Coffee is a lot like music. There are countless genres and blends. Anyone can throw some grounds in a coffee pot and make a cup just as anyone can pick up a guitar and play a couple chords. Like music, coffee is also a kind of universal language; everyone knows what a cup of coffee is and how lovely it can be. Despite the ubiquity of music and coffee, the product, when handled by a professional, is undeniably special. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 billion (yes billion, with a B) cups of coffee are downed yearly so it stands to reason that some of the brews will truly stand out. For us, the glorious black bean water produced by the self-proclaimed “coffee nerds” at Cartel Roasting Co. is the cream of the crop.
Cartel has been open for almost 15 years, starting back when modern coffee culture was in its infancy. Co-founder Amy Silberschlag sheds some light on their early days, “You have to think about specialty coffee from Arizona 15 years ago. It was weird that we only had 8oz or 16oz of coffee… We didn’t have the whipped cream and caramel or mint and we didn’t have a blender or cinnamon to sprinkle on top.” Getting access to high-quality beans brought forward the nuance of coffee flavor that set the company up for success. As of writing, Cartel has 12 locations across 2 states. Their growth can partially be attributed to the consistency of the quality across state lines, and the quality of people tamping espresso behind the counter. Cartel employs only the most passionate coffee fans to share their excitement with the tens of thousands of yearly visitors.
Besides their 12 locations, Cartel offers bagged specialty coffee, including a sampler box for those indecisive folks or those new to the world of brewing at home. Cartel also offers a subscription service that is extremely personalized from the bean choice, to the roasting, to the shipping. Businesses can even buy wholesale for higher volume or corporate settings to help alleviate the banality of the 4 straight staff meetings.
Cartel has a culture of betterment and improvement as embodied by one their core values: be better today than yesterday. That idea is carried over into their love of educating people about how to make excellent coffee at home. Cartel states another one of their core values on their website: our north star is to make good. They see their coffee as a vehicle for goodness and a compliment to anything their customers are passionate about. “We hope our coffee pulls you into the gravity of it, like a black hole, and sends you spinning into your life dreams.” This positive mentality is further embodied by Cartel’s fundraising program where proceeds from their Give Back Blend are donated to local charities.
If you’re like us, Cartel Roasting Co. inspires us to support local, invest in our community, make good, and enjoy terrific coffee.
Written by Isaac Stockton
Photography by Luke Irvin