Reforma Roasters
On Specialty
We are not a nano-roaster.
We are not a micro-roaster.
We are not even our own importer.
To put it nicely, we are our growing category.
A Mexican-American owned roastery, without the sight of an investor or investment group.
Self-funded, which has allowed for us to be self-guided, with our own principles and core values.
We don't quite fit into the "specialty coffee" category, not because of our coffee, but mostly because we don't believe in an association that is more concerned with annual dues than the betterment of our own (BIPOC) coffee community.
We are brown folks, who roast incredibles coffees from the lands of beautiful people of color.
Con Amor Y Sin Limites!
With love, and without limitations.
That has been our motto from day 1.
This is what has set us apart from our colleagues. It is because of this belief that our quality will never falter.
It is because of this belief that our message will never be dull. Our story is one that is relatable to so many but only lived by few.
Almost 5 years into our story and we continue to carve a path for those that share our background & seek their own journey.
Call it craft, call it specialty, you can even call it artesian.
Most of this industry gets too caught up in fitting into a category and forgets what is most important; the people and the land who support us.
On Sourcing
Despite what you might have heard, we roast more than just Mexican coffees. Our unofficial mantra is "find the best coffees available within our budget and program, buy them, and roast them to perfection".
Once in a while we get lucky and bring you some rare and coveted cultivars and varietals from countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Costa Rica, etc. Most of these coffees end up in our Frutas Dulces, Frutas Citricas, and the Smalltime Blend bags.
For the most part, however, a lot of what we are proud of is our direct relationships with the people who help us find some of the best coffee from Mexico. Truly, Mexican coffee is what we do best, better than anyone in this country, for that matter.
Yes, over the last few years, the country of many of our relatives and some of our ancestors, has experienced a sharp spike in popularity. Indeed, finally breaking out of the long stigma of what many (mostly white) so-called specialty coffee drinkers believed Mexican coffee was; a chocolatey-nutty bland coffee used for more developed roasts. Well, fortunately for us, we've been around long enough to know that Mexico was full of gems.
The biggest difference now is that rather than sourcing nothing but gems or rare cultivars, we have established commitments that go beyond 2-3 bags. Over the last year (2021-2022), our little roasting company went through over 53 bags (160-165lbs each) of green coffee sourced from all over Mexico.
This coming 2023, our forecast is to do 2.5 times that amount, all sourced directly from communities where we have established relationships over the past 5 years!
On Roasting
We are not a "light", "medium" or "dark" roaster.
What we do is take great coffees from good people and bring them to the height of deliciousness by roasting each coffee according to its profile.
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Some coffees call for light roasting and others call for a little bit more development. Truth is, we've never understood why so many roasters choose to create an identity where they roast all of their coffees the same... but that's why we are different.
Our approach to this craft is to identify what it is that makes each coffee in particular special.
Most of this is done during sample roasting and quality control, something that we do here religiously.
From there, we bring out what makes that coffee special, giving you a range of roasts from light to dark (though we retain complex notes of chocolate in our dark roasts instead of notes of ash and sadness like most).
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When you purchase a coffee from us that is described as “chocolaty, nutty, and dried fruit”, you’ll be able to taste that.
Why? Because we have gone to great lengths to source the very best “chocolaty, nutty, and dried fruit” coffee that we could find.
