SUFFOLK, Va. — Growing peanuts isn't just a job for the Harrell family in Suffolk. It's a way of life.
James Harrell represents the fifth generation to work with peanuts in Suffolk. The crop's history goes way back in his line, both for good reasons and bad.
"What would have been my great uncle, he actually died at one year old, he choked on a peanut. My great uncle on the other side of the family actually patented a new variety of peanut plant," Harrell said.
"In my family, you know how people put certain things on their Christmas tree? Like they've got the pickles or whatever? We've got golden peanuts on ours."
But while most of his relatives are peanut farmers, he's taking the crop in a new direction.
Harrell is the founder and CEO of Virginia Gold Peanut Coffee.
He told 13News Now he was driving by a coffee roastery in Suffolk nine years ago, during peanut season, when inspiration struck: peanuts and coffee beans are both legumes.
You should be able to treat one like you treat the other. Theoretically.
"Went home, put some in the oven, and I was really surprised with how it made the kitchen smell like coffee," Harrell said. "We had to deal with the oil levels in the peanut, because peanuts have roughly 50% oil content. So I had to build my own equipment and figure out how to extract some of that oil without extracting it all at the same time."
He built his own equipment to extract that oil slowly, so it could be used in place of coffee beans.
Now, he says his coffee alternative offers people a non-acidic, non-diuretic replacement for their morning joe. The standard cup doesn't have caffeine, either.
"Peanuts are naturally caffeine-free," he explained. "That's a great thing because we can start out with something that's better than de-caff coffee, and then add the caffeine and infuse it to make a caffeinated version."
The peanuts he uses still come from his family's farm -- and his processing is still done in Suffolk.
In a way, it's continuing the family business, just with a twist.
"Tastes like coffee, you brew it like coffee," Harrell said. "But it's made of peanuts."