Our Story
WE BELIEVE THE COFFEE EXPERIENCE IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY FROM SEED TO CUP. COFFEE IS OUR CRAFT, OUR RITUAL, OUR PASSION. IT DRIVES US AND INSPIRES US. WITH THIS SIMPLE TRUTH AND RESPONSIBILITY WE ARE BRIDGING THE GAP FROM FARM LEVEL TO STREET LEVEL.
Verve came to be through the serendipitous union of surf, sweat, and a love of life and living. In 2007, founders Ryan and Colby built and opened the first Verve cafe on 41st Ave in Santa Cruz, California. Today, Verve has locations in cities from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Japan, but our roots remain planted in Santa Cruz, where we roast our coffee on vintage roasters and enjoy the endless surf of the rugged California coast.
RYAN O'DONOVAN
Verve Coffee Roasters, Co-founder
While exploring the coffee scene in Seattle and Portland, O’Donovan honed his knowledge of the coffee process and his tasting palate by roasting and cupping new coffees as frequently as possible. Like a true aspiring craftsman, he purchased a sample roaster for his home. After tasting the best coffees in the region, he’d return to his workshop to try and replicate the flavor profiles. Before long, he was creating his own roasting profiles and sharing his home concoctions with friends and family. When his college buddy, Colby Barr, called him out of the blue with the wild idea to start a coffee roasting operation together, O’Donovan was all-in without a second thought.
COLBY BARR
Verve Coffee Roasters, Co-founder
Colby Barr grew up farming pears and wine grapes with his family in Northern California. From an early age, Barr was immersed in the family business where he learned firsthand about soil, responsible growing, and the relationship between farmers, processors, buyers, and ultimately, consumers. While in college, Barr developed a passion for coffee, and he often found himself visiting his favorite local coffee shop daily. When the opportunity to buy said shop arose, Barr could not deny his entrepreneurial spirit. As a newfound coffee shop owner, he quickly fell in love with the intricacies of coffee and the incredible process from green bean to the brewed beverage. After a year of successfully growing this business, Barr called his college pal and fellow coffee aficionado, Ryan O’Donovan, with the hare-brained idea to start their own coffee roasting company. The rest is history...
MIKE EYRE
Verve Coffee Roasters, CEO
For Mike, Verve started as fuel for his busy, corporate lifestyle. Eyre, an MBA graduate, and CPA was managing a hedge fund and working as CFO for a Silicon Valley company when he began helping friends Ryan and Colby, who had recently founded Verve. Eventually, the allure of working with passionate friends on a promising business inspired Eyre to partner with Ryan and Colby to build Verve. Slowly transitioning from late-night financial consultant to CEO, Eyre has spent the last nine years growing Verve Coffee Roasters from a local Santa Cruz, CA operation with six employees to a world-renowned coffee company with over 200 employees and eleven storefronts, and more on the horizon.
Our Farm-level Initiative supports every hand that holds our coffee, from seed to cup, positively impacting communities at the local and global levels. By connecting you with farmers, the Initiative creates an open line of communication that transcends distance, language, and culture. The Farm-level Initiative is vital to the future of coffee. Farm-level shows farmers that their work matters, their attention to detail is noticed and that we support them. We pay our farmers premiums for quality coffees through direct trade relationships. Our direct trade practice allows us to exceed Fair Trade minimums every time, with no exceptions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Verve Coffee Roasters
Is Verve Coffee Organic?
Yes, Verve Coffee is organic. Verve is expanding fast, with news outlets in Capitola, San Francisco, and Tokyo. But Verve's organic, direct-trade beans are all roasted in this soaring converted vegetable cannery tucked into Santa Cruz's Seabright neighborhood.
What is Verve Coffee?
Verve Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster based in Santa Cruz, California, founded by Colby Barr and Ryan O'Donovan. Verve opened in November 2007 in Pleasure Point, California.
Where to buy Verve Coffee Beans?
You can buy Verve Coffee on their website, on Amazon, on Cafendo and you can find them in different stores.
Verve Coffee Roasters Locations?
Verve Coffee Roasters currently operates in twelve California-based locations, four in Santa Cruz, four in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco, one in Manhattan Beach, one in Palo Alto, and one on Facebook's Menlo Park campus.