Led by Arizona coffee pioneer David Anderson and his wife Alison, The Roastery of Cave Creek (ROC2), will be celebrating their 20th anniversary as the state’s premier coffee roaster in November 2017. Not only will they be offering 20% off all online sales of their estate-grown, certified organic coffee throughout the month of November (use promo code ROC20), but ROC2 will be continuing their expansion by increasing roasting capacity by nearly 40%.
“It’s a milestone to be at 20 years and among the leading Arizona coffee producers,” said Anderson. “We’re honored to be working with some of the best chefs and establishments in the ever-expanding Arizona culinary scene, and we have some exciting plans ahead as we continue to grow.”
It started in 1997 with a small 3-kilo roaster in the back of Anderson’s Cave Creek coffee shop. “I had enough mad scientist in me to know I wanted to roast my own beans and control the taste and freshness,” said Anderson.
Since then, he has grown a massive wholesale operation featuring more than 20 proprietary blends and single origin coffees. Nitro and Cold Brew were developed in 2015 in partnership with Whole Foods. “We took a year to really dial in the Nitro and Cold Brew programming but it was worth it, and it’s arguably the best in the Valley – many even say the best they’ve ever tasted,” said Anderson. In addition to Whole Foods, customers range from small cafes to the state’s largest resorts who provide ROC2 coffee to their guests; and ROC2 also serves as a coffee consultation business which not only sells equipment but also helps restaurants and cafes develop their coffee programming, menus, and store design.
In November, Anderson will be continuing ROC2’s expansion by increasing their roasting capacity to more than 850,000 pounds per year, a 35-40% increase, by adding a new 25-kilo UG Retro 22 roaster. “Presently there are only about five of these machines in the US and we are thrilled to have one,” said Anderson. Built by Kirsch & Mausser, a division of Probat in Emmerich, Germany, a company that has been creating coffee roasters since 1868, the new roaster will mark a turning point in production for ROC2, allowing them to further expand upon their presence in the Arizona coffee market.
Anderson is one of the few roasters in the state with direct trade relationships with coffee plantations in Africa, Central America and South America. “I take great pride in the product we’re putting out there,” said Anderson. “My trips to origin over the last 10+ years inspired me to send my entire staff to see first-hand the people, processes and procedures to take coffee from seed to cup. It gives our team a greater level of appreciation for coffee and a real passion for their work.”
ROC2 is served at a number of the Valley’s favorite restaurants – Matt’s Big Breakfast, Tarbell’s, Rancho Pinot, FnB, Pizzeria Bianco, Lon’s at the Hermosa and Richardson’s, to name a few – and there are many new ventures are on the horizon.
While ROC2 does not have a retail location, the Cave Creek roastery (located at 7003 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331) offers fresh roasted beans from “The Box,” a steel cabinet stocked with all of their coffees available on a grab-n-go basis on the honor system. The box is located just outside the roastery, and there is a mail slot to leave payments with a karma sign above the door. “Locals seem to like it and we have many people who drive from around the Valley and bring out-of-town guests to visit The Box. Every now and then we get I.O.U.’s written on a piece of paper – some are pretty funny – but people always seem to come back and pay. If you give people the opportunity to do the right thing, they generally will.”
For more information or to shop ROC2’s coffee blends (20% off with code ROC20 throughout November 2017), visit www.roc2.coffee or call 480.488.6060.
