Columbus, Ohio – Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has opened a new roasting facility and distribution center at 1925 Alum Creek Drive in Columbus.
Strong growth sparked development of the 20,000-square-foot facility, which will roast, package and ship coffee to more than 350 independent coffee houses, specialty grocers, restaurants, and colleges and universities across 28 states.
“We’re excited by the expansion we’re seeing in all of our business segments,” said Founder and President Greg Ubert. “This new facility enables us to scale operations by more efficiently storing, roasting, packaging and distributing specialty coffee and coffee shop supplies to our customers.”
The building more than doubles roasting and distribution space for Crimson Cup, which expects to import and roast more than half a million pounds of specialty-grade coffee in 2015. Every bean is roasted by hand in small batches under the supervision of Roast Master Dave Rochus.
On a typical day, Rochus and his team operate three gas-fired drum roasters, which tumble coffee beans to evenly distribute heat during roasting. “Godzilla,” a Roure roaster that can process up to 325 pounds of coffee beans in each batch, handles the company’s signature “Armando’s Blend” espresso beans, a 2013 finalist for the title of America’s Best Espresso.
Rochus uses two smaller roasters – a 66-pound Roure model nicknamed “Little Red” and a 25-pound Probat machine, “Hansel,” to roast to order, allowing Crimson Cup to offer fresh-roasted coffee based on any size order.
A dedicated green coffee storage area keeps 140-pound jute bags and 30-gallon bins of raw coffee beans cool, dry and protected from light. At its previous facility, Crimson Cup typically stored about 27 varieties of green coffee beans from 14 countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia.
“Our team has a great enthusiasm and appreciation for this new space,” Ubert said. “We are excited to continue to increase our support for the independent coffee shop community and beyond.”
High ceilings combined with venting and exhaust systems keep operating temperatures comfortable for the roasting and distribution staff. The building’s green innovations include new skylights, which create a brighter working environment and cut down on lighting costs.
