Roast magazine has officially unveiled the finalists for its prestigious 23rd Annual Roaster of the Year awards, celebrating excellence in the specialty coffee industry. This year’s competition highlights companies demonstrating exceptional quality in coffee roasting, a profound commitment to sustainability, robust engagement in employee and community education, significant contributions to the broader coffee industry, and a steadfast dedication to diversity, inclusion, and equity. The winners in both the Micro Roaster and Macro Roaster categories will be revealed on Monday, October 19, and will be prominently featured in the upcoming November/December 2026 issue of Roast magazine. This annual recognition serves as a benchmark for the highest standards in coffee roasting, acknowledging those who go above and beyond in their pursuit of exceptional coffee and responsible business practices.
The Roaster of the Year awards, now in its 23rd year, has become a cornerstone event in the specialty coffee calendar. It not only recognizes outstanding achievements but also sets a precedent for innovation and ethical conduct within the industry. The rigorous selection process evaluates a comprehensive set of criteria, ensuring that only the most deserving companies are considered. These criteria encompass the quality of the roasted product, the company’s environmental stewardship, its educational initiatives for staff and the public, its active participation in industry events and organizations, and its commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. For those aspiring to be recognized in future years, the application criteria and process for the 2028 Roaster of the Year competition are available, inviting new contenders to showcase their dedication to the craft.
Micro Roaster of the Year Finalists: Pushing the Boundaries of Small-Scale Excellence
The Micro Roaster category, which recognizes companies roasting less than 100,000 pounds of coffee annually, features four distinguished finalists this year. This expansion from the typical three finalists is a testament to the exceptional quality and competitive nature of the applications received, indicating a tie in the initial rounds of judging. These companies represent the cutting edge of artisanal coffee production, prioritizing meticulous detail, innovative techniques, and deep community connections.
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters: A Sacramento Staple Focused on Approachability and Sustainability
Established in Sacramento, California, in 2008, Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters has emerged as a leading roaster-retailer and wholesaler, producing approximately 93,665 pounds of coffee annually. Under the ownership of Ali Syed and Asif Alvi, the company has expanded its footprint to encompass six brick-and-mortar locations across Sacramento and the East Bay, alongside two licensed operations. Their wholesale division further extends their reach, supplying nearly 70 additional stores. Chocolate Fish’s core mission revolves around demystifying coffee and making it accessible to everyone through comprehensive education, unwavering accessibility, and genuine community engagement.
Their commitment to sustainability is deeply embedded in their operations. This includes comprehensive composting programs for coffee grounds and filters, the diligent reuse of green coffee packaging, and the offering of compostable products. Furthermore, their active partnerships with food-rescue programs highlight a dedication to minimizing waste and maximizing resource utilization. Since 2014, Chocolate Fish has made a significant environmental impact by donating over 200,000 pounds of compostable materials, effectively diverting substantial organic waste from landfills. Education is a cornerstone of their business model, evidenced by structured barista training programs, ongoing support for wholesale partners, engaging public coffee classes, and a dedicated in-house education lab. In their roasting practices, Chocolate Fish employs advanced infrared-burner equipment, allowing for manual adjustments of gas, airflow, temperatures, and roast times. This precise control enables them to meticulously refine profiles for individual coffees, including experimental lots that challenge their team to adapt and innovate roasting approaches. Their community involvement is broad, encompassing collaborations with local organizations, schools, environmental initiatives, and industry events, underscoring their belief in building meaningful connections through the shared experience of coffee.
Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters (DOCR): Michigan’s Hub for Quality, Education, and Community
Founded in 2009, Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters (DOCR) is a prominent Michigan-based roaster-retailer and wholesaler that roasts approximately 68,000 pounds of coffee annually. Led by owner, president, and director of coffee, Nathan Hamood, DOCR operates four retail locations strategically positioned in Rochester, Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Detroit. Their 9,000-square-foot headquarters in Ferndale serves as the central hub for their roastery, bakery, distribution operations, quality control, and a comprehensive training center.
DOCR places a strong emphasis on thoughtful sourcing and cultivating long-term, mutually beneficial purchasing relationships with coffee producers and exporters. This commitment to direct engagement ensures consistent quality and supports sustainable farming practices. Their sustainability initiatives are diverse and impactful, including the use of electric vehicles for deliveries, innovative coffee-waste reuse programs, offering bulk coffee options to reduce packaging, and a dedicated focus on food-waste reduction across their operations. The company also prioritizes its workforce, investing significantly in employee benefits and career development opportunities. A dedicated Education Department plays a crucial role, providing structured training for their staff, wholesale partners, and the broader coffee community. DOCR’s engagement with the industry is multifaceted, featuring public coffee classes, active support for employees attending industry events, and participation in community education initiatives such as Detroit Coffee Week. In their roasting endeavors, DOCR focuses on meticulous profiling, rigorous weekly production cuppings, and an unwavering commitment to consistency. They utilize Probat profiling software to enhance quality control and to ensure that each coffee’s unique characteristics are highlighted to their fullest potential.
Idle Hands Roasting Co.: Transparency and Measurable Impact from Salt Lake City
Established in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2021, Idle Hands Roasting Co. has rapidly distinguished itself as a roaster-retailer and wholesaler committed to transparency and measurable impact. The company produces approximately 85,000 pounds of coffee annually. Founded by Adrian Bradshaw Tezjan, Ricky Dyson, and Peter Jones, this six-person team centers its business philosophy on transparency, fostering long-term producer relationships, and ensuring tangible positive outcomes throughout the coffee supply chain.
Idle Hands is notable for its proactive approach to sharing information, publishing its sourcing and pricing data, and releasing an annual Responsibility Report. This report meticulously details their purchasing practices, environmental efforts, and progress toward their ambitious sustainability goals. Their producer partnerships have directly supported impactful projects, including a vital community water initiative in El Salvador, the donation of coffee seedlings to support new growth in Guatemala, and the provision of essential milling equipment for a producer in Colombia. In their roasting operations, Idle Hands predominantly utilizes a Loring S35 Kestrel, roasting over 90% of their coffee on this advanced machine. They maintain exceptional consistency and traceability through weekly quality-control cuppings, diligent roast-color tracking, and the strategic use of Cropster production data. Beyond their core roasting activities, Idle Hands actively invests in employee development, provides comprehensive wholesale training, and champions public coffee education. Their support extends to crucial organizations such as World Coffee Research, the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, and Raise the Bar. The company also contributes significantly to the broader industry through its active involvement with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence and its participation in international coffee competitions. Their overarching approach is guided by a central mission: to improve the coffee industry by fostering greater transparency, encouraging producer collaboration, and actively sharing industry knowledge.
Indie Coffee Roasters: Welcoming Specialty Coffee Through Hospitality and Education
Founded in 2018 by Diane and Kevin McAndrews, Indie Coffee Roasters is a Carmel, Indiana-based roaster-retailer and wholesaler that has cultivated a strong presence across five locations, producing 47,386 pounds of coffee annually. Guided by their inspiring "Love What You Drink" mission, the company is dedicated to making specialty coffee approachable and welcoming. This is achieved through thoughtfully designed roast profiles, exceptional hospitality, and a robust educational framework. Their signature Circle and Silhouette blends are crafted to emphasize sweetness, balance, body, and overall drinkability, while a rotating selection of single origins and seasonal releases invites customers to explore a wider spectrum of coffee flavors.
Indie Coffee Roasters prioritizes building long-term sourcing relationships, with a particular focus on partnerships with underrepresented communities and producers actively pursuing regenerative agricultural practices. Their sustainability initiatives are comprehensive, including efficient composting of coffee grounds, creative repurposing of green coffee packaging in their roastery gardens, expanding incentives for reusable cup usage, and the introduction of low-impact alternatives to single-use cups. The company also places a high value on employee development, offering professional education reimbursements, personalized growth plans, and innovative shared ownership opportunities. In their pursuit of quality and consistency, Indie Coffee Roasters conducts daily production cuppings, utilizes Cropster for roast-curve tracking, and employs sample roasting with an Ikawa machine. Their educational mission extends beyond their cafes through free wholesale training, public cuppings, and community events. Through collaborative projects with producers and fellow local coffee businesses, Indie Coffee Roasters actively works to strengthen relationships across the entire supply chain, fostering a more inclusive and welcoming specialty coffee community where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Macro Roaster of the Year Finalists: Leading the Charge in Large-Scale Quality and Innovation
The Macro Roaster category, which encompasses companies roasting more than 100,000 pounds of coffee annually, presents three exceptional finalists who are shaping the industry through their scale, dedication to quality, and commitment to ethical practices. These companies demonstrate that large-scale operations can indeed be at the forefront of specialty coffee excellence.
Corvus Coffee Roasters: Relationship-Driven Sourcing and Technical Precision from Denver
Founded in Denver in 2010, Corvus Coffee Roasters has established itself as a prominent roaster-retailer and wholesaler, processing an impressive 254,200 pounds of coffee over the past 12 months. With a network of six retail locations and a dedicated facility for roasting, quality control, and training, the company centers its operations on relationship-driven sourcing, technical precision, and compelling producer storytelling. Corvus meticulously builds long-term partnerships with farmers, structuring pricing models that reward cup quality, processing complexity, and the history of their relationships. These enduring partnerships empower producers to invest in new processing methods and enhance their quality control measures. A prime example is their decade-long collaboration with Finca San Pedro in Colombia, which has been instrumental in expanding its anaerobic fermentation program.
Corvus applies the same level of meticulous attention to detail in its roasting processes, developing individualized roast profiles for each coffee. They utilize a combination of Cropster data and expert roaster observations to track over 15 critical variables. The team conducts blind cuppings of every roast weekly and dedicates significant resources to research and development, resulting in the release of more than 100 microlot offerings annually. Education is a fundamental pillar of Corvus’s operational philosophy, encompassing paid onboarding for new staff, monthly internal cuppings, complimentary training for wholesale partners, public classes, and the provision of detailed brewing recipes and dial-in guides for every coffee they offer. The company also champions employee advancement, supports participation in coffee competitions, and provides opportunities for origin travel for eligible long-term team members. Through their innovative packaging, comprehensive educational programming, and producer-focused events, Corvus endeavors to forge deeper connections between their customers and the people and practices that shape each cup of coffee.
Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee: A Cooperative Model Championing Positive Change
Founded in 1993 by Dean Cycon, Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee is a respected Orange, Massachusetts-based roaster-retailer and wholesaler that produces a substantial 499,675 pounds of coffee annually. The company’s foundational mission is to leverage specialty coffee as a powerful vehicle for positive social and environmental change. Dean’s Beans directly sources certified organic, Fair Trade coffee from 11 partner cooperatives, many of which they have maintained long-standing relationships with for decades. Through its innovative "People-Centered Development" program, Dean’s Beans actively supports farmer-led initiatives focused on social, environmental, and economic improvement, including critical projects like agroforestry, reforestation, and the development of organic fertilizer production.
A significant milestone in the company’s evolution occurred in 2023 when Dean’s Beans transitioned to a 100% worker-owned cooperative. Currently, 13 out of its 15 employees are actively participating in ownership and share in the governance of the company, fostering a deeply invested and collaborative work environment. Sustainability is a core tenet that shapes their Massachusetts roasting facility. The facility is powered by solar energy and equipped with two 70-kilogram Loring Smart Roasters, which significantly reduce fuel consumption and roasting emissions. The company utilizes Cropster to meticulously monitor roast profiles and ensure consistency, while also actively collaborating with producers on experimental lots and limited-edition coffees. Their commitment to education is multifaceted, involving direct origin visits, comprehensive employee development programs, specialized wholesale training, and informative customer webinars covering topics such as coffee pricing and sustainability practices. Dean’s Beans also contributes valuable purchasing data to the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide and actively supports industry organizations dedicated to advancing equity and women’s leadership in the coffee sector. Through their enduring long-term purchasing agreements, transparent business practices, and unwavering focus on making responsibly sourced coffee accessible, the company continues to forge a powerful link between exceptional roasting and meaningful, positive change throughout the global coffee supply chain.
Utopian Coffee: Regenerative Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment at Scale
Established in 2006 by cousins Brendon Maxwell and Patrick Smith, Utopian Coffee is a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based roaster-retailer and wholesaler that has achieved remarkable growth, producing 987,946 pounds of coffee annually. The company operates under a guiding mission to enhance the lives of farmers, employees, customers, and the broader community. Utopian Coffee masterfully combines the establishment of enduring producer relationships with a profound commitment to regenerative agriculture. This dedication is exemplified by their impressive track record of purchasing over 1 million pounds of Regenerative Organic Certified coffee, and their collaborative work with producer partners to implement practices that actively promote soil health, enhance biodiversity, and ensure the long-term livelihoods of farmers.
Utopian’s sustainability efforts extend directly to their expansive 30,000-square-foot roastery. Within this facility, the team diligently composts coffee and food waste, implements comprehensive recycling programs, and creatively reuses chaff and burlap. They also actively collaborate with local organizations to minimize waste and generate tangible community benefits. In their roasting processes, Utopian employs detailed profiling across a wide spectrum of roast levels, from experimental, lightly roasted microlots to their signature Regenerative Organic Certified Obsidian dark roast. Rigorous green coffee screen grading and UV inspection are also integral to their quality assessment process, enabling them to provide valuable and actionable feedback to producers. As the company continues to scale its operations, it has strategically redesigned its production workflows, established clearer employee advancement tiers, and developed robust standard operating procedures, incorporating valuable input directly from their production staff. A dedicated coffee lab serves as a vital resource, supporting team development, providing customized wholesale training, facilitating public education initiatives, and fostering stronger connections throughout the entire coffee supply chain.
The announcement of these finalists marks a significant moment in the specialty coffee industry, highlighting the dedication, innovation, and ethical leadership present in both emerging and established roasting companies. The upcoming reveal of the winners on October 19 promises to celebrate the very best of what the coffee roasting world has to offer.
