Drinks 2026 | Feature

Roasted to Perfection

Reno-Tahoe coffee roasters excel at high altitude.

Coffee starts out as a hard green cherry with barely any flavor. The process of roasting transforms it into the aromatic bean that produces our favorite morning beverage.

Throughout the Reno-Tahoe area, skilled roasters leverage the region’s high altitude and arid climate to give us a wealth of excellent coffee. Here is just a handful of the talented pros providing sought-after cups of joe.

Handmade in Carson City
When you talk to local coffee roasters, you’ll hear one name repeated frequently: the San Franciscan Roaster Co. This family-owned, Carson City-based company produces handmade roasting machines crafted with generations in mind — and a lifetime guarantee. Built from American steel, the machines are beloved for their high-quality craftsmanship and even heat distribution.

Owner Bill Kennedy’s passion shines through as he explains the chemistry and physics of roasting coffee. In fact, the company offers coffee-roasting education as well. To scratch the surface, he notes that while wine has around 250 unique organic compounds, coffee has more than 1,000. That means a good roaster must adjust for myriad variables. Who knew so much science went into your morning cup?

Mastering High Altitude
Lake Tahoe-based Drink Coffee Do Stuff is known for the tagline “More sweet, less bitter,” and fulfilling that promise begins with sourcing beans from at least 6,000 feet above sea level, where coffee cherries are naturally sweeter.

Founder Nick Visconti realized the benefits of high-altitude roasting during his days as a pro snowboarder, frequenting coffeehouses in the Swiss Alps. Lower atmospheric pressure lengthens the caramelization stage without the high temperatures that can lead to a charred, bitter flavor. 

Visconti builds relationships with high-altitude growers to find superlative beans. For example, DCDS’s El Salvador Unicorn is a result of a partnership with the Finca Loma La Gloria farm in El Salvador. When Visconti noticed a small patch of the farm was getting peak afternoon sun, he sampled the beans and found they were sweeter than those just 100 yards away. The result? A medium-roast coffee that’s one of DCDS’s most popular offerings, back for its fifth year.

You can find DCDS beans online and at retail locations in Tahoe and Reno. Its bestselling coffee is the Hell Yeah! blend, a medium roast with chocolaty, nutty flavors, named, according to Visconti, for that feeling of triumph you get from being on top of the mountain or skiing down it.

“At the heart of our coffee roasting is coffee sourcing,” Visconti says. “Coffee is a conduit not just to community, but to different cultures and continents. It breaks down barriers.”

Follow Your Nose
The philosophy of Glory Cloud owners Scott and Darla Coleman is to get the best out of whatever bean they’re roasting. Their retail location in Sparks provides a front-row seat to the roasting process, with a San Franciscan roaster taking pride of place in the tasting room.

Scott mans the roaster, which utilizes open-source artisan roasting software for consistency; it runs programs based on the country of origin and elevation of the beans in use. Glory Cloud’s employees roast beans from eight countries of origin, and the roastery is known especially for its dark roasts, including a classic French roast and a rich Italian roast.

When you visit, expect hands-on help to find the roast that suits your taste. Darla delights in taking guests on an olfactory tour of GC’s bean bins, so you can find the roast just right for you.

Building Sustainable Communities
Christian Waskiewicz, owner/coffee master of Alpen Sierra in Minden, started roasting coffee in 1987, and his claim to fame is owning the third San Franciscan roaster ever to come off the production line.

Learning from specialty-coffee pioneers such as Erna Knutsen and Alfred Peet, Waskiewicz was an early adopter of sourcing from small farmers with ethical practices and those who grow beans without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. He’s committed to partnering with micro- and nanofarms that not only produce excellent coffee but also create social opportunities. Alpen Sierra’s top-selling coffee is its Café Femenino Fair Trade Organic Coffee, produced by a farming co-op in Peru that empowers women in the community.

“We’re investing in global partnerships with our farmers, as well as with our clients here locally,” Waskiewicz says. “We’re in it to win it in terms of sustainability, and we’re celebrating our 35th year in business in the Sierra Nevada.”

At Alpen Sierra, you’ll find microlot reserve roasts — such as the popular Gesha, grown in the Huila region of Colombia — right alongside classics such as dark Vienna roast. Alpen also is a production roaster, supplying coffee for several stores and coffeehouses around Reno-Tahoe. To purchase coffee online or find where it’s sold, visit the Alpen Sierra website.

Can’t decide which bean to buy? Try the roaster’s Taste of Tahoe monthly coffee subscription and receive the coffee master’s top picks delivered right to your door.

Handcrafting in Minden
At Blind Dog in Minden, the focus is on small-batch, hands-on roasting. Starting with 100 percent arabica beans, Blind Dog’s team roasts on a San Franciscan Roaster Co. machine without automation. It uses temperature gauges to control heat down to the degree and rely on the aroma and even the heat of the beans through gloves to dial in a low-acid roast without bitterness.

When sourcing beans, owner/master roaster Ian Berry, son of founder Mark Berry, handpicks every product, looking for growers aligned with community initiatives, reforestation, sustainability, and fair prices, as well as innovative practices.

Once Ian finds a new farm, he hand-roasts a small batch of beans to ensure they align with the taste and quality of the brand. The secret of Blind Dog’s success is fresh roasting. Even its large shipments to local Costco stores are roasted to order and delivered within 48 hours.

“Where we source is what we stand for,” says Blind Dog marketing manager Joy Disch. “Our motto is, ‘Show character, make a choice.’ We believe integrity and quality go hand in hand. We want to make sure whoever we partner with also has an impact in their community in a positive way.”

Two of the most popular roasts from Blind Dog are Nevada Black, a dark, full-bodied Italian roast, and Tanner’s Roast, named to honor a young boy battling the same childhood cancer Mark Berry overcame. You’ll find Blind Dog beans online, at its coffee lab in Minden, and at Reno-Tahoe grocery stores.

Roasting Small Batches
Ralph Backstrom began roasting at home because he was looking for an excellent cup of coffee. Now, as owner/roaster at Pacific Crest Coffee Co. in Truckee, his goal is to make each bean’s terroir shine through, balancing origin characteristics with customer preference. He achieves this through small-batch roasting at high altitude, specializing in both light-to-medium and dark roasts. 

“Our Dark Sumatra is one of our best-selling coffees,” Backstrom says. “Just because it’s a dark roast doesn’t mean it has to be burnt. The way we roast takes longer, but we’ve found a way to keep the oils inside better, so we don’t impart a smoky or charred flavor.”

Enjoy Pacific Crest coffees at the tasting room and café in Truckee and at Whole Treats in Truckee, Sugar Pine Cakery, and the New Moon Natural Foods in the North Lake Tahoe area. You can find PCCC coffee in many Reno-Tahoe hotels and vacation rentals in coffee bags, and its cold-brew concentrate in espresso martinis in bars around town.

Filling Your Cup
The focus at Hub Coffee Roasters in Reno is on what staff members call “seed to cup,” cultivating relationships with coffee growers around the world to source varietals that excel in Reno’s arid climate, such as the Caturra, which roasts best in a low-humidity, high-altitude atmosphere. Hub’s most popular roast is its flagship blend, the Thirty-2-Cheney, a medium-dark, rich espresso found at all its locations across Reno. 

“With so many coffee shops and roasters in the Reno area, we like to look for coffees with unique characteristics that can make our coffee offerings different but approachable for every coffee drinker,” marketing manager McKenna Brunn explains.

Coffeebar’s Midtown roastery is fueled by responsibly sourced coffee purchased directly from farmers and a mission to work directly with farmers around the world to support their communities and create sustainable practices.

If you lean toward dark roasts, try the Giuseppe, a traditional Italian roast. On the lighter side, the Zephyr roast — featured in Coffeebar’s espresso drinks — has notes of milk chocolate, cherry, and vanilla.

Pick up your beans from any of the 10 and growing locations of Coffeebar, or opt for the subscription program to customize your roast, quantity, and frequency of delivery, and get 10 percent off retail pricing.

“Every cup has a story,” says Coffeebar founder/CEO Greg Buchheister. “It starts on a hillside half a world away, in the hands of a farmer. We’re just the bridge — from their land to your doorstep. When you subscribe to Coffeebar, you’re not just getting better coffee. You’re keeping that connection alive — farmer to roaster, roaster to cup, cup to soul.”

Whatever your preference, from light and smooth to dark and sultry, Reno-Tahoe coffee roasters have a cup to please your palate.

RESOURCES

Alpen Sierra Alpensierracoffee.com
Blind Dog Coffee Blinddogcoffee.com
Coffeebar Coffeebar.com
Drink Coffee Do Stuff Drinkcoffeedostuff.com
Glory Cloud Coffee Roasters Glorycloudcoffee.com
Hub Coffee Roasters Hubcoffeeroasters.com
Pacific Crest Coffee Co. Pacificcrestcoffee.com
San Franciscan Roaster Co. Sanfranroaster.com