Proud to be a Plainsman

The Story Behind Tallgrass’s Plainsman Coffee

First off, let me preface this with I am no expert in anything. I’m curious, and I tend to chase stories that fascinate me, and lately those have revolved around the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems that surround my home. I think it’s humanity’s biggest downfall to claim to know anything. So I never want to claim to know the history, biology, and ecology of prairies. This is a regurgitation of what I’ve learned from people much smarter than me - and there’s absolutely a great possibility within a dozen years science will have made these ramblings irrelevant.

Human civilization is relatively new in the grand scheme of the history of our planet. When we look at bones of Wolly Mammoths or Sabertooth Tigers, it’s weird to think we had run-ins with such creatures. Growing up in Oklahoma, there’s a lot about the history of the plains that I didn’t know about. I didn’t know that cedars, that give my allergies such a fit, really sprung up around our state after the Dust Bowl to protect farmers’ crops. I didn’t learn what tribes lived off the land in the Oklahoma borders well before the federal government began outcasting more and more tribes to this “Indian Territory”. I didn’t learn that horses, introduced by the Spanish prior to the Pilgrims arrival, dramatically shaped how Indian Tribes lived - that most were agricultural based versus the nomadic Plains tribes I associated with chasing bison and hunting. And I definitely never heard of Clovis people.

I’ve been more and more curious about the Great Plains ever since reading accounts by Lewis and Clark of Grizzly Bears hunting down bison calves in the early 19th Century. I knew there were once herds of bison they say would stop a train for days, waiting on the millions to cross the tracks, but I never thought about bears hunting in the tall grasses like packs of wolves. I never thought how many antelope there used to be, never imagined herds of elk being anywhere but along the mountain slopes of the Rockies.

Imagine my surprise when I began reading that less than 20,000 years ago, early human relatives were hunting Giant Sloths and Tortoises on this land. That there was once a species of American Lion that resembled the African Lion, but bigger, that looked nothing like our current mountain lion inhabitants. I would’ve never dreamed that there was an American Camel. To me, the remnants of what was American Wildlife are hallmarked by bears and elk, moose and deer, quail and pheasants. How were there so many species that look so much like what you would find on Africa, in America?

If you drive from Oklahoma City up north to Minnesota, like I would do as a child on my way to visit my grandparents, there isn’t much scenery to look at. Mainly farms. These states are often called the “Flyover States” - there’s just not much to look at. And though I love a good underdog story and Tallgrass is all about the mischief that happens in these overlooked corners that led to my favorite memories growing up - yes, there is no waterfalls or mountain peaks around every corner. There’s beauty in its own way, but there also has to be an appreciation for what it is.

I don’t know if we often think that there are so many farms here for a reason. The soil was a magnet for opportunity as Americans moved further westward into their newly purchased lands. This is where I am fascinated with something I would have never imagined as a kid - dirt. You see, the soil in the Great Plains was the product and life-giving substance of a system that supported millions and millions of animals. It was a delicate balance, much like lions and warthogs sing about in the Lion King.

Tallgrass Prairie eco-systems thrive off of grasses and wildflowers. This requires rich soil and a water table that these plants will grow roots, sometimes longer than 10 feet, to reach. The grasses get the opportunity to thrive because of a lack of trees and shrubs blocking sunlight. Periodic wildfires, caused by lightning strikes, make sure to eliminate trees and any possible seeds from this region. Only our beloved oaks, mature with thick bark, can withstand a wildfire. This is why you often hear the term “Oak Savannah” used to describe these rolling hills, dotted with a single oak on the horizon. Grasses recover from these fires much quicker than trees and shrubs, making this system an ideal place to thrive.

These grasses can attract and support massive herds of herbivores - the deer, bison, elk, and antelope. When the herds roam, especially bison, the hooves stirs the soil on the top allowing nutrients to be shifted and cycled. This keeps the soil rich which benefits the grasses that the animals get to harvest. This also helps water retention when it rains, keeping the water table replenished for the grasses and their deep root system.

The American Serengeti, a term I don’t hear often, once stretched over 500,000 miles. The African Serengeti, which we do safaris on and watch nature documentaries on, spans 12,000 miles. I don’t think we realize how big of a natural treasure we’ve lost over the centuries of human development. And when we talk about things like managing carbon outputs, how will we handle water depletion - I often think about what this land must have been like a thousand years ago.

The trend for companies with a eco-mission is to plant trees. Trees are great at carbon capture, but trees eventually die and most of the carbon is stored in the trunks and branches that will burn or rot - releasing all that carbon back into the atmosphere. When native grasses capture carbon, and they’re great at doing so, they push the carbon through their roots several feet into the ground - the very spot we love pulling carbon from.

Today you can drive and find a few federal and state parks dotting the Great Plains in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. But if you think about it in perspective to the 500,000 miles of prairie that stretch up and down the Great Plains, it feels like.a lost cause.

I was talking with my friends at Sincerely Coffee Roasters and about introducing a third blend of coffee to our line up at Tallgrass Supply. Somehow it felt forced to try and put a story behind a region so far away from Oklahoma to what our brand is about. But then I realized that the Kenyan coffee I was enjoying so much did have a direct tie-in, it’s just one never thought of. It’s time we get that story out there. So much of the history of this land is slowly being uncovered. There is so much to unpack, even within the last 100 years. But I hope the history of the land and ecosystem itself can also be uncovered and shared.

We think of Africa as this land, preserved in its natural state. A land where you can see herds of wildebeest and zebras, packs of lions and hyenas, all fight for survival in a beautiful dance. But that land that supports that system is so closely related to the one we call home. We just forgot, caught up in our ideas of progress. It’s time to find that balance between progress and appreciation for what will be long after we are gone.

Tallgrass has always been fueled by two missions. The first talking about why the simplicity and opportunity growing up in Oklahoma made my memories here so special. The second is to begin talking more and more about why prairies, the most endangered ecosystem in the world, is not only something worth highlighting for tourism and identity sake, but critical to a lot of our problems needing solved.

So far, every year I have been able to write a check to non-profits like the Nature Conservancy for 10% of the profits Tallgrass makes. That work has been going on in the background since Day 1. But, I want the conversation about our prairies and land to have more of a platform through Tallgrass.

That is why I am so excited about the Plainsman. To bring these fun facts and stories more and more into what we talk about as a brand. There’s pride in being from the Great Plains. It’s time to share that with the world.