Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting

What Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting does

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. is a privately held specialty coffee roaster founded in 1978 in Santa Cruz, California, and operated continuously by co-founders Colleen Crosby and Bronson Baker. The company roasts 100% arabica coffee using a small-batch Fluid Bed Roasting process that conveys thermal energy via airflow rather than mechanical drum agitation, producing bright, clean flavor profiles. It also operates the patented BrewBar hand-poured brewing technique, an in-store experiential anchor featured at its flagship retail location inside the Historic Palomar Arcade in downtown Santa Cruz. The product catalog spans single-origin coffees, house blends, espresso blends, flavored varieties, and decaffeinated options, all carrying Fair Trade and/or Organic certifications across an 11-50 employee operation with a roasting facility in Watsonville, CA.

Revenue is generated through three channels: direct-to-consumer e-commerce on a Shopify storefront (supporting USD, EUR, AUD, GBP, and JPY), the Coffee Lover's Club subscription program with weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly cadences, and B2B wholesale supply to restaurants and coffee houses across the Santa Cruz and Monterey county region, with merchandise (apparel, drinkware, Chemex equipment, gift cards) providing ancillary revenue. Bag pricing is standardized at $16.95-$17.95 for 16oz units, with a 10% subscription discount. Distribution is domestic-only, shipping to the lower 48 U.S. states.

The company has no external institutional investors, no parent company, and no subsidiaries, and exhibits no recent funding, M&A, or significant restructuring activity. Strategic positioning rests on heritage (40+ year brand), proprietary roasting and brewing methods, certified ethical sourcing, and a hybrid retail / DTC / wholesale model. Forward momentum is incremental, with product-line and subscription-program expansion but no disclosed moves toward significant geographic or vertical scaling.

Name

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting

Legal name

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.

Website

https://santacruzcoffee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co., founded 1978 in Santa Cruz, California, is a privately held specialty coffee roaster serving direct-to-consumer customers nationwide via e-commerce and subscription, a flagship retail cafe, and B2B wholesale accounts in the Santa Cruz and Monterey region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Fair trade coffee
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Coffee subscription service
• Single origin coffee

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Sales: Sale of roasted coffee beans in 16oz bags across light, medium, and dark roast varieties, including single origins and proprietary blends.
2. Coffee Subscription (Coffee Lover's Club): Monthly subscription program offering exclusive member benefits including discounts, special offers, and a free half-pound of coffee every month. Delivered on customer-chosen schedules.
3. Wholesale B2B: Supply of fresh-roasted gourmet coffee to Santa Cruz and Monterey area restaurants and coffee houses. Includes custom blends, equipment consultation, and customer support services.
4. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including travel mugs, apparel, stickers, and coffee brewing equipment such as Chemex and Melitta filters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting is a specialty coffee roaster that has been roasting, blending, and brewing 100% Arabica coffees since 1978. The company small-batch roasts green coffee beans using Fluid Bed Roasting technology, sells them through its own e-commerce store, a flagship BrewBar retail cafe in downtown Santa Cruz, a subscription program (Coffee Lover's Club), and a wholesale program supplying restaurants and coffee houses in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. The portfolio spans single origins, signature and house blends, espresso blends, flavored coffees, decafs, plus branded merchandise and brewing equipment.

Product overview

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. is a specialty coffee company offering a diverse portfolio of 100% arabica coffee products across multiple categories: single origin coffees (Mexican, Colombian, Ethiopian, Indian, Kenyan, Guatemalan, Peruvian varieties), house blends (Santa Cruz Full City, Santa Cruz Dark, Steve's Smooth French, Sweet Italian), espresso blends (Santa Cruz Organic Espresso, Santa Cruz Special Espresso, Decaf Espresso), flavored coffees (Hazelnut, Chocolate, Vanilla, Nutcracker, Feliz Navidad), and decaf options using natural water process. The company also sells merchandise including brewing equipment (Chemex, Melitta filters), branded drinkware, apparel, and gift cards. Their products are primarily Fair Trade Certified and Certified Organic, sourced through various responsible sourcing models including direct trade, AgroEcology, and conventional fair trade channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BrewBar: Patented hand-poured coffee technique created to provide the ultimate specialty coffee experience. Each cup is individually hand-poured to give customers the freshest, smoothest cup of coffee.

Products and services

• Single Origin Coffee Single-origin 16oz bags of 100% Arabica coffee sourced from named origins with full traceability. Most are Fair Trade Certified and Certified Organic. Roasted in light, medium, full city, or dark profiles depending on the bean.
• Signature Coffee Blends Proprietary multi-origin blends such as 40th Anniversary Blend, Moka Java, Moka Matra, Heart of Darkness, Bean of the Earth, BluesBreaker, Beethoven's Blend, Tres Americas, and Zooom Brew. Sold in 16oz bags at $16.95 each.
• House Coffee Blends Daily-drinker house blends including Santa Cruz Full City, Santa Cruz Dark, Steve's Smooth French, and Sweet Italian, combining Central American, South American, Indonesian, and Pacific Rim beans.
• Espresso Blends Espresso-specific blends including Santa Cruz Organic Espresso (full city plus), Santa Cruz Special Espresso (medium-dark), and Decaf Santa Cruz Espresso (light French with natural water process decaffeination).
• Decaf Coffee Decaffeinated coffees processed using the natural water process (chemical-free), including Natural Water Process Peruvian Decaf and Decaf Espresso.
• Flavored Coffee Flavored coffees such as Hazelnut, Vanilla, Chocolate Moka Java, Chocolate BluesBreaker, Decaf Hazelnut, Decaf Vanilla, plus seasonal offerings Feliz Navidad (chocolate-cinnamon) and Nutcracker (Fair Trade cinnamon-hazelnut).
• Aptosia Community Blend Full city and dark roast community blend with nutty and smoky character. One dollar from every bag is donated to the Live Like Coco foundation supporting children in Santa Cruz County.
• Coffee Brewing Equipment Brewing equipment including Chemex 3-cup and 8-cup glass coffeemakers, Chemex bonded filters, and Melitta cone-shaped compostable filters in #2, #4, and #6 sizes.
• Branded Drinkware and Apparel Branded merchandise including Santa Cruz Aptos Mugs (black/white), Travel Mugs, branded headwear (flat-billed snapback hats), SCCR T-shirts (S-XXL), SCCR Zip-Up Sweatshirts, and Santa Cruz logo stickers.
• Online Gift Card Email-delivered digital gift cards redeemable on santacruzcoffee.com, available in $10, $25, $50, and $100 USD denominations.
• Coffee Lover's Club Subscription Monthly subscription program for individual consumers that delivers fresh-roasted coffee on weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedules, with a 10% member discount, exclusive offers, and a free half-pound of coffee every month.
• Wholesale Coffee Supply Program B2B wholesale supply of fresh-roasted gourmet coffee to restaurants and coffee houses in the Santa Cruz and Monterey area, including custom blends, equipment consultation, and customer support services. Daily shipping nationwide.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Live Like Coco FoundationminorOthersThrough the Aptosia Blend partnership, one dollar from every bag purchased is donated to the Live Like Coco foundation. This non-profit helps kids in the Santa Cruz County area grow up healthy with opportunities to pursue their dreams. The foundation works in literacy, nature, health, and extracurricular activities, inspired by Coco Lazenby who was killed in a car accident at age 12.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Verve Coffee Roasters: California-based specialty coffee roaster with a strong DTC/retail/wholesale mix and emphasis on direct trade and roasting craft. Highly comparable to Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting in scale, channel mix, and regional California positioning.
• Ritual Coffee Roasters: Specialty roaster founded around the same era with a flagship roastery-cafe, wholesale program, and direct trade focus. Operates a similar roastery/cafe hybrid model with comparable product breadth and craft positioning.
• Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty roaster with strong sustainability, direct trade, and educational positioning — including subscription and wholesale programs that mirror Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting's go-to-market and values-based brand story.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Specialty roaster recognized for direct trade programs and single-origin focus, with wholesale and DTC channels. Closely comparable product mix and sourcing philosophy to Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Premium specialty roaster offering single-origin and blends across wholesale, DTC, and cafe channels. Highly comparable product portfolio and channel mix, though at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: Specialty coffee brand known for fresh-roasted, single-origin emphasis and integrated cafe/retail experience. Operates a similar roastery-cafe hybrid with subscription and wholesale channels, at significantly larger scale.
• La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Specialty roaster with national DTC, wholesale, and cafe footprint. Comparable channel mix including subscriptions and branded merchandise, with broader geographic coverage than Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting.
• Philz Coffee: Specialty coffee brand with patented hand-crafted brewing approach, integrated cafe experience, and Bay Area roots. Comparable in proprietary brewing technique, founder-led heritage, and roastery-cafe hybrid model.

Broad incumbents

• Peet's Coffee: Established specialty coffee incumbent with deep wholesale, grocery, and DTC presence in California. Operates broadly in the same category but at significantly greater scale and distribution depth, serving as a benchmark for category positioning.

Emerging players

• Onyx Coffee Lab: Specialty roaster with a strong competition pedigree, modern DTC site, and growing wholesale presence. Comparable in craft-focused, education-driven brand positioning and small-batch roasting ethos.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/santacruzcoffee
• Facebookfacebook.com/santacruzcoffee
• Instagraminstagram.com/santacruzcoffee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-cruz-coffee-roasting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting