High-Altitude Coffee Roasting

What is High-Altitude Coffee Roasting?

High-Altitude Coffee Roasting is a method of roasting coffee beans at high altitudes above 4,000 feet or higher. The higher the elevation, the better tasting the coffee.  Due to its peak elevations, Colorado provides one of the very best environments in the world for roasting coffee. The high altitude and cool thin rocky mountain air produces a quicker coffee roast at a lower temperature preventing the two most common problems that occur when roasting coffee beans at lower altitudes: baking and scorching.

High Altitude Equals Low Acid Coffee

Baking and scorching of coffee beans and high acidity occur when roasting coffee beans too long or at a temperature that is too high; causing a lack of development and inadequate expansion resulting in coffee flavors that are flat, burnt and unappealing. Baking and scorching of coffee beans are very much like the black or burnt parts (carbon build-up) on a pizza crust. It’s the part of the pizza crust that tastes burnt, which often happens to coffee beans when roasting them at lower altitudes or at sea level. By roasting our coffee beans high in the Rocky Mountains at 9,600 feet, we prevent baking and scorching and reduce the coffee’s acidity due to the lack of carbon build-up. We then cool our coffee beans in the clean, crisp mountain air which contributes to our coffee’s noticeable smooth, natural and fresh flavors that only our legendary high-altitude roasting process can produce.

At 1859 Coffee, we try to live up to the standard quality that our ancestors took so much pride in when roasting their coffee beans high in these snow-covered mountains. We believed that high-altitude roasting is the most natural and freshest method of roasting coffee today. Our coffee roasters are true coffee craftsmen, we roast our coffee beans in small batches at peak elevation every day to ensure our coffee’s freshness and flavor, handcrafting what undoubtedly could be one of the world’s freshest and best tasting coffees!