Roasted Coffee

The story of coffee begins with the farmer and ends with you, the coffee drinker.

But before you, dear coffee drinker, enter the story, the roaster makes an important and necessary appearance. Without the roaster, there’d be no coffee to drink. While coffee roasting may look easy, there is a precise art and science to it.

Knowledge, experience, a love for coffee, and an open-mindedness to innovation is what makes an excellent coffee roaster, and at Crimson we take our role in the story of coffee seriously.

Our hand-selected coffees make the trek from countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru to our 20,000-square-foot roasting facility in Columbus, Ohio. It is here that our master roasters bring out the best of these beans through daily small-batch roasting in our Probat Roasters. Master Roaster Dave Rochus and his team carefully monitor factors such as temperature, aroma, moisture, content, color, and sound of the coffee beans to achieve a consistent and distinctive roast.

From here we take our beans to competition to showcase their unique beauty and notes, and to highlight the remarkable work of our partner farmers. We’ve brought home honors from:

• Good Food Awards: Finalist in 2017 and 2021, and winner in 2020
• Golden Bean North America: Overall Small Chain Campion in 2019
• Roast Magazine: National Roaster of the Year in 2016

For over three decades, Crimson has been a leader (and, if we may brag, award winner) in the world of coffee roasting, and we look forward to sharing what we’ve learned with you. 

Innovation Lab:

In addition to our roasting facility, our Innovation Lab is one of only 45 Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Training Campuses in the United States and the only one in the state of Ohio.

It is here where we bring together the next generation of coffee experts to hone their craft and forge relationships with peers. From analyzing green and brewed coffees to learning the art of the roast on our Probat Roasters; from training on our Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II and Black Eagle Espresso machines to engaging in friendly competitions, our Innovation Lab is an immersive experience that will leave you with the skills and knowledge you need to become an expert barista or roaster.