his vision for the business. Kevin offered to help Jack scale the company while maintaining Joylight’s independent identity.

“He believed in my vision and dream for the business,” Jack said.

Today, Joylight and Blue Jazz operate under the same roof, sharing roasting and production equipment while maintaining separate brands and distinct approaches to coffee. The arrangement is built on mutual respect, collaboration and a recognition that both companies bring something different to the local market.

Jack sees their relationship as more collaborative than competitive.“There’s definitely some competition,” he said. “But we also realize there’s room in the market.”

The shared space has also created opportunities for mentorship. Kevin continues to provide business insight and encouragement, helping Jack review financials and navigate challenges that come with operating a growing company.

Their unique dynamic reflects a larger sense of community in which two local roasters can share resources and knowledge while supporting one another’s success.

FROM CROP TO CUP

Joylight’s approach to coffee is grounded in the belief that every cup has a story.

The flavors that ultimately reach a customer’s mug are influenced by origin, elevation, soil, climate, farming practices, processing, roasting and brewing. The company works with trusted importers while also developing direct relationships with producers.

For Jack, it is an ongoing pursuit of relational coffee buying, one that considers the needs of farmers and seeks to understand the environmental and economic realities of the communities where coffee is grown.

Jack has traveled to several coffee farms, including an organic farm in Guatemala that had been recognized as a Smithsonian Bird Friendly conservation area. The difference was immediately visible. Unlike farms with bare soil between coffee plants, the property was covered in diverse vegetation and carefully managed growth.

The experience reinforced the importance of understanding not only what farmers produce, but how they care for the land and the people who work alongside them.

“Stepping into coffee and this diverse industry, I want to bring my values to the table,” Jack said. “If I’m going to roast and serve our coffee to others, I want to know the story and the people behind it.”

Those relationships sometimes extend beyond business transactions. Jack communicates directly with several producers, learning about upcoming harvests and experimental processing methods. Joylight currently sources about 25% of its coffee through direct trade and hopes to continue expanding those relationships.

The company also helps customers understand the work behind each cup. Through educational content, tasting experiences and conversations at community events, Joylight invites people to learn how growing conditions and processing methods influence flavor.

The goal is not to create an exclusive club for coffee experts, but to make specialty coffee approachable and engaging for anyone.

COFFEE WITH A PURPOSE

One of the company’s most significant philanthropic initiatives centers on its Guatemala Atitlán coffee. Twenty percent of sales from the coffee are directed back to families in villages around Lake Atitlán through a partnership with Y-KNOT Missions.

The collaboration emerged when Christian Jackson, Y-KNOT founder and former seminary classmate of Jack, approached him about the organization’s plans for the Atitlán region.

“I’d seen what he had done in Haiti, and I thought this was a great opportunity for us to make an impact,” Jack said.

The philanthropic collaboration aims to address several challenges, including widespread alcohol abuse, absent fathers and the effects those struggles can have on families.

Funds are used to provide community resources and programs for women and children, in addition to meals and basic needs provisions.

For Jack, the partnership represents the difference between simply purchasing a product and investing in the people connected to it.

“I would love to look back and say that we’re not just making a transaction with our product,” he said. “We’re actually going a step further, knowing them, helping their livelihood and playing a small part in their community.”

CREATING MOMENTS THAT MATTER

Joylight’s desire to build relationships is also evident closer to home.

The company is a familiar presence at the Downtown Topeka Farmers Market, as well as other area events. For Jack, those gatherings offer an opportunity for people to taste the coffee, meet the person behind the brand and experience Joylight directly.

Those personal connections have led to some of the business’s most meaningful moments. Jack recalls a customer who was grieving the loss of a loved one. One morning, while preparing a cup of coffee, the customer noticed the verse printed on the bottom of the Joylight bag: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

“They felt like it was a nudge, like, ‘It’s going to be all right,’” Jack said. “That’s exactly the kind of moment I want to create more of for our customers. There’s enough going on in our world that is hard and heavy. I want to be light and uplifting.”

No matter the growth that lies ahead, the vision remains simple: to bring a little more joy and light into the world, one carefully crafted cup at a time.