Introducing Roast Magazine’s Winning Canadian Coffee Roasters

Roast is an award-winning trade magazine dedicated to the success of the specialty coffee industry, providing high-quality editorial content focused on the art, science, and business of coffee. Other publications from Roast include Daily Coffee News, The Book of Roast, Cheap Coffee, and Coffee Covered.

Roast’s annual Roaster of the Year Award recognizes companies that roast coffees of superior quality, exemplify a dedication to sustainability, promote employee and community education, and demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Here are some of its recent Canadian winners.

Oughtred Roasting Works

Delta, British Columbia

craftcoffeecanada.com

Oughtred Roasting Works is a family-owned, carbon-neutral company that has been sourcing and roasting coffees from some of the finest growing regions since 1973. Its search for the most expressive coffees is not only about quality in the cup, but also about the company’s overall impact on people and the planet. That’s why climate action, education, and community connection lie at the heart of what Oughtred does.

“Thank you to a community of coffee lovers who rose to the challenge of a global pandemic and supported local companies like ours. Every purchase made a difference, not only to our family but to those along the entire chain of custody. We’ve been able to give back to our community at rates we never before imagined, which to us is what matters most.”

Pilot Coffee Roasters

Toronto, Ontario

pilotcoffeeroasters.com

Pilot Coffee Roasters is a specialty roaster, cold brewer, and cafe operator with locations across Toronto and wholesale accounts from coast to coast. It focuses on direct trade partnerships that positively impact the communities at origin and roasts coffees at the vanguard of innovation to offer an unparalleled sensory experience.

“Since opening in 2009, the roastery has grown and evolved with the rising popularity of specialty coffee. What excites us is the opportunity to be a leading voice in Canada’s industry and to introduce new communities to specialty coffee with an emphasis on sustainability, education, and transparency at origin.”

Reunion Coffee Roasters

Toronto, Ontario

reunioncoffeeroasters.com

Reunion Coffee Roasters is one of Canada’s largest and most established specialty coffee roasters. As a certified B Corporation, Reunion has made it its mission to use coffee as a force for good in the world, through sustainable sourcing practices, utilizing renewable energy to power its roasting facility, progressive employment practices, and more. 

“With the inability to travel over the past couple of years, the memories of my trips to visit our farming partners have kept me going and re-starting that travel will be the reward at the end of this difficult period,” says Adam Pesce, President of Reunion Coffee Roasters.

Propeller Coffee Co.

Toronto, Ontario

propellercoffee.com

Propeller Coffee Co. is a purpose-driven, award-winning, specialty coffee roaster. It’s Canada’s first certified B Corporation micro-roaster and everything it does is guided by sourcing and roasting some of the world’s best coffees in the most sustainable way possible and building community at every step.

“As our coffee community begins to rebuild — after 20 months of lockdowns, disruption, and pain — we’re seeing customers, partners, and peers building back thoughtfully, carefully, and with a desire to not only do better, but to be better. For us, that means recertifying and recommitting to B Corporation principles, committing to a living wage and extended health and dental benefits for our team, and localizing as much of our supply chain as possible.”