Cypress Street Roasters has been dedicated to artisanal, small-batch, single-origin coffee since we began as a cottage industry in 2020. Tasting the coffees commonly available to us, we realized that it is rare to find a bag of coffee in which the beans have been truly respected as the natural, agricultural product that they are. Beans are almost always over-roasted or burned, blended to hide imperfections and create a reliable industrial commodity, or stale. We want people to have the opportunity to experience coffee in a different way-- to get people excited about coffee like they might be excited about wine. Terroir, altitude, weather, farming methods, the skill of the roaster—all of these things matter in creating unique coffees. Our coffee is “single-origin”— that is, we highlight unique coffees from various countries and regions. As roasters we never blend our coffees and the roast date is printed on each bag so you know it’s fresh. We provide a curated variety of coffees from around the world and roast each batch by hand in a non-automated Giesen roaster so that the human skill of the artisan plays a central role in promoting, not masking, the individual flavor profile of each bean. It’s our goal to help you bring excellent coffee to your home or workplace.

Do you roast all your own coffee? 

Yes, we roast all our own coffee in-house.  We roast in small batches, each one attended to and adjusted to account for many variables. Our roasting process is non-automated, and the human skill of the roaster is engaged during the whole process.

What machine do you roast on?

We roast in small batches on a Giesen W6. This is a Dutch-made machine built with quality materials and trusted craftsmanship. 

Where do you get your green coffee?

We source green (unroasted) coffees from an importer.  We curate our seasonal coffee offerings from the many single-origin options currently available to small roasters like ourselves.  Because we are not large enough to broker our own direct contracts with producers of green coffee in the countries of origin, these importers are a practical way for us to access great coffees from around the world. 

What is the difference between a dark roast and a light roast?  Do you have options?

The difference in the so-called darker and lighter roasts is the temperature at which the beans are dropped (or exited) from the roaster. This results in a perceptible color difference, the darker beans being taken to a higher temperature, the lighter ones to a lesser temperature.  We roast all our beans on the lighter side because we want to highlight the individual flavor profile of each bean.  The possibilities a coffee has to offer are often blotted out by over-roasting, which takes the beans to the point of burning them, and produces a uniform ashiness. 

I like a “dark roast.”  Do you have anything for me?

While we don’t offer dark roasts, we do have coffees that have the deeper profiles often associated with dark roasts.  These coffees have great depth and body because of their origin (water, soil, processing method, bean type, etc.). They aren’t burned, but instead the flavor of the bean is allowed to shine. If you like a dark roast, look for a coffee with a deeper, less acidic, and more heavy-bodied profile. We try to note this on the coffees offered on our website.

Do you roast blends?

For retail we focus on roasting single-origin coffees because we enjoy exploring the unique flavor profile that each terroir has to offer.  While we don’t get uniformity in our coffees, we strive to provide consistent quality.

What do the flavor “notes” indicate?  Do you add flavorings? 

The flavor notes indicated for each of our coffees are like the descriptions you might see for wine.  They are aspects which lie as potentials in the coffee bean and which the roaster has brought out. There may be coffees with nuttiness and chocolatey notes or more floral or herby beans.  We do not add flavorings to our coffees.  The flavor notes are naturally occurring and either augmented or suppressed by the roasting process.

What does “washed” or “natural” mean in the processing of coffee?

There are several ways that coffee cherries are processed to give us the green beans we use to roast.  Several layers of the fruit must first be removed before the bean is ready to be roasted and used, and the several ways in which this can be done have names.  In a nut-shell, “washed” refers to a method of processing that involves pulping, then fermentation or demucilaging, followed by a final washing with water.  “Natural” process coffee involves drying on the bush or laying the fruit to ferment and dry on patios and then hulling the outer layers off. There are other subcategories of processing as well.  These methods all affect the flavor of coffee and can be a general guide to cup characteristics.