Press

One of the places affiliated with the SCA is First Crack Coffee in St. Louis, MO. A group of us from VCR and HGCC were recently able to go and be tested on skills such as brewing coffee, sensory evaluation, the roasting process… Read more

Working with local coffee brands and celebrity-owned companies alike, First Crack Coffee offers a personable, collaborative take on white-label roasting. Read more

“Many of our customers enjoy roasting, enjoy the change of pace from their café.” The co-roasting option offered at First Crack can be a great alternative for anyone wanting to give roasting a go without making the enormous financial investment that building out a roastery of their own might require. Read More

What café owner hasn’t dreamed of roasting their own coffee at some point? Whether it’s the idea of mastering the craft of roasting, selling bags of your own branded beans in your shop, or profiting from your own wholesale business, there are myriad reasons why coffee professionals go into roasting. The reason more don’t, however,…

There are many ways to buy this equipment. But with an ever-growing number of manufacturers entering the market, it can quickly become overwhelming for businesses – especially roasters with less experience – to find the “right” machines. Read more

Alcazar roasts her own coffee at First Crack Coffee’s Cleveland co-roasting facility at 1436 E. 31st St. on Tuesdays, when the coffee shop is closed. Read more

The bestselling author on being a coffee influencer, raising money for Partners In Health, and his love-hate relationship with Twitter Read more

It’s easy to see why coffee subscriptions are popular. Coffee subscriptions capitalize on the excitement of receiving a personalized, curated gift in the mail. More and more roasters are joining in on the fun, making it possible for coffee enthusiasts to easily access a variety of coffee flavors, roasts, and origins with a few quick…

Have you ever wanted to drink coffee while also putting good into the world? Now’s your chance, with a new subscription service called the Awesome Coffee Club, from authors and internet creators John and Hank Green.  All the profits will go to reducing infant and maternal mortality in Sierra Leone. Read more

CLEVELAND, Ohio — So many people rely on a hot cup of coffee to kickstart their morning or to serve as an afternoon pick-me-up. But before those whole roasted beans are ground into the espresso many of us know and love, the process of roasting is an integral part of every cup of joe. Read…

Collin Bay is the owner of First Crack Coffee: a co-roasting facility with several locations in the US.  “Over the last decade, coffee education has changed,” he tells me. “We have filled in many knowledge gaps and provided legitimacy to what is now considered ‘the science of coffee’.” Read more

At First Crack Coffee, brothers Bryndon and Collin Bay offer co-roasting facilities with coinciding classes and consulting services to help coffee-lovers get the best beans for their buck. The homegrown business launched in 2013 as a distributor of café equipment and wares; it has since evolved to include everything from cupping sessions to hands-on production with…

Neil Suthar wanted more control over his coffee program. He wasn’t unhappy with the coffees he had from a couple of local roasters. And his shop, Foundation Grounds, had experienced plenty of success as a neighborhood anchor in the thriving St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri, both before and since he took ownership in 2016….