Our craft

The care behind the cup.

Good coffee isn't luck. It's who you buy from, how you roast it, and whether you're honest enough to dump a batch that isn't right. Here's how we work.

Marcus working at the drum roaster in the warm light of the roastery

Marcus, Head Roaster

How it started

From a popcorn popper in the garage.

Marcus started roasting on a popcorn popper in his garage in 2014, chasing a cup he'd had on a trip and couldn't find at home. Batches were tiny, half of them were scorched, and the neighbors started asking for bags.

A used shop drum roaster and a lease on Roberts Street later, that garage habit turned into Ironwood. The rules haven't changed since the popper: buy coffee worth roasting, roast it so it tastes like itself, and don't sell anything you wouldn't drink.

Ten years on, we're still small on purpose. Growing means more farms we know and more cafés we supply — not bigger batches sitting longer on a shelf.

— Marcus, Founder & Head Roaster

Hands holding a bowl of freshly picked red and yellow coffee cherries

Sourcing

Relationships, not brokers.

We buy through importers who name the farm, the region, and the people — and we go back to the same growers year after year. When a lot's exceptional, that relationship is why we get first call on it.

Paying fairly isn't charity; it's how you keep buying good coffee. Farmers who make money keep farming well.

Beans tumbling in the drum of a roaster, glowing under the light

Roasting

The roast profile is everything.

Every coffee gets its own curve — how fast it heats, when it turns, where we stop. Too dark and every bean tastes the same; too light and it's grassy. We aim for the window where the bean's own character comes through.

We log every roast, so a bag you loved in March tastes like the bag you buy in September.

A cupping table set with rows of cups and tasting spoons

Quality

We cup every batch before it ships.

Cupping is just tasting, methodically. Every roast gets brewed and tasted against the last one before it's cleared to bag. If it drifted, we adjust the next roast — or pull the batch.

It's the least glamorous part of the week and the one we'd never skip.

Years roasting

40+

Origins sourced

2,000

Pounds roasted a week

Wholesale partners

The crew

The people on Roberts Street.

Marcus

Founder & Head Roaster

Started it on a popcorn popper. Still pulls most of the roasts and tastes every batch.

Elena

Green Buyer

Sources our coffee and keeps the farm relationships honest. Cups more lots than anyone.

Theo

Wholesale Lead

Runs the café accounts and the barista training. The rep who actually answers.

Priya

Café Manager

Runs the retail bar on Roberts Street and knows the regulars' orders by heart.