Photo courtesy Dandy Breeze Dairy
Coffee beans don’t grow in Indiana, but Indy’s top espresso drinks rely on a Hoosier product: milk from Dandy Breeze Creamery in Sheridan. It’s the rare farm in Central Indiana that breeds Jersey cows, whose milk baristas prefer. It’s higher in fat and protein than supermarket Holstein milk, but also much more expensive—like $6-per-gallon expensive. For Neal Warner, co-owner and beverage director at Provider and Coat Check Coffee, Dandy Breeze is worth every penny. “It’s super creamy, super delicious, buttery, sweeter,” he says. “For this type of milk, it’s a really fair price. I’ve lived in places that just do not have this quality of dairy.” Warner also appreciates that Dandy Breeze maintains a consistent flavor throughout the winter by following a labor-intensive farming method called baleage—wrapping different types of hay when the grasses are partially wet so they ferment without spoiling and the maintain the protein and other nutrients essential to cow health. “I’ve worked in cafes where we’ve sourced milk from local dairy, and the milk would sometimes come in tasting like chives because the cows were eating chives,” Warner says.