Here, Kitty Kitty…

First things first. Cats are awesome and our XL kitty inspired our company name and logo. But dogs are also awesome, and we’re both dog people and cat people and hell — even people people. Anyway we figured a proper introduction was in order, since as roasters, we’ve asked to be part of what very well might be the most important part of your day. Your coffee time.

el jefa

Here are a few things to know. We live, play and roast in Salida, Colorado, 7,000 feet (c. 2,130 m) above sea level. This little altitude brag doesn’t matter to the coffee all that much but it’s kind of cool. We’re a truly micro micro-roasting outfit. It’s the two of us (Sacha and Diane) and our 14-year-old kiddo who helps us out. We have big coffee dreams that we roast in really small batches and package to deliver swiftly and regularly directly to people’s doors. Why? Because we’ve spent a lot of time personally figuring out what makes coffee time coffee time.

Between the two of us, we’ve got a combined barista and café history of more than 20 years. Of course, that does not necessarily great roasters make — but between this experience and our perpetual travels which are always a dot-to-dot between the best coffee in any given locale, we’ve learned a great deal. The variables around coffee are enough to blow one’s mind (just punch “roasting coffee” into Google). Still, despite the fact that just raising the topic of coffee roasting can elicit a windstorm of scientific geekery enough to dry the joy out of it completely, a few simple things have remained unshakably true throughout our long relationship with coffee:  

1. Roasting it is an intersection of science and art, subject to fluctuations, configurations, preferences, palate, mood, weather. To name a few of the considerations.

2. If it’s not painfully fresh, roasted coffee should not be ground, brewed, served, sold, purchased or consumed. Life is too short and these shenanigans are sad wastes of time. Worse, they are sad wastes of coffee time.

We began roasting our own coffee more than 10 years ago with a popcorn air popper from the thrift store (SO loud. Somehow we weren’t killed by our neighbors). Eventually we invested in a small-batch sample roaster, figured out how to work it and get the coffee we loved, and then began inviting friends over for coffee time. This is when we realized that just maybe, people would like this coffee showing up at their own door, undeniably fresh, every week.  

So this little bean of a business idea began to grow. Roast fresh coffee, wrap it up in compostable packaging, deliver it locally, ship it quickly to those further away, and keep the whole operation big enough to give some money away but small enough to still have fun.

We’re glad you found us! Let us know what you think, and thanks for letting us be part of your coffee experience.

Here are a few things to know. We live, play and roast in Salida, Colorado, 7,000 feet (c. 2,130 m) above sea level. This little altitude brag doesn’t matter to the coffee all that much but it’s kind of cool. We’re a truly micro micro-roasting outfit. It’s the two of us (Sacha and Diane) and our 14-year-old kiddo who helps us out. We have big coffee dreams that we roast in really small batches and package to deliver swiftly and regularly directly to people’s doors. Why? Because we’ve spent a lot of time personally figuring out what makes coffee time coffee time.

Between the two of us, we’ve got a combined barista and café history of more than 20 years. Of course, that does not necessarily great roasters make — but between this experience and our perpetual travels which are always a dot-to-dot between the best coffee in any given locale, we’ve learned a great deal. The variables around coffee are enough to blow one’s mind (just punch “roasting coffee” into Google). Still, despite the fact that just raising the topic of coffee roasting can elicit a windstorm of scientific geekery enough to dry the joy out of it completely, a few simple things have remained unshakably true throughout our long relationship with coffee:  

1. Roasting it is an intersection of science and art, subject to fluctuations, configurations, preferences, palate, mood, weather. To name a few of the considerations.

2. If it’s not painfully fresh, roasted coffee should not be ground, brewed, served, sold, purchased or consumed. Life is too short and these shenanigans are sad wastes of time. Worse, they are sad wastes of coffee time.

We began roasting our own coffee more than 10 years ago with a popcorn air popper from the thrift store (SO loud. Somehow we weren’t killed by our neighbors). Eventually we invested in a small-batch sample roaster, figured out how to work it and get the coffee we loved, and then began inviting friends over for coffee time. This is when we realized that just maybe, people would like this coffee showing up at their own door, undeniably fresh, every week.  

So this little bean of a business idea began to grow. Roast fresh coffee, wrap it up in compostable packaging, deliver it locally, ship it quickly to those further away, and keep the whole operation big enough to give some money away but small enough to still have fun.

We’re glad you found us! Let us know what you think, and thanks for letting us be part of your coffee experience.
If you live in Salida or Poncha city limits, we’ll deliver your coffee right to your door at no charge (we’re neighborly like that). If you live locally but outside Salida, shoot us an email. And of course, we’ll ship anywhere in the U.S., using 100% compostable shipping materials.
GIVING BACK — We support non-profits with our Buck-a-Bag program. 
We thought, maybe it’d be nice for people to know that when they pay for a pound of excellent coffee, part of their hard-earned money goes out into the world to do good things. Even quality organic coffee, like any sold and bought thing, costs the planet. What if we gave a buck a bag to environmental and social causes? Diane worked for nearly a decade for the clothing company Patagonia and its founder/activist/hero Yvon Chouinard, so we’d seen what a conscientious business looks like and the power it has to spread better practices that effect real change. The bar was pretty high and we weren’t about to lower it. Learn more about Buck-a-Bag at our GIVING page.