A&E Coffee Roastery
Amherst · United States
A&E Coffee Roastery is the husband-and-wife project of Adam and Emeran Langmaid, who began roasting half-pound batches i
Atlanta (originally Suwanee) · United States
Volcanica Coffee
Since 2004 · Maurice Contreras, Diane Contreras
Overview
Volcanica Coffee is a family-owned specialty importer-roaster founded in 2004 by Costa Rican-born Maurice Contreras, who started the business part-time out of his garage in Suwanee, Georgia while working as a regional director at AT&T. The operation specializes in single-origin coffees from volcanic-soil regions worldwide — Costa Rica, Jamaica Blue Mountain, Hawaii Kona, Panama Geisha, Tanzania Peaberry — and now operates from a 12,400 sq ft roastery in Atlanta with 20 employees including Maurice's wife Diane (VP of Sales), son Aaron (Director of Coffee), and daughter Adriana (Director of Operations).
Known for
- 150+ single-origin and exotic coffees from volcanic regions
- Family-run — Maurice + Diane Contreras + son Aaron + daughter Adriana
- Roast-on-demand model, ships within one business day
- USDA Organic certified + Kosher certified (Atlanta Kosher Commission)
- 12,400 sq ft Atlanta roastery (grew from garage origin)
- Top-tier Amazon presence + Buy with Prime early adopter
Why it matters
Volcanica occupies an unusual niche in US specialty: breadth-of-origin curator rather than depth-of-origin specialist. Most American specialty roasters carry 5-15 coffees with rotating microlots; Volcanica carries 150+ single origins including the prestige-tier Kona, Blue Mountain, and Geisha most smaller roasters won't source. The family-business structure (Maurice's son Aaron as Director of Coffee, daughter Adriana as Director of Operations) and bootstrapped growth — no outside investors, garage-to-12,400-sq-ft over 20 years — make it one of the more durable specialty operations of the post-third-wave era.
Production
- head roaster
- Aaron Contreras (Director of Coffee)
- cupping frequency
- weekly fresh-roast cycle
- roastery location
- Atlanta, Georgia (12,400 sq ft facility)
Recognitions
- USDA Organic Certified
- Kosher Certified (Atlanta Kosher Commission)
- Wine Enthusiast Winter 2024 feature
- Marie Claire Hispanic businesses to support feature
- NRF Big Show Consumer Products Showcase 2023 (Amazon-nominated)
- USA Today 2023 10 Best Readers' Choice travel awards nominee (Brazilian Coffee Gift Box)
- Amazon Buy with Prime early-adopter brand
- Chateau Elan exclusive wholesale partnership
Sources
Keep exploring
More roasters
Allegro Coffee Company
Thornton · United States
Allegro Coffee was founded in 1977 in Boulder by Jeffrey Cohn as one of the first certified organic coffee roasters in t
Archetype Coffee
Omaha · United States
Archetype was founded in May 2014 by Isaiah Sheese, who moved from Milwaukee to Omaha after working at Doubleshot and To
Bean & Bean Coffee Roasters
Queens · United States
Bean & Bean is a mother-daughter Q Grader operation founded in 2008 by Rachel and Jiyoon Han, micro-batch roasting at a
Big Island Coffee Roasters
Hilo · United States
Big Island Coffee Roasters started in 2010 when Kelleigh Stewart (former Q-Grader) and Brandon von Damitz answered a Cra
Birch Coffee
New York · United States
Birch was founded in 2009 by Jeremy Lyman and Paul Schlader, who met in a 12-step program in 2005 and opened the first s