Brews and Hooves: Viral Goat Farm Coffee House Aims to Create Community

In Forney, Texas, a unique coffee spot, Goat Farm Coffee House, blends brews and hooves. The self-described “ultimate farm-to-cup experience” allows customers to enjoy a variety of coffees and sweet treats while experiencing a little bit of farm life with a pack of Nigerian Dwarf goats.

Husband-and-wife team Reed and Janine Elam opened Goat Farm Coffee House at Elam Acres in December 2023, after living on the farm for over 12 years.

The couple originally created the Goat Farm Coffee House to promote community in Forney and the surrounding area while enjoying a good coffee, Janine Elam said.

“Originally, I just knew it was about promoting community and a place where people could come and meet other people,” Janine says. “But it's easy to see that through people enjoying it, that this could be a place that when people are passing through the area, want to make sure they stop, wherever they’re from.”
Goat Farm Coffee House’s mission is to allow customers to experience a bit of what rural life is like, Reed Elam said.

“We really feel like the rural way of life is fading away, and a lot of people don't understand it, you know, they just go to the grocery store and they get anything they want off the shelf, and that's life,” Reed says. “By allowing people to go in with the goats, they're getting a taste of what rural life is like.”

The coffeehouse has attracted a diverse audience, from young adults to families. Some attendees have come as far as Fort Worth, Denton, Houston, Corpus Christi and even Indiana.

Recently, the Goat Farm Coffee House experienced some social media fame and was featured on the Dallas Love List. According to Janine, the key factor behind the widespread appeal of the Goat Farm Coffee House is the unique experience it provides visitors, as well as the general popularity of both coffee and goats.

“Coffee has been big now for many years. Goat videos have been kind of big for a little while…people love the cute little farm videos with goats,” she says. “Our facility is a little different. A lot of coffee shops are very modern. Ours is more nostalgic.”

Customers have told the Elams their little farm and coffee shop is like a Hallmark movie.

The coffee shop features pieces such as a large cabinet, reminiscent of something one might see in a general store from 100 years ago, unique antique pieces restored by one of their sons and a few antiques that previously belonged to Reed's mother.

One of the couple’s daughters also works on the farm, often explaining to customers how to properly treat the baby goats. While customers should not pick up the goats, you can pet them, Janine says. But sometimes the goats will take matters into their own hooves.

“They can't leap on people's shoulders when they're standing up. I've told people, if you sit still and sit down, especially kids, if you sit down, they'll come to you … the little ones will crawl up in your lap,” Reed adds.

“One lady … her shoulders were all covered in mud [from the baby goats],” he said. “And she’s like ‘It was awesome!’ She couldn't care less about the mud. She had a great time.”

The farm currently has 13 mature Nigerian Dwarf female goats and five baby goats, with two mothers currently expecting. One goat the couple keeps close to their heart, though, is 3-year-old Annie, the business's mascot.

“When she was born, she weighed a pound and an ounce," Janine says. "She was so tiny, she didn't look real. She would have never survived if I had not brought her in the house and bottle fed her around the clock.”

She grew and gained weight and was eventually put back with her herd.

"Now she just thinks she's a person,” Janine says. “She doesn't really understand what she's doing with these goats.”

Trudy, one of the farm’s first goat’s, has a specialty drink named after her, the Trudy Pink Cold Brew. The coffeehouse has a wide variety of milk options for beverages, including goat's milk straight from the farm's standard dairy goats.

“A goat milk latte is so silky and smooth,” Janine says. “You don't get that thickness on your tongue, like you do with some cow milk.”

Reed’s favorite is the cinnamon roll and house latte, which includes honey straight from the farm. Goat Farm Coffee House also sells eggs, which are from the farm’s chickens. Goat milk soap, skincare products, lotion and creams are all made by Janine.