Coffee connoisseurs of the tri-town need only look as far as Mattapoisett Village for their source of gourmet java.

Resident Jim Cannell has been in the coffee business for more than 20 years, and as the world’s first all organic coffee roaster he’s learned a few things about a good brew.

Cannell, a native of New Jersey, describes his initial foray into the coffee world as “happenstance.”

“After college, I went to Wall Street to be a stockbroker and ended up on a coffee trading desk,” he said.

In the 80s, Cannell said, “I brokered large quantities of more commercial grade coffee to the Maxwell Houses and the Folgers of the world.”

He eventually ended up working in the burgeoning gourmet coffee trade, brokering beans to then small roasters like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

“It was eye opening,” said Cannell. “It wasn’t about the prices of the coffee, it was about the distinguishing characteristics between a Guatemalan and an Ethiopian [coffee].”

Cannell’s interest was further piqued when requests for organic beans began to roll across his desk. Moving to Mattapoisett, he decided to try his hand at an organic coffee company of his own.

The choice wasn’t exactly strategic as the organic food movement was barely off the ground.

“I didn’t even know what Whole Foods was,” said Cannell, who began selling beans to small health food stores in New England.

Two decades later, Jim’s Organic Coffee has around 30 blends sold to cafes, restaurants and retailers from Maine to Florida as well as the Midwest, Denver area and parts of the Southwest.

Still a small operation, every bean is roasted, packaged and shipped from the business headquarters in Wareham, which incidentally has freshly brewed coffee on tap.

Cannell, a father of three, also said he visits growers whenever he gets the chance.

“It’s a long way to travel just to shake hands, but that’s part of it ­ to say, ‘Hey, we support each other.’”

Through his travels, Cannell also became connected with Child Aid, an organization that builds libraries in villages throughout South America. The coffee company now supports a library in Guatemala by donating five percent of sales from its holiday blend each year.

“It’s really become a community library and sort of a beacon, a lasting part of the community,” said Cannell, who visited with his daughter last summer. “We want to give back to the communities we buy from.”

Learn more about Jim’s Organic Coffee and the company’s work with Child Aid here.