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Anchorage · United States

Kaladi Brothers Coffee

Since 1986 · Brad Bigelow, Mark Overly

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Overview

Kaladi Brothers began in spring 1986 as a single espresso cart on Anchorage's 4th Avenue and grew into Alaska's defining specialty roaster — there are no actual brothers in the name. By the late 2010s the company was operating roughly 15 cafes across Alaska and Washington and roasting close to a million pounds a year of air-roasted coffee at its Brayton Drive facility, with co-founder Mark Overly later departing to start the unrelated Kaladi Coffee Roasters in Boulder.

Known for

  • Alaska's first specialty coffee roaster (1986)
  • Pioneers of commercial air-roasting in Alaska
  • Anchorage 4th Avenue espresso-cart origin story
  • Red Goat Espresso signature blend
  • Catalyst-for-Community business mission rather than direct competition with Starbucks

Why it matters

Kaladi is Alaska's coffee origin story — the cafe ecosystem that pre-dated and then survived alongside Starbucks' aggressive Anchorage expansion (28 Starbucks vs Kaladi's deep local roots), and the wholesale anchor that supplies most independent Alaskan cafes through its Side Street Espresso-style loyalty network.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
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color sorting
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roaster machine
Air roasters (specific models not publicly disclosed)
filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
6921 Brayton Drive, Anchorage, Alaska
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
450

Café

Multiple Anchorage locations including original 4th Avenue site

Recognitions

  • Best Coffee Shop in Alaska — Eat This, Not That (2021)
  • Featured in Paste Magazine's Best Coffees Coming Out of Alaska (2017)

Sources

More roasters