What’s Brewing?: The Unsuspected Coffee Capital

You probably didn't wake up this morning thinking about Emeryville's coffee scene. But maybe you should.

Peet's Coffee, the company that trained the founders of Starbucks, has been headquartered here since 1994. Yes, that Peet's. The one Alfred Peet built after declaring American coffee "the lousiest" he'd ever tasted. The company that taught Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl everything they needed to know before they opened a little shop called Starbucks in Seattle. That company calls Emeryville home.

The real surprise is what's brewing alongside the global giant.

A few blocks away on Hollis Street, McLaughlin Coffee has been roasting beans since 1983. Founder Mike McLaughlin was a schoolteacher for twenty years before betting everything on a used peanut roaster that could only handle ten pounds per batch. He learned his craft in borrowed warehouse space during off hours, slowly building a devoted following one fresh roasted bag at a time. Today his sons Shaun and Mark run the operation, and when Paul Buddenhagen became City Manager, he made McLaughlin the coffee supplier for City hall workers. That's the kind of town this is.

On Emery Street, Highwire Coffee Roasters has been crafting small batch roasts since 2011, even running a Tenant Roasting Program to mentor the next generation of coffee entrepreneurs. Counter Culture Coffee chose Emeryville for their first West Coast facility in 2015, calling it a "nexus" for specialty coffee culture. They weren't wrong.

An $18 billion coffee empire. A second generation family roaster. Small batch innovators mentoring the next wave. All of it within one square mile.

So the next time you're looking for your morning cup, consider what's been quietly brewing in Emeryville all along. The coffee capital was here the whole time. You just didn't know it yet.

Roasters in Emeryville

McLaughlin Coffee Company : Bay Area Coffee Roaster For 40+ Years – McLaughlin Coffee Roasting Company

Counter Culture Coffee: Training Centers – Counter Culture Coffee  Roastery & Training Center

Petes Coffee- Head Quarters: