By Eva Rich | February 2026
For many of us, drinking coffee is a comforting morning habit that we don’t think much about. In fact, not having to think about it is almost built into the experience. Pajamas and grogginess are encouraged. We can sip while making breakfast and checking emails and getting kids ready. It’s our fuel, not our focus. Our old coffee pot even had an automatic brew function, so our coffee was literally waiting for us when we woke up.
Before chatting with Brian Carlson, of Local Roots Coffee (Bridge Refill’s coffee guy!), I had never thought about home roasting, either. And while I don’t see myself roasting my own green beans anytime soon, I’m grateful to have a neighbor who does. Our conversation nudged me to rethink morning mindfulness; to consider coffee making and drinking as part of my practice, rather than something separate from it. Perhaps it will do the same for you.
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Tell us a little about yourself!
I grew up here in Boulder County. My senior year of high school I knew I wasn't the college going type of person, so I decided to start a company installing and repairing irrigation systems. My dad had been a pipefitter working for the same company for 25 years, and he was ready for a change, so we co-founded the company. We ran it together for several years, and in that time my interests grew and I found a passion for creating beautiful outdoor spaces. Dad and I officially separated in 2002, and I founded Green Landscape Solutions which I sold in 2020. Since then I have been a stay at home dad, avid gardener, woodworker, potter, passionate home cook and coffee roaster.
What drew you to coffee roasting?
I have always LOVED coffee! I had never thought about roasting my own green coffee until I stumbled onto a Reddit page for home roasting. My first roaster was home built using a heat gun, flour sifter and an electric screwdriver designed by a man named Larry Cotton. I found the plans online and it was a great low cost introduction to roasting. As I dug deeper into the science behind coffee roasting I got more and more interested. It really is a fascinating and incredibly complex process.
How do you decide which beans to source and from where?
Early on in the hobby I found a company named Sweet Maria's. They cater to home roasters and their website is a massive compendium of information both on the process of home roasting as well as the differing types of green beans available. I can happily spend hours reading their descriptions and tasting notes. In all of that reading I started seeing differences in producers, some conventional, some large and successful companies, some organic, fairtrade and farmgate. What really intrigued me was the women run farms and cooperatives. Many of the countries coffee is produced in are developing. Being able to support women doing what historically has been a male dominated industry was very appealing to me so whenever possible I try to buy from women's cooperatives. I also try to stay organic and at a minimum fairtrade- even better is farmgate. Being a seasonal product there are times of the year that there are no women's cooperative products available.
On the more practical side I am able to filter my wholesales inventory by all of the criteria I mentioned above which narrows down the selections dramatically. Once I have selected which beans fit, I then am able to get 150 gram samples from my wholesaler. I just received six samples in the mail yesterday. Later this week I will roast each of the samples using the exact same roasting profile, let them age for 24 hours and then do a formal cupping to determine which two or three bags to order (cupping is a formal way of tasting coffee).
How do you approach sustainability and ethical sourcing in your business?
The roaster I use is a very innovative and small roaster. The heat source for it is induction. Last summer we installed solar at our farm so now I like to say our roaster is powered by the sun. Selling through Christine at the Bridge Refill Market is another great way to be sustainable. We keep a set of one gallon jars I supply the coffee to her in so there is zero packaging waste.
What does your roasting process look like?
Continuing the process of the new green bean samples I received this week- once I have selected the two or three 100kg bags to purchase and they arrive I will start to develop a unique roast profile for each bean. I will roast five to ten samples of each type of coffee to different degrees of darkness and using differing degrees of development time. Some beans taste best at a darker roast, some lighter. Likewise there are some beans that gain more clarity by putting them in the roaster at a lower charge temperature and slowly bringing them up to the roasting temperature, others like a lot of heat right away. I try several different variables and then do a cupping. Then, I narrow down which sample brings out the best characteristics of the bean. Many times I go through two or three cuppings before I feel like I have what I am looking for.
Once the roasting profile is set, the roaster I use allows me to create a recipe. I program different time and temperature markers to increase or decrease the heat, adjust the drum rotation speed and the fan speed. Once I have the recipe set the roasting process is fairly automated. I roast 800 grams of coffee per batch and it takes between 9 and 13 minutes. As one batch is roasting I am cooling the previous batch and doing any packaging and labeling.
How might someone start learning to taste coffee more intentionally?
I know for myself it starts with intention. When I am going about my morning and having my latte my body is on auto pilot. I drink it, I know I like it but I am not being present to and overly aware of the taste. When I do a cupping I ensure I have no distractions, I am fully present to the taste and the experience. The goal is to slow down and really experience the coffee.
Tips for brewing the best cup?
I may get in trouble for saying this but I encourage everyone to move away from your drip coffee makers and invest in a French press and a scale or start doing pour-overs. You get so much more of the subtle flavors in the coffee that way. I also encourage everyone to get a digital kitchen scale to be accurate with your coffee grinds to water ratio. Last, get rid of the old burr grinder and use a conical or a flat burr grinder. Coffee brews best when all of the ground particle sizes are as similar as possible and burr grinders chop the beans into many different sizes. The small sizes get over extracted which leads to excessive bitterness while the large sizes get under-extracted leading to waste.
What does being a local roaster mean to you - why did you start Local Roots?
Local Roots is more than just a coffee roasting company. We live on a small farm on the west edge of Erie (actually we are in unincorporated Boulder County). My wife and I came up with the name and idea of Local Roots many years ago when we moved here. We were both born and raised in Boulder County. Our roots are here and our families are here. After we met and fell in love we actually found out our dads grew up on the same street in Boulder and went to school together. Our dream of Local Roots was to create a place where we each followed our creative and intellectual passions and shared what we are doing with our community. We grow a huge vegetable garden and sell some of the produce as well (seasonally, at Bridge!) and invite families to come and enjoy the harvest by loading up bags of produce to take home. Next year we hope to donate much of the produce to local food banks. We raise chickens and sell the eggs. My dad and I also keep bees and sell honey.
How can customers support small roasters beyond buying the coffee?
The best way is by buying the coffee - the second best way is if you like the coffee tell others about it.
How do you like your coffee? Do you have a favorite origin, and if so why?
I am a latte lover, well a latte lover as long as there isn't too much milk. I like 5-6 ounces of steamed milk in my lattes so technically it is more of a flat white than a latte. My normal day is to have a straight latte when I first wake up, and then a second when I walk the dog. This year we have gotten into making our own simple syrups. We harvested lavender from our garden and have been on a huge lavender latte kick. Currently I am enjoying a vanilla simple syrup, it's good to mix it up. In the afternoon I either do a cupping or if I don't have anything to sample I have another latte.
Bean preference... Normally I tend to like Central American washed coffees the most. I like a good medium roast that brings out the dark chocolate flavors. Although, I don't ever complain with a pour-over of a very fruity natural process Kenyan or Ethiopian coffee either.
What is the difference between the espresso you put in your lattes and coffee beans?
It is a common misconception that espresso requires a different roast or a different type of coffee than standard coffee. Many roasters sell an "espresso blend" that oftentimes has a higher quantity of Robusta coffee beans instead of the generally regarded as better tasting and higher quality Arabica coffee bean. Robusta beans are mass produced, significantly less expensive, don't have the depth of flavor but Robusta does create a lot of desirable crema in espresso. Also, "espresso blends" are roasted very dark, some would consider them even burnt. Espresso can be made from any type of coffee bean. Generally at third wave (new style and high quality) coffee shops their espresso will be from a single source and not a blend. I use the same coffee I roast to make french presses, Aeropress, pour-over and espresso. Of the last series of coffee I roasted, the Sumatra was my favorite for espresso. It was a very bold bean with an earthy flavor that wasn't overtaken by the milk added for a latte. The Colombian made a great french press and the Guatemalan was roasted lighter and was the best for pour-over.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story, your coffee, and your farm with us, Brian. Local Roots Coffee is THE coffee at Bridge. (And the beans are constantly flying off the shelves!) Start your day the local way ☕️