Asia-Pacific
A Farmer's Legacy: The Rise of Yunnan Coffee
Hu XiXiang's journey from rubber and tea technician to coffee cooperative leader illustrates the perseverance and community focus driving Yunnan's coffee sector.
Tags
Coffee Roasting
58 stories
- Coffee Competitions
From Beekeeping to Bean Champion: A Conversation with Keith J. Feigin
The co-founder and president of a Ukiah, California roasting company reflects on small-town pride, team achievements at the Golden Bean North America competition, and the evolving coffee landscape.
- Roasteries
Inside Alma Coffee: A Canton Roastery Where the Farm-to-Cup Journey Is on Full Display
At Alma Coffee in Canton, Georgia, a cafe and roastery share one space, letting customers follow each step from green beans to packaged bags while the company’s three pillars—improving lives, sustainable practices, and extraordinary coffee—guide operations from Honduras to the retail counter.
- People
A Roaster's View from the Coffee Expo: Rachel Apple on Hospitality, Mentorship, and Innovation
Rachel Apple, quality control at George Howell Coffee, shares her experience hosting international guests, supporting a partner's product launch, and participating in a mentorship panel at the coffee industry's major trade show.
- Roasting Craft
Should Your Café Take the Roasting Plunge?
In-house roasting can cut costs and set a café apart, but it also demands serious capital, patience, and a taste for manufacturing rather than romance.
- Marketing & Branding
What Coffee Packaging Communicates Beyond the Beans
Roasters use bag design to convey origin, processing, and brand values, but face cost and minimum-order hurdles. From compostable pouches to augmented reality labels, packaging choices reflect trade-offs between sustainability, aesthetics, and budget.
- Operations & Menus
From Street Cart to Storefront: Lessons in Mobile Coffee Entrepreneurship
Travas Clifton and Justin Hicks built Modcup Coffee Co. by first selling from a cart and a 1969 Citroën H Van near a New Jersey transit hub, then expanding to a café and roastery in Jersey City Heights. Their experience shows how mobile operations can lower the risk of opening a fixed location.
- Roasteries
Shared Roasting Spaces Reshape Coffee Production and Community
Co-roasting facilities, barely a decade old, are expanding rapidly across North America and Australia, giving small cafés and startups affordable access to roasting equipment, training, and collaborative networks—and potentially altering the structure of the coffee industry.
- Central & North America
Geisha at the Top of the Hill: Notes from Finca la Mula
A climb through Panamanian rain to a geisha farm, a cup poured from airpots, and a question about whether wildness should ever be tamed.
- Coffee Science
Same Lot, Three Treatments: A Tasting Lesson in Coffee Processing
A Milwaukee roaster's three-bag release shows drinkers how washed, semi-washed and natural methods shape the cup.
- Roasting Craft
Why One Roaster Finally Embraced Blending: The Penrose Story
A coffee wholesaler explains how customer demand for dependable espresso pushed the company to reconsider a long-held single-origin-only stance.
- Roasting Craft
Roasting Within Limits: What Green Coffee Can and Cannot Become
A green buyer's perspective on why the beans you choose set the boundaries for what a roast profile can achieve, and how to plan sourcing around that reality.
- Coffee Competitions
Golden Bean's roaster-judged contest: a look behind the competition
A roaster-only judging format, a growing entry pool, and an awards weekend in Portland—how the Golden Bean competition was built to spotlight the people behind the coffee.
- People
From Barista to Roastery Owner: How Andy Sprenger Turned Competition Wins into a Colorado Coffee Hub
Sprenger, a US Aeropress and two-time US Brewers Cup champion, opened Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters in Lakewood, Colorado, in December 2013 after more than two decades away from his home state.
- Roasting Equipment
Roasting Without Venting: A Conversation with Bellwether’s Kimberly Noon
Kimberly Noon, VP of Marketing at Bellwether, discusses the company’s ventless electric roaster, its curated green coffee marketplace, and how the equipment serves everyone from small cafés to large chains. She also reflects on returning to the Specialty Coffee Expo and offers advice for new equipment makers.
- Roasteries
A Small Ithaca Roastery's Award-Winning Espresso and Its Plan to Stay Nimble
Copper Horse Coffee, a Kickstarter-backed startup in upstate New York, claimed a national espresso title with a Colombian single-origin lot. Its head roaster explains the preparation behind the win and why the team intends to remain a small-batch operation.
- Roasting Craft
Roasting the Misunderstood Bean: Why Robusta Deserves a Second Look
American specialty roasters can recite Arabica roast curves from memory, yet mention Robusta and the room goes quiet. Recent experience in Southeast Asia suggests that careful roasting—often slower and smarter than expected—can reveal a side of this species most drinkers have never tasted.
- Roasteries
Why Coffee Roasters Should Brew Up Partnerships, Not Keep Secrets
Summit Coffee Roasters and Methodical Coffee teamed up for a co-branded blend, while a larger project with S&D Coffee and Tea showed how working alongside competitors can push specialty coffee forward.
- Roasting Equipment
How Compact Digital Roasters Are Reshaping Coffee Roasting
Over the past half-decade, a notable shift has occurred in roasting equipment: smaller, compact digital roasters have gained significant traction, influencing both professional and home roasting practices.
- Roasteries
From Literature Professor to Coffee Roaster: Hannah Ulbrich's Story
Hannah Ulbrich, a former literature professor, purchased a Denver coffee roastery and opened a café with community support.
