Corvus Coffee Roasters

Overview

Phil Goodlaxson — Northern Illinois University marketing graduate, Dell Computers refugee, Starbucks store manager turned home roaster — founded Corvus in 2010 after a Chicago Intelligentsia visit and a tip from Zoka's Jeff Babcock that he should go to Norway to learn what specialty coffee could be. Corvus opened on South Broadway in late 2010 with a 5kg roaster Goodlaxson bought after running farmers' markets in Denver with his then-wife Autumn, and has since grown to roast roughly 50 tons of green coffee a year, with long-term producer partners including Ciro Lugo in Huila, Colombia and the Rung'eto Cooperative in Kenya.

Known for

• South Broadway flagship with conspicuous in-cafe roasting
• Belleview Station/DTC cold-brew specialty cafe (2016)
• Hop-infused draft coffee and whiskey-barrel-aged cold brew
• Direct-trade 'no charity' sourcing philosophy
• Long partnership with Ciro Lugo (Huila, Colombia)

Why it matters

Corvus is one of the most articulate practitioners of value-based direct trade in American specialty — Goodlaxson's writing on 'trust and visibility' set out a sourcing philosophy that influenced how a generation of mid-size roasters talk about producer relationships.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

Giesen drum roaster (initially 5kg; scaled up)

filter equipment

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cupping frequency

Daily

roastery location

Santa Fe Drive HQ, Denver, CO (~4,000 sq ft training/QC); roasting at South Broadway flagship

espresso equipment

null

annual volume tonnes

45

Café

1740 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80210

Sources

• https://www.baristamagazine.com/10-minutes-phil-goodlaxson/
• https://usmanufacturingreport.com/article/corvus-coffee-roasters/
• https://staging.businessden.com/2016/01/19/coffee-roaster-brews-second-location-at-dtc/
• https://www.westword.com/restaurants/corvus-coffee-will-open-a-shop-on-south-broadway-5728930
• https://commonlycoffee.com/2021/12/01/coffee-roaster-of-the-month-corvus/