Where Does Waffle House Source Its Coffee And Can You Buy It Online?

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

One of the reasons people love Waffle House is that it famously serves breakfast 24 hours a day. And even though it also offers lunch and dinner options like burgers and pork chops, if you're going to the beloved Southern chain, you're probably getting breakfast (the chain sells a staggering amount of eggs each year), usually ordered with a hot cup of coffee. According to Waffle House itself, it brews 58 million cups for customers each year, all of it sourced from Alabama-based Royal Cup Coffee and Tea.

The company's origins date back to the late 19th century in Birmingham, where Henry T. Batterton began selling coffee from his wagon hitched to horses. Today, it imports and roasts the beans and sells them to corporate and business customers in the hospitality and food service industries. Waffle House partnered with the company in 1971 to provide all of its coffee in what was a handshake-sealed agreement between the two companies' CEOs.

To create its iconic flavor, the chain uses Arabica — a type of coffee bean grown on family-owned farms throughout Central and South America. They're grown in volcanic soil at higher altitudes, which together bring more flavor nuances. Along with featuring possible fruit notes or floral elements, they may also be sweeter. Royal Cup roasts the beans using its own special method to produce the familiar Waffle House flavor. A Redditor who said their husband was a regional vice president for Waffle House posted that the Alabama company makes an exclusive, proprietary blend for the chain, which serves Classic Blend, decaf, and a dark roast.

Waffle House sells its Classic Blend online for patrons who are fans and want to make it at home (and folks can also buy those iconic red-and-yellow logo mugs) A 12-ounce bag of the medium-roast ground coffee goes for $22. While single-cup pods are available in 12-packs for $14.99, don't toss them once your coffee is ready; you can easily repurpose the pods in your kitchen instead of throwing them away.

In the summer of 2025, Waffle House also debuted a limited-time canned cold brew, available only at select Atlanta locations. The 11-ounce "Classic Blend Cold Brew" was produced by Royal Cup and came pre-softened with a touch of sweet cream.

In addition to distributing its products to businesses, Royal Cup also sells its own java brands, including its Signature line, direct to consumers. Anyone curious to see what other coffees taste like from the same company that makes Waffle House's can order them online.