Coava Coffee Roasters
Portland, OR
The pride of Portland
Curator's Notes
Coava started the way the best roasters often do: in a garage, on a shoestring, with a big idea. Portland-based founder Matt Higgins bootstrapped his roasting business by repairing motorcycles, building his company around one core belief: that exceptional coffee starts long before the roast. "Coava" means unroasted, and that's the point. The roast is just the final chapter of a much longer relationship with the bean and the farmer behind it. Named best coffee roaster in Oregon by Tasting Table, and famously featured on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld's verdict was simple: "It's a reason to live here." In the cup, expect beautifully precise, origin-forward coffees roasted two ways: one profile for drip, one for espresso, to get the absolute best out of every bean.
From the Roaster
Coava began in Matt Higgins North Portland garage in 2008. The veteran barista and roaster bootstrapped the company by repairing motorcycles. Having spent years in specialty coffee, Matt dreamed of starting his own company where he could roast and prepare coffees that would be exciting for professional baristas and inviting to everyday drinkers. Matt knew that in order to accomplish this goal, sourcing exceptional “coava” would have to be the bedrock upon which his entire company was built. As far as we’re concerned, obtaining high scoring green coffee is just the beginning. Coava is committed to long term, sustainable partnerships with coffee producers. We are dedicated to a sourcing model that is not only good for farmers, but is good for the specialty coffee industry as a whole. Being socially responsible, honest, and investing in infrastructure allows us to get the same great coffees each year, to build trust between us and our producers, and to offer stability and security to the coffee producing communities we partner with. We recognize that it is the growers, not us, who determine a coffee's potential, and we are honored to work with producers who take such pride in their work.
