Boulder · United States
Boxcar Coffee Roasters
Boxcar Coffee Roasters roasts in Boulder, Colorado.
Since 2010 · Vajra Rich, Cara Rich
Overview
Boxcar was founded in 2010 by husband-and-wife team Vajra and Cara Rich, who had moved from Vashon Island near Seattle to Boulder in 2006 — Cara from a Seattle barista career, Vajra from Songer & Associates' coffee quality lab — and spent four years working for a local wholesale roaster before buying it and rebranding it Boxcar (after the soapbox-derby tradition). The Pearl Street flagship opened in 2011, sharing the space with the Cured cheese-and-wine shop, and the company developed its own high-altitude brewing rig, the Boilermakr, to deal with Boulder's 5,430-foot boiling-point problem.
Known for
- Boilermakr proprietary high-altitude brewing system
- Modified vintage Probat drum roasters
- Pearl Street cafe shared with Cured cheese & wine
- Kees Van Der Westen espresso machines (recommended to wholesale accounts)
- Stella house espresso blend
Why it matters
Boxcar is a serious specialty roaster that built its identity around solving for Boulder's altitude — the company stores green coffee in freezers, freeze-dries instant, and re-engineers espresso machines for the Front Range's lower boiling temperatures. It is one of the few American roasters whose technical innovation is a direct response to its geography.
Production
- head roaster
- Charles (Head Roaster and Green Coffee Buyer, in coffee 13+ years; PNW background)
- roaster machine
- Modified vintage Probat drum roasters
- filter equipment
- Boilermakr proprietary high-altitude immersion brewer (boils at 202°F)
- roastery location
- Boulder, Colorado (dedicated roastery and training lab; production previously inside Pearl Street cafe until 2014)
- espresso equipment
- Kees Van Der Westen (in both cafes)
Café
1825 B Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302 (flagship + bakery); 637 S. Broadway Suite R, Boulder, CO 80305 (Mesa)