After trying roughly 30 different roasters this year, it was a very tough challenge narrowing it down to my top five. But, after much deliberation, here is my top five roasters of 2020, plus a couple of honourable mentions, because, like I say, this was tough.
Honourable Mentions:
First and foremost, here are a couple of roasters that I thought deserved to be highlighted. I originally connected with Rampage Coffee last year, but with the release of their Ignition espresso, I had to give them a shout. These guys are truly awesome people and they’re Canadian, so check them out!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my friends at White Goat Coffee a mention as well. Their Ethiopia Sidamo I had back in July blew me away. The people behind White Goat are super friendly, and very knowledgeable when it comes to coffee (and other things I’m sure). Be sure to check them out as well.
You can find my posts on Rampage Coffee here and here, as well as my review of White Goat here.
5. Regard Coffee Roasters
There is such a vibrant coffee scene on Vancouver Island that I was torn to include more than one roaster from there, but as it stands, Regard is the very worthy representative of Vancouver Island. I had the pleasure of visiting their shop/roastery back in February. As a huge peanut butter fan, I loved their Seven Falls Brazil coffee. If you’re ever in the Nanaimo area, Regard is a must stop for sure.
Check out my full review of Regard Coffee here.
4. Lark Coffee Roasters
I had the pleasure of trying four different coffees from Lark back in the spring and every one of them was delightful. Looking back in my notes, the PNG I had from them I described as “perfect” which resulted in, I believe, my very first 5/5 review. Therefore, I knew I had to find a spot on my list to highlight Lark.
Check out my reviews of Lark here and here.
3. Fawkes Coffee
I had to include one of the amazing roasters in Alberta on my list and Fawkes fit the bill perfectly. The Kenyan coffee I had from them was not only one of my favourite Kenyan coffees I’ve had, but it was also one of my favourite coffees from this year, period. They are also the newest roaster on this list, so I’m excited to see what comes next from Fawkes- they are definitely one to watch for sure.
My reviews of Fawkes Coffee can be found here and here.
2. Pirates of Coffee
One of the main things that attracted me to Pirates was their drive for change- mainly in the area of transparency. I’ve documented this in my write-up on them (which can be found here). I had their Treasures of Panama coffee back in July and it blew me away. You can find my thoughts on that coffee here. Amazing coffee and incredible people behind the brand. You can’t go wrong with Pirates of Coffee!
1. Agro Roasters
And just like that, we’ve reached the number one spot. With so many deserving roasters, it was hard to decide who to put in the top spot. I figured I’d go with local roaster Agro for that honour. There hasn’t been a coffee from them that I haven’t enjoyed and I always look forward to seeing what they release next!
You can find my review of Agro here.
Well, there we have it. Let me know what you think of my list and if you agree or disagree. Like I say, it was tough to decide who to leave off this list. Hard to believe that this is my last post of the year! Thanks to all of you for making this such a great year for the blog- your ongoing support means a lot. See you all back on the blog in January!
-Matt
Matt's Coffee Chat 