Topeca Coffee Roasters

Overview

Topeca is the U.S.-based roasting arm of a six-generation Salvadoran coffee family that traces back to Santiago Díaz-Cáceres planting trees on the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano in 1850. Founded in 2002 by Salvadoran-born Margarita Gaberino (whose childhood mispronunciation of her own name as 'Topeca' supplied the brand) and her Tulsa-native husband John, the company is one of the world's earliest farm-to-cafe vertically integrated operations — the family owns Finca el Manzano and the wet/dry mills, exports green directly, and roasts in downtown Tulsa.

Known for

• Six-generation Salvadoran coffee family (Diaz-Cáceres, since 1850)
• Vertical integration from Santa Ana volcano farm to Tulsa roastery
• First retail cafe at the historic Mayo Hotel (2007)
• Annual transparency reports on producer pricing
• BestCup compostable pods program

Why it matters

Topeca is one of the world's earliest farm-to-cafe operations and the only major U.S. specialty roaster owned and run by a generational coffee-producing family — making it a rare structural counterpoint to the dominant 'roaster sources from cooperatives' model that defines third-wave specialty.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Two roasting operations — one on Finca el Manzano in El Salvador and one in downtown Tulsa, OK; pickup roastery operates across from ONEOK Field at the Vast Bank location

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

Three downtown Tulsa locations: Philcade Building (5th & Boston), Hyatt Regency (Bartlett Square 2nd & Boston), Vast Bank/ONEOK Field in historic Greenwood

Recognitions

• Rain Forest Alliance Certified farms
• Distributed via Walmart, Reasors, Sprouts in Tulsa region
• Coffee exported to Europe and Australia

Sources

• https://topecacoffee.com/pages/about-us
• https://topecacoffee.com/pages/about-us-1
• https://downtowntulsa.com/post/a-tale-of-salvadorian-coffee
• https://www.tulsago.com/eat/coffee-shops/topeca-coffee
• https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.19968
• https://www.craftcoffee.com/coffee-roasters/topeca-coffee
• https://mistobox.com/pages/roasters/topeca-coffee-roasters