The Bottom Line

“How do you take your coffee?” was one of the first questions I asked Adam Gallant. And while he takes it black, his vision is anything but plain. Through his business, Obsessive Coffee Disorder, Gallant has transformed this simple beverage into a powerful platform for mental health awareness. He channels his personal journey as an Iraqi war veteran into a mission fueled by humor, kindness, and exceptional roasting skills. Each bag of coffee helps tell a story, not just about carefully sourced beans, but of the belief that sometimes healing can start over a truly phenomenal cup of coffee.

Adam started drinking coffee when he was just four years old. Although I was surprised by this at first, I learned it was a way his family bonded. “It was part of our heritage,” he noted.

Years later, this early love for coffee grew into something bigger: a vehicle for healing, community, and advocacy.

Adam’s experience as a veteran shapes who he is today, both as a person and a business owner. His service left him with PTSD, giving him a deep understanding of the importance of mental health support and how often it’s ignored or stigmatized. “There was a lot of pills out there as an answer, not a whole lot of help,” Adam reflected. “So I understand that this is not just a veteran-owned problem. We all have our thing.”

That’s why he uses humor and kindness to open up the conversation around mental health. The name “Obsessive Coffee Disorder” is a quirky way to do that. I was surprised to learn that the caffeine in his roasts, with cheeky names like “Happy Medium,” can actually offer mental health benefits. “There’s a whole bunch of studies that show that moderate levels of caffeine can have many mental health benefits, including increased happiness and reduced depression,” he said.

But the benefits don’t stop with caffeine. For Adam, coffee’s greatest gift is its ability to connect people. It even played a huge part in his relationship with his wife. “Between our first and second date,” he said, “I sent her the very first gift I ever gave her: a French press and a grinder. She was drinking out of a Keurig machine, and I told her, ‘You can do so much better than that.’”

In fact, it was a French press moment changed everything. “I used the same beans I always had, but in a French press, it was exponentially better.” Curious, he Googled why the taste was so different and fell down a rabbit hole of roasting methods and coffee science.

From there, the hobby grew. He initially partnered with a roaster who packaged and shipped for him, but eventually, Adam and his wife rebranded and took it into their own hands. “I’ve roasted thousands of pounds of coffee, and I’ve only had one bad batch.”

I’ve learned that roasting is a delicate process. Small changes in temperature or time can dramatically affect flavor, acidity, and body. Even before that, how the beans are processed plays a major role. “Wet-processed coffee is typically used by more advanced farmers with better resources. Dry-processed is more common where water is scarce or expensive,” Adam explained. “Both methods give the coffee different flavors.”

Even decaf has its own nuances. “There’s water-washed, sugarcane-washed, which I think is great, and then the less appealing chemical-washed methods.” Each step, from farm to roast, reflects Adam’s care for quality and the people behind the beans.

He also cares deeply about giving back. Obsessive Coffee Disorder has partnered with Jacob’s Audible, an organization that helps families with children on the autism spectrum access the support they need. “I’m not an expert in helping people,” Adam said, “but I like to help the people who are the experts bring that help to people.” A portion of every purchase of Jacob’s Audible Signature Roast goes directly to the organization.

“Mental health is ingrained in everything we do as human beings. So it’s important to foster communication, to take the stigma away from it.”

As someone who grew up on social media, I realize we are more connected than ever before. Communication is quick and easy, at the tip of our fingers, with people from all over the world. We consume information at such a fast rate, far faster than our brains are wired to, which has led to a sort of loneliness epidemic.

That’s why Adam’s work matters to me. It reminds me that sometimes the most meaningful conversations happen over something simple, like a warm mug of coffee. In a time where the internet often serves as a replacement for intimacy, coffee is a cup of connection.