Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is a family-owned specialty coffee roaster and retailer founded in 2006 in Crystal Lake, Illinois, operating five Chicago-suburb cafés, a direct-trade roast-to-order subscription e-commerce platform, a B2B wholesale program, and mobile espresso catering across the Chicago-Milwaukee region.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersCrystal Lake, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters does
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is a family-owned specialty coffee company founded in 2006 in Crystal Lake, Illinois, that operates across four integrated revenue channels: five retail cafés in Chicago suburbs (Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Palatine), a direct-to-consumer e-commerce and subscription platform, a B2B wholesale program for hospitality and institutional buyers, and a mobile espresso catering service covering the Chicago and Milwaukee regions. All green coffee is sourced through direct-trade relationships with farms in nine origin countries and roasted at a dedicated Crystal Lake Roasters Lab opened in 2021, employing a profile roasting methodology designed to highlight varietal and terroir characteristics, with beans roasted to order for online subscribers.
The product portfolio centers on seasonal single-origin coffees (priced $18.90–$31.20 per unit) and house-crafted multi-origin blends (Brothers Espresso, Northwest Line Espresso, Robot Heart, Station Street, Yeti's Revenge), sold via one-time purchase or subscription (Blend Subscription starting at $18.50 per delivery, Roasters Choice Single Origin at $24, with 10% Subscribe & Save and free shipping on orders $40+). Wholesale customers include hotels, restaurants, cafés, offices, schools, governments, and non-profits, supported by equipment provision, barista training, and operational support; mobile catering provides full-service espresso bars staffed by professional baristas for corporate events and weddings.
The company is led by family partners Jack, Roseanna, and Michael Shipley with Master Roaster Dennis and Coffee Selector Jaime Guevara, and has earned Coffee Review scores consistently between 90 and 95, including a 95-point ranking for Kenya AA Kiri. There are no disclosed institutional investors, parent companies, or external equity backers, and the business operates as a privately held, owner-operated specialty coffee enterprise.
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters
- Legal name
- Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters
- Website
- https://consciouscup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is a family-owned specialty coffee roaster and retailer founded in 2006 in Crystal Lake, Illinois, operating five Chicago-suburb cafés, a direct-trade roast-to-order subscription e-commerce platform, a B2B wholesale program, and mobile espresso catering across the Chicago-Milwaukee region.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Roastery and Café
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Instant Coffee & Coffee Extract Manufacturing (AFAFADAD), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Specialty Coffee Adjacent Beverage Bars (Chai, Cacao, Alternative Lattes) (THAFAKAH)
Keywords
Where Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Crystal Lake
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Retail Café Sales: Revenue from 5 physical café locations in Chicago suburbs selling freshly roasted coffee, espresso drinks, and food items. Cafes serve as both retail outlets and community hubs.
- E-commerce & Subscription: Online sales of coffee beans with subscription model offering 10% savings. Fresh roasted coffee delivered directly to customers' doors with flexible frequency options.
- Wholesale Coffee: B2B sales of seasonal single-origin specialty coffee and custom blends to hospitality businesses, restaurants, hotels, offices, and cafes. Includes equipment, training, and operational support.
- Mobile Catering: Full-service espresso catering for corporate events, weddings, and private functions. Professional baristas serve craft lattes and Italian drinks on-site with mobile coffee carts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single Origin Coffees |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Coffee Blends |
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription Plans |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters roasts small-batch specialty coffee at its Crystal Lake Roasters Lab and sells it through five retail cafés in the Chicago suburbs (Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Palatine), an e-commerce store with subscriptions, a wholesale program for hospitality businesses, and a mobile espresso catering service for events. The company sources green coffee directly from farms across Latin America, Africa, and Asia and roasts to order for subscribers.
Product overview
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters operates a specialty coffee business built around single-origin coffees and house-crafted blends, with a subscription delivery service, wholesale B2B offerings, and mobile catering operations. The core product portfolio includes single-origin seasonal coffees (sourced from regions including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Burundi, Tanzania, and Papua New Guinea) and signature blends (Brothers Espresso, Northwest Line Espresso Blend, Robot Heart, Station Street, Yeti's Revenge), available via subscription with 10% savings or one-time purchase. Supporting offerings include digital and in-cafe gift cards, branded merchandise, and a wholesale program for hospitality businesses. The company also provides mobile espresso catering services and operates five retail café locations in the Chicago suburbs (Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Palatine), with all roasting conducted at their Crystal Lake Roasters Lab.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Single Origin Coffees Seasonal single-origin specialty coffees sourced from premier growing regions across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, featuring distinct flavor profiles such as floral, apple, honeyed, toffee, raisin, vanilla, winey, lavender, and citrus notes. Sold to retail café customers and home brewers.
- Coffee Blends House-crafted multi-origin blends including Brothers Espresso, Northwest Line Espresso Blend, Robot Heart Blend, Station Street Blend, and Yeti's Revenge Blend, designed for balance, espresso applications, and everyday drinkability for retail and home consumers.
- Coffee Subscriptions Flexible subscription plans offering 10% savings, with rotating single-origin coffees or signature blends delivered to customers' doors on a customizable frequency and roast preference. Includes Blend Subscription at $18.50 per delivery and Roasters Choice Single Origin Subscription at $24 per delivery.
- Mobile Coffee Catering Full-service espresso catering with professional baristas, mobile coffee carts, and craft lattes served on-site at corporate events, weddings, and private functions in Chicago, Milwaukee, and surrounding regions.
- Wholesale Coffee Supply Bulk specialty coffee supply for hospitality businesses including hotels, restaurants, cafes, offices, schools, governments, and non-profits, featuring seasonal single-origin and custom blends with on-site barista training, equipment support, and operational assistance.
- Digital Online Gift Card Electronic gift cards starting at $10 for online purchases only.
- In-Cafe Gift Card Physical gift cards for use at Conscious Cup café locations in Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, and Palatine.
- Conscious Cup Merchandise Branded merchandise including custom mugs and travel tumblers sold online and in cafés.
- Retail Café Operations Five company-owned café locations in the Chicago suburbs (Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Palatine) serving freshly roasted coffee, espresso drinks, food items, and operating as community gathering spaces.
Quantifiable outcome
- Coffee Review scores of 90-95 consistently, placing Conscious Cup among top specialty roasters globally
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Ethereal ConfectionsminorWholesale coffee partnership with artisan confections business. Ethereal Confections serves as a retail outlet for Conscious Cup coffee products with attentive customer service and excellent product quality. Mary Ervin, Owner at Ethereal Confections, provided testimonial praising the partnership.
- Ernst & Young LLPminorCorporate espresso catering client for workplace events. Rosa Vazquez, Hospitality & Workplace Services Coordinator, praised the barista service and amazing service provided at EY events.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Intelligentsia Coffee: Chicago-based specialty coffee roaster operating direct-trade cafés, wholesale accounts, and DTC subscriptions—essentially a larger version of Conscious Cup's playbook with overlapping sourcing philosophy and third-wave positioning.
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Iconic third-wave specialty roaster with cafes, wholesale distribution, DTC subscriptions, and direct-trade sourcing—a scaled template of Conscious Cup's farm-to-cup business model.
- Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty coffee roaster focused on direct trade, sustainability, and wholesale education programs targeting cafes, offices, and hospitality—a near-direct comparable on sourcing ethos and B2B model.
- Colectivo Coffee: Midwest-origin specialty roaster with multiple cafes, wholesale accounts, and subscription services—comparable vertical integration from roastery to retail and B2B.
- Verve Coffee Roasters: Specialty roaster combining direct-trade sourcing, retail cafes, e-commerce, and wholesale partnerships with a comparable farm-to-cup narrative and third-wave positioning.
Regional players
- Dark Matter Coffee: Chicago specialty roaster with multiple cafes and strong local brand recognition; competes with Conscious Cup for wholesale accounts and foot traffic in the same Chicagoland market.
- Metropolis Coffee Company: Chicago-based specialty roaster with a similar cafe-retail plus wholesale model, serving the same Midwest hospitality and consumer base with comparable single-origin and blend offerings.
Broad incumbents
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Larger specialty roaster operating cafes, DTC subscriptions, and national wholesale including offices and hospitality—an incumbent version of Conscious Cup's multi-channel model with broader geographic reach.
- Blue Bottle Coffee: Well-funded specialty roaster with a national cafe footprint, DTC subscriptions, and wholesale; shares Conscious Cup's cafe-plus-roastery-plus-subscription architecture at significantly greater scale.
- Peet's Coffee: Established specialty roaster operating cafes, e-commerce subscriptions, and grocery/wholesale distribution—provides the broader incumbent benchmark for Conscious Cup's vertically integrated specialty model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters social profiles
Digital presenceConscious Cup Coffee Roasters financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters
What does Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters do?
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters roasts small-batch specialty coffee at its Crystal Lake Roasters Lab and sells it through five retail cafés in the Chicago suburbs (Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Palatine), an e-commerce store with subscriptions, a wholesale program for hospitality businesses, and a mobile espresso catering service for events. The company sources green coffee directly from farms across Latin America, Africa, and Asia and roasts to order for subscribers.
Is Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters a public or private company?
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters founded?
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters based?
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters is headquartered in Crystal Lake, United States, in the North America region.
How does Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Retail Café Sales are the primary driver. The others are E-commerce & Subscription, wholesale Coffee and mobile Catering.
Who are Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Intelligentsia Coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Counter Culture Coffee, Colectivo Coffee and Verve Coffee Roasters. Regional players are Dark Matter Coffee and Metropolis Coffee Company. Broad incumbents are La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Blue Bottle Coffee and Peet's Coffee.
Does Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters have an API?
No public API is recorded for Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters.
What industry is Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters in?
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters's product category is Specialty Coffee Roastery and Café. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAE, Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes), with a secondary code of AFAFADAD, Instant Coffee & Coffee Extract Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 31192 and its SIC code is 2080.