Our Coffee at Tradition Coffee Roasters - The Difference (Part III of Third Wave Coffee Series)

Over the past two years, I’ve given hundreds of tours, led educational classes, and answered more coffee questions than I can count. One of my favorites is:

“What makes your coffee different?” 

It’s a great question — and the answer really depends on a few things:

• What coffee are you drinking now?
• Do you know the people behind it, or is it just another quick transaction?

At Tradition, we’re not just roasting and brewing exceptional coffee. We’re teaching where our coffee comes from, the factors that impact flavors, and the incredible innovations happening in farming and processing. We invite people in for real conversations — to answer their burning coffee questions — and build community through those connections. We’re 3rd Wave coffee, but we’re also on the cusp of something bigger.

We’re not the kind of company that sends you home with a bag of beans and little else. We’re brewers, roasters, educators, and friends. We help you find the perfect coffee for your preferences and if you can’t get to our cafe, we show you the best way to brew it at home. We can troubleshoot your equipment, adjust grind sizes, and solve those mysterious brewing challenges that come up from time to time — all so you can enjoy the perfect cup. We included some recommendations for home here. 

And when we get the question, “Why does your coffee taste so good?” — that’s where our behind-the-scenes work comes in and we talk about our process. Even before you walk into our café, we’re hard at work crafting the best coffee we possibly can. We roast with precision, monitoring every variable — from heat to air control to time — It’s a dedication that’s earned us multiple national roasting awards. 

We source coffee locally and from around the globe, seeking out exceptional flavors, innovative techniques, and farms that care deeply for their product, their land, and their people. Every coffee we select goes through a rigorous process: sample roasting, team cuppings (coffee’s version of wine tasting), endless brew trials, and careful evaluation to ensure we highlight its best qualities. We talk more about this in our classes and our tours - come talk coffee with us! 

Yes — we’re coffee nerds, and we’re proud to be as passionate as we are. We love being the kind of specialty coffee café where you feel welcome to ask questions, learn something new, and share in our passion for this incredible drink. We don’t keep knowledge to ourselves — we share it freely, because great coffee is for everyone.

So when someone asks, “What sets you apart?”, the answer is simple: it’s not just the coffee we source, how we roast it, or how we serve it. It’s the people, the passion, and you…the community that is a part of us.