Jersey City · United States
Modcup Coffee Co.
Modcup Coffee Co. roasts in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Since 2013 · Travas Clifton, Justin Hicks
Overview
Modcup was started in 2013 by Travas Clifton — a former art dealer to yacht owners and cruise lines who first encountered specialty coffee in Toronto — and Justin Hicks, whom he met at a Willem Boot course in San Francisco. The pair began with a hot dog cart by the Hudson River, graduated to a converted 1972 Citroën H bread truck, and opened their first brick-and-mortar cafe in Jersey City Heights in early 2014, building the Garden State's most decorated specialty coffee operation.
Known for
- New Jersey's flagship specialty coffee roastery — bread-truck-to-Loring story
- Ranked #12 'Best Coffee in the World' by Coffee Review
- Light, delicate roast profile across mostly single-origin and limited releases
- 1972 Citroën H Van mobile coffee unit, now-iconic in Jersey City
- Distribution into NJ, NY, California, and Seoul (South Korea)
Why it matters
Modcup gave New Jersey a third-wave roaster of its own at a moment when serious coffee in the metro region still meant a PATH ride into Manhattan, and its bread-truck-to-Loring trajectory has become a textbook for how a regional specialty brand grows without losing its handmade aesthetic.
Production
- destoning
- true
- head roaster
- Travas Clifton (founder)
- roaster machine
- 35kg Loring (current downtown roastery cafe, 2026); previously airflow-modified Ambex YM-15
- filter equipment
- Mazzer grinders, Kyoto-style slow-drip tower, Hario pour-over devices, nitrogen cold brew keg
- cupping frequency
- Regular
- roastery location
- Jersey City, NJ
- espresso equipment
- La Marzocco Linea Classic
Café
479 Palisade Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07307 (flagship Heights cafe); additional Jersey City locations including a downtown roastery cafe
Recognitions
- Coffee Review Best Coffee in the World — #12