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We’ve recently been talking about the concept and importance of visibility. We are experiencing a lot of growth in our industry, and Denver is no exception. As this occurs we’ve been witness to the amazing opportunity for businesses to create visibility within their brand or, conversely, to mimic visibility while obscuring channels of sourcing coffee, tea, or other products. With a small growing coffee business, the current state of sourcing may not mirror your long-term sourcing goals. My worry is that some craft coffee companies may choose to mislead customers as to their involvement in farm to cup sourcing and imply, implicitly or explicitly, that they have direct sourcing when they do not.
I have told myself that this doesn’t matter, and if a business is being unethical in its communication to customers, it is their business. As I’ve thought more, I realize that this sort of misleading information hurts all of us. Our industry is built on trust. More times than I can count I’ve told consumers to look to the roaster or shop owner who is using roasters and importers to guide their coffee buying decisions instead of a Fair-Trade or Organic certification sticker. Buying from people who maintain open lines of sourcing is a far better way to positively impact the farmer than relying on vague market certifications acquired by large roasters.
This sort of trust relies on honesty within our craft community of shops, roasters, and importers. As soon as the specialty coffee customers in this city learn of a craft coffee professional misleading them in some way relating to their products, we all lose credibility. Whether we like this or not, we all are in the same boat; pushing for market share against big coffee producers. Consumers new to this market view us as one single group of companies. Everything we do reflects on each other. Be open with your customers on where and how you procure your products and goods. If your current state of affairs doesn’t reflect your long term goals, communicate this drive and direction. Being a company with long term goals is great; being a company who fakes it till they make it is not.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Corvus Coffee Roasters takes a direct, relationship-driven approach to sourcing and roasting. Founded in 2010 by Phil and Autumn Goodlaxson, the company is known for multi-year producer partnerships, a Farmer Focus Program, and strong internal training and benefits for staff. Corvus emphasizes storytelling, public engagement, and initiatives that support gender equity and inclusion across its operations.
For Goodlaxson, a smaller menu isn’t about exclusivity. He wants Corvus to feel approachable for anyone who walks in, whether they already follow specialty coffee closely or not. Winning over a customer who’s never paid attention to single-origin coffee is more meaningful to him than competing for the attention of those already immersed in the scene. By keeping the emphasis on quality, he hopes to spark curiosity that can grow over time.
what we’re most proud of is the way that we do business at origin, and how those values translate to how we do business here in the U.S. The transfer of this knowledge that only comes from knowing the farmers we work with and working with them in person, to our partners is our key differentiator.
