First Crack facilities are all about inclusion and designed with ease of use in mind. Our goal is to empower coffee enthusiasts, professionals and business owners. We offer solutions for coffee businesses of all stripes. Want to start roasting? We’ll teach you for free and provide cutting-edge, meticulously maintained commercial equipment to rent in St. Louis, Denver or Cleveland. Are you a cafe looking to take ownership of your coffee? First Crack can improve your margins by 20-50% and get you roasting without any upfront costs. To get started, Contact us, call or just stop by!
The team at First Crack is so supportive and friendly. They truly want to help you learn the craft of roasting, from operating the machinery to cupping and adjusting your roast until it’s exactly what you want. I took their Bean to Brew course in the fall of 2023 to start roasting for the café, but the education doesn’t end with the course! The First Crack team is always available and open to questions. They are eager to share their knowledge, and their ongoing support has helped me enhance our roasts at the café, ensuring we continue to offer our customers the best cup possible. The hands-on experience and wealth of information provided by First Crack have been invaluable in expanding my knowledge and palate as a Coffee Roaster. I highly recommend their courses to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of coffee roasting.
Liv H. Scott
Roaster, Protagonist Cafe
First Crack Coffee in Cleveland helped me start my business, and helped me continue to grow. I started roasting at home on a 1kg roaster, but quickly outgrew it and needed a bigger roaster for my weekly orders. The ability to rent their 10kg roaster every week saved me time and money, especially after opening up my first retail location. Their staff is very knowledgeable and always is always willing to help.
Natalia Alcazar
Owner, Dahlia Coffee Co.
I can’t say enough good things about First Crack! They helped me get on my feet right away with the bean to brew course and have been there every step of the way to help me, as needed, along my coffee journey. As someone who takes pride in wanting to do everything myself, their toll roasting option has certainly come in handy as the trials of small business ownership pop up. The staff are passionate and knowledgeable about coffee, as well as pleasant and approachable. 10/10 recommend!!
Andrew Fair
thegelateria.com
It has been a great experience working with First Crack to launch our roasting program. They have provided us all the necessary education and tools to become successful in sourcing and roasting. We continue to grow with them and are able to scale with very little additional investment.
Neil S.
Maplewood Deli & Coffeehouse
First Crack came into our business at exactly the right time. The cost savings allowed us to explore opportunities that weren’t possible before. Their team has been great to work with and the transition to a shared roasting facility was easy! We’ve learned so much about the roasting process and look forward to growing and working with them long term.
Angela and Scott Garland
Exit 11
Kevin approached us during the chaos of 2020, in our nearly empty cafe. We usually turn away most sales professionals that walk in our doors, but for whatever reason, we decided to hear him out that day. He told us his company would both educate us and had equipment for us to use. Our journey into the specialty-coffee world had often kindled the desire to take up roasting someday, but the cost of entry and the lack of education deterred us, especially during the pandemic. Yet, here was this company offering to remove all those barriers so we could entertain what we thought was a far-off pipedream. Our objectives were to learn, expand and save. We wanted to absorb as much knowledge as we could from their classes so we could distinguish ourselves through well sourced and roasted coffee. Additionally, it was hard to compete with coffee shops that did their own roasting as they were able to save so much money by producing their own roasted coffee. Being able to roast ourselves, gave us an edge because we would begin gaining 20% or more profit on all of our coffee. Roasting coffee was made very accessible to us. Between upfront education and continued support, roasting was able to become an integral part of our company’s identity. First Crack has helped us exponentially increase the quality of our coffee and our customer response has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the changes. When people buy coffee from us now, they’re buying a piece of us to take home with them. More than ever before, people feel like they’re a part of our story and our culture: one of curiosity and community.
Chelsi and Justin Wells
Starry Night Espresso Cafe
First Crack has been one of the best things to help our Cold Brew Coffee quality. We were clueless as to how to roast coffee. Kevin and his team trained us so that we are now roasting to our unique cold brew specs (First Crack guided us in our recipes) which has resulted in a big jump in our overall quality.
Jeff Osterlund
Owner, Yippi-Ki-A Cold Brew Coffee
First Crack: Their quality meets their passion. A perfect blend of excellence and partnership in every roast they do for us.
Machine Gun Kelly
27 Club
First Crack are brilliant
roasters who take
exceptional beans and
roast them into truly
awesome coffee
roasters who take
exceptional beans and
roast them into truly
awesome coffee
John Green
Awesome Coffee Club
When our cafe decided to get into offering coffees under our own brand, we were thrilled to find a partner like First Crack. Being able to fine-tune every aspect of the process with them has allowed us to ensure that the product we’re offering is something we’re proud of. Carl was a huge help in selecting coffees we were excited by and customizing roast profiles that brought out the characteristics we wanted. It’s exciting to be a multi-roaster shop that can put our own coffees on the shelf next to bags from our other roasting partners, and First Crack makes that possible.
Adam Heffelfinger
GM, Heritage Coffee, Solon, OH
If you’re a coffee enthusiast or professional coffee shop looking for exceptional quality and a delightful coffee experience, I highly recommend First Crack Coffee.
First Crack Coffee is dedicated to sourcing only the finest coffee beans. First Crack prides itself on using premium beans that are carefully roasted to perfection. This results in consistently excellent coffee quality. The team at First Crack combines their passion for coffee with expert roasting techniques to bring out the best in each bean.
With a focus on freshness, First Crack ensures that their coffee is roasted and delivered at its peak, providing you with a truly enjoyable coffee experience every time.
For potential customers seeking a top-notch coffee experience, First Crack Coffee offers an unparalleled choice. Whether you’re a casual drinker or a coffee connoisseur, you will appreciate the dedication and quality that goes into every batch. Give First Crack a try, and discover what makes their coffee truly exceptional.
First Crack Coffee is dedicated to sourcing only the finest coffee beans. First Crack prides itself on using premium beans that are carefully roasted to perfection. This results in consistently excellent coffee quality. The team at First Crack combines their passion for coffee with expert roasting techniques to bring out the best in each bean.
With a focus on freshness, First Crack ensures that their coffee is roasted and delivered at its peak, providing you with a truly enjoyable coffee experience every time.
For potential customers seeking a top-notch coffee experience, First Crack Coffee offers an unparalleled choice. Whether you’re a casual drinker or a coffee connoisseur, you will appreciate the dedication and quality that goes into every batch. Give First Crack a try, and discover what makes their coffee truly exceptional.
Anatolli Shtyrka
Caffeine, Lakewood, OH
First Crack Coffee has been instrumental in the growth and success of our mission-driven coffee business. From the initial development of our roasting profiles to comprehensive coffee roasting training, they have supplied us with all the essential support needed as we expand into retail stores. Their generosity extends beyond business, as they also provide invaluable learning experiences for our students through tours of their roasting facility. We are grateful for our partnership with First Crack, as it enables us to brew both success and significant impact.
Sylvester Chisom
Co-Founder, Show Me The World Project
We met the team at First Crack Denver just as we were building Convict Coffee Company in Parker, CO. The team there were absolutely essential in our coffee education, selection and as business partners. We literally could not do what we do without them!
Dan Klehm
Owner, Convict Coffee Company
First Crack has been instrumental in helping me to scale as a roaster. I was able to smoothly make the jump from being a home roaster to a full scale commercial roaster thanks to their education, training, roaster rentals and green coffee sourcing expertise.
Scotty Wohlwend
Owner, Noted Coffee Roasters