Where It Started
A repair shop with a roaster in the back
In 1962 Alder Street was full of workshops. Ours fixed typewriters. The owner, a man named Walt Ember, bought a secondhand drum roaster to keep the waiting customers busy — and slowly the smell took over the whole building.
By 1971 the typewriters were gone and the roaster had a queue. We've been doing the same thing since: buy good green coffee, roast it carefully, sell it before it goes stale.
The current roaster is the original, rebuilt twice. It does about twelve kilos an hour. We've been offered faster machines. We've said no each time.
