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Portland · United States

Coava Coffee Roasters

Since 2008 · Matt Higgins

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Overview

Coava was founded in 2008 by Matt Higgins in his North Portland garage, bootstrapped by motorcycle repair until he could afford a roaster, and named after the Norwegian word for unroasted green coffee. After opening a flagship Grand Avenue brew bar in 2010 and outgrowing several spaces, Coava completed a 10,000 sq ft state-of-the-art SE Portland roastery in 2017 housing a 60kg Probat alongside a 12kg Probat; Higgins was named Oregon Small Business Person of the Year in 2018.

Known for

  • Built in-house density separation table — believed to be the only US roaster with on-site green grading and separation
  • 60kg Probat drum roaster in 10,000 sq ft SE Portland headquarters (completed 2017)
  • Featured on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee — Jerry Seinfeld and Fred Armisen visited the Grand Avenue flagship
  • Three NW Regional Barista Competition wins (consecutive years) and two Brewer's Cup wins
  • Matt Higgins — 2018 Oregon Small Business Person of the Year

Why it matters

Coava is the under-discussed third leg of the Portland specialty coffee triangle alongside Stumptown and Heart, and the only one of the three to remain founder-owned and independent of corporate ownership. The on-site density separation table represents an investment in green QC that almost no US roaster of comparable size has made.

Production

head roaster
Matt Higgins
color sorting
On-site density separation table (founder-built)
roaster machine
60kg Probat (primary) and 12kg Probat (secondary)
roastery location
10,000 sq ft facility in SE Portland — flagship at 1300 SE Grand Ave
espresso equipment
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Café

1300 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97214

Recognitions

  • Oregon Small Business Person of the Year — Matt Higgins (2018)
  • NW Regional Barista Competition winner — three consecutive years
  • NW Regional Brewer's Cup — two consecutive years

Sources

More roasters