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San Diego · United States

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters

Since 2002 · Chuck Patton

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Overview

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters was founded by Chuck Patton, who started home-roasting in his La Jolla garage in 2001 with a roaster his wife had given him as a gift, sold beans at farmers' markets, and opened his first cafe in 2006 across the street from a Starbucks. The roastery is named after the La Jolla neighborhood where it began, and was named Roast Magazine's Micro Roaster of the Year in 2012. PT's Coffee of Topeka acquired Bird Rock in January 2017, making PT's CEO Jeff Taylor and his wife Maritza — a Q-Grader and former quality lead at Colombia's coffee federation — the only ownership group with two Roast Magazine Roaster of the Year titles (PT's won in 2009).

Known for

  • Roast Magazine Micro Roaster of the Year (2012)
  • First direct trade roaster in San Diego
  • Pays farmers 50–100% above Fair Trade contract price
  • Sister company to PT's Coffee Roasting Co. (Topeka)
  • Multi-cafe footprint across San Diego County

Why it matters

Bird Rock is the operation that made San Diego a real specialty coffee city — local writers split the timeline into 'Before Chuck and After Chuck.' The PT's acquisition consolidated two Roast Magazine title-winners under one ownership umbrella with shared producer relationships and a Q-Grader head buyer.

Production

destoning
true
head roaster
Chuck Patton (former owner, head buyer through 2018)

Café

Multiple locations: Bird Rock (La Jolla), Little Italy (2295 Kettner Blvd), Bay Park, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Liberty Station, Encinitas, UCSD campus

Recognitions

  • Roast Magazine Micro Roaster of the Year (2012)
  • Good Food Award (2017)
  • Good Food Award (2019)
  • Coffee Review #1 ranking (2016)
  • Wholesale partnership with Cometeer

Sources

More roasters