Our Story
A decade of dedication to the art of roasting
A decade of dedication to the art of roasting
In 2015, two friends shared a frustration. Despite Zurich's thriving café culture, finding freshly roasted, traceable coffee proved surprisingly difficult. Commercial blends dominated. Provenance remained opaque. The gap between what we knew was possible and what was available became too wide to ignore.
We began modestly, roasting small batches in a converted garage space using a second-hand drum roaster. Friends tried our coffee. Then their friends. Within months, local cafés began inquiring. The garage gave way to a proper roastery, and what started as a weekend project evolved into a vocation.
We hold certain beliefs about coffee that guide everything we do. First, freshness matters more than most realise. Coffee begins losing aromatics within days of roasting. We roast to order whenever possible and never sell beans older than three weeks.
Second, relationships matter. We visit origin countries regularly, meeting the farmers who grow our coffee. These trips inform our understanding and strengthen connections throughout the supply chain. When you purchase from us, you can ask where your beans came from and receive a genuine answer.
Third, transparency builds trust. We list origin, altitude, processing method, and roast date on every bag. No vague descriptions or misleading marketing. Just honest information about what you are drinking.
Our small team brings diverse experience and shared passion
Head Roaster & Co-Founder
Operations & Co-Founder
Quality Control
What sets them apart is consistency. Week after week, their beans deliver the same exceptional quality. In twelve years of running a café, I have not encountered another roaster so reliable.
Owner, Café Helvetia, Basel
We roast on a 1987 Probat UG-22, a German-engineered drum roaster prized for its thermal stability and responsive controls. While newer technology exists, this vintage machine provides tactile feedback that digital systems cannot replicate.
For quality control, we use a Diedrich IR-5 sample roaster. Every new lot receives test roasts before full production. We cup samples using SCA protocols, scoring each coffee on aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, and uniformity.
Our grinder, a Mahlkönig EK43, ensures consistent particle distribution for accurate cupping evaluations. Precision at every stage builds the quality you taste in your cup.
We pay above Fair Trade minimums for all our green coffee. More significantly, we maintain multi-year relationships with producing farms, providing income stability that enables farmers to invest in quality improvements. This differs from spot-market purchasing, where farms face unpredictable demand.
Our Ethiopian coffees come from a cooperative in the Gedeo Zone. Our Colombian beans arrive from a family estate in Huila. Our Brazilian lots originate from a third-generation farm in Minas Gerais. We know these places. We have walked these fields. And we return annually to strengthen these partnerships.
Interested in learning more about our sourcing practices?
Get in TouchContent on this website serves informational purposes. Personal preferences in coffee vary considerably. We encourage visitors to sample our offerings before making significant purchases. This site does not constitute professional dietary guidance. If you have concerns about caffeine intake, please seek advice from a qualified health practitioner.