Our Story
“I used to think that I had dedicated 17 years of my life to Specialty Coffee. I’ve come to realize, through the origin of Black & White Coffee Roasters, I’ve been dedicating my life to quality relationships. From coffee cultivation, coffee processing, coffee roasting and coffee preparation, it is the synergy of collaborative relationships and modernized innovation that builds a sustainable community across the entire coffee value chain.” -Lem Butler
Black & White Coffee Roasters started as an idea that developed over a decade of hard work and dedication to understanding the coffee value chain in two parts:
- To create opportunities for coffee professionals to expand their careers
- To make Specialty Coffee more approachable to the masses
This idea turned reality in 2017 when U.S. Barista Champions Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler formed Black & White Coffee Roasters. Envisioned to be more than just a quality coffee roaster, we aim to change the competitive landscape, not by being “better” than our competitors, but by pushing the craft forward through collaboration. Our coffee sourcing and roasting experience comes from over a decade of studying coffee processing first hand from coffee producers all over the world; understanding coffee consumers through years of experience working in cafes; working for a large coffee roasting company as a wholesale account manager; experience as a coffee equipment manufacturer sales and tech rep; and volunteering, competing in coffee competitions all over the world.