Est. 2011 · Old Mill District

Coffee roasted the
slow and honest way.

We're a small crew hand-roasting tiny batches of single-origin beans a few blocks from where we've always worked. No shortcuts, no burnt guesswork — just coffee roasted to order and delivered while it's still telling its story.

Explore the menu Our story
  • 14years roasting
  • 26farm partners
  • 48hbean to cup

Our Story

From a rented drum to a neighbourhood ritual.

Emberwell began in 2011 in the back of a hardware store, with one borrowed roaster and a stubborn belief that good coffee shouldn't need a passport of buzzwords to justify its price. Marisol had spent a decade travelling to farms in Colombia, Ethiopia and Sumatra, and came home certain of one thing: the people who grow coffee deserve to be named on the bag.

Today we still roast every batch by hand, we still pay well above fair-trade minimums, and we still know most of our regulars by their order. What's changed is the room — a restored corner of the old textile mill, where the smell of the day's roast greets you at the door.

  • 2011First 5kg roaster, back of Halden's Hardware.
  • 2015Signed our first direct-trade partner in Huila, Colombia.
  • 2019Moved into the Old Mill and opened the tasting bar.
  • 2024Went carbon-neutral on every shipment.
Direct trade

We buy straight from growers and publish what we pay.

Roasted by hand

Every batch profiled by a human, not a timer.

Roasted to order

Bags ship within 48 hours of the roast.

The Craft

Four steps, zero shortcuts

From green bean to your grinder, here's what happens between our door and yours.

  1. 01

    Source

    We visit farms, taste the harvest, and buy the lots we'd want to drink ourselves — paying growers directly.

  2. 02

    Profile

    Each origin gets its own roast curve, dialled in over dozens of test batches on the sample roaster.

  3. 03

    Roast

    Small 12kg batches, watched by ear and eye, pulled at the exact second the beans sing.

  4. 04

    Rest & ship

    Beans rest to peak flavour, then ship within 48 hours — never sitting on a warehouse shelf.

"The Huila Reserve ruined every other coffee for me. Cherry, cocoa, and it lingers for ten minutes."

— Dana R., subscriber since 2017

"You can taste that someone actually cared. The bar staff remember my order and my dog's name."

— Wesley O., Old Mill regular

"We switched our whole café over to Emberwell. Consistent, fresh, and the story sells itself."

— Priya N., Kettle & Fern Café

Say hello

Come by, or drop us a line.

Wholesale enquiry, a subscription question, or just want to tell us how the last bag tasted? We read every message and reply within a day.

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