FAQs
Why Heritage Coffee Roasters?
With a background as a barista, GREAT tasting coffee is our passion! We got tired of settling for store-bought commercial coffee that left us jittery and feeling toxic! Enter the homesteading lifestyle and we were on a new path to finding better quality coffee! Other coffees we tried were either too acidic or bitter, so we researched and tested various regions and roasts - finding that we really enjoyed chocolate nuttier notes that are brought out in medium-medium dark roasts. This roast level offers a smooth, well-balanced cup of coffee that isn't acidic or bitter. So we roast what we like best, and our customers have LOVED those same notes and roasting profiles too! Win-Win!
Do you have organic coffee?
We do offer a select few USDA certified organic coffee options; however, we are not a certified organic facility and therefore cannot use the USDA Organic symbol on our packaging.
Where do you source your beans?
We procure specialty grade, micro-lot coffees through a trusted reputable importer that has long-standing relationships with farmers and producers all over the world, some that even span multiple-generations - beans are sourced from various regions, with most of our favorites coming from Central and South America, while also offering Indonesia, SE Asia, and East Africa coffees.
Do you buy from farms practicing monoculture or regenerative?
We source our specialty-grade coffee through a trusted supplier that works directly with farmers and producers around the world through a proprietary farmer support program focused on both farmer prosperity and environmental stewardship. Their approach emphasizes long-term "roots-to-roaster" relationships, with local field teams working directly alongside producers to provide technical assistance and training in agronomy, sustainable farming practices, climate resilience, and business planning.
These efforts help improve coffee quality, productivity and farm income while supporting responsible land management, soil health, water conservation, and the long-term sustainability of coffee-growing regions.
In general, the farms within our supplier's network tend to follow regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices rather than intensive monoculture systems. Common approaches include:
- Intercropping and shade-grown cultivation – Coffee is often grown alongside banana trees, fruit trees, and other vegetation that provide natural shade, encourage biodiversity, attract pollinators, and help reduce soil erosion.
- Building soil health naturally – Farmers frequently use organic matter such as compost, cover crops, fallen leaves, and composted coffee cherry pulp to replenish nutrients and improve soil structure, reducing dependence on synthetic inputs.
- Farmer education and support – Ongoing training focuses on sustainable productivity, soil management, client adaptation, and responsible farming practices.
- Organic and mission-based coffee offerings – Our supplier also offers certified organic and other sustainability-focused coffees that prohibit synthetic pesticides and encourage regenerative agricultural methods.
As a specific example, one of our coffee is sourced from SE Asia/Vietnam, where Robusta coffee (used in our Robusta Rooster and Espresso Blends) has traditionally been grown in intensive monoculture systems, particularly through the Central Highlands. While this model helped establish Vietnam as one of the world's leading coffee producers, it has also created challenges related to soil health, water use and long-term sustainability.
In recent years, however, many Vietnamese coffee farmers have begun transitioning toward more regenerative and diversified farming methods. These include intercropping coffee with crops such as pepper, avocado, macadamia, and durian, which help improve biodiversity, create natural shade, reduce soil erosion, and support healthier soils. Industry groups, exporters, and major coffee buyers have also invested heavily in training and programs that encourage climate-smart and regenerative agricultural practices.
While we cannot speak to every single farm's exact methods used on every individual farm or lot we purchase, we intentionally work with suppliers whose programs prioritize environmental responsibility, long-term land health, and farmer livelihoods. As a result, the coffees we source generally come from producers who are actively engaged in sustainable farming practices and continuous improvement efforts, even in regions where conventional monoculture has historically been common practice.
How do you roast your beans?
We use a small commercial fluid-bed air-roaster, which allows us to roast in small batches to achieve optimal consistency with each batch that is roasted - and efficiently being able to produce up to ~150lbs+ a day at 3/4 to full-time, max-capable hours of roasting time. Through our micro-roasting, we specialize in Medium-Medium Dark Roasts that you get a well-balanced cup every time.
Is your coffee flavored?
No, we do not use any added artificial flavors. Our roasted coffee acquires the flavor profiles of each region in which the beans are grown, their climate and the altitude at which the beans are grown - it's through the roasting process that highlight fruity/floral/citrus notes if it's a light roast; chocolate and nutty notes if it's a medium roast; and darker roasts being more smokey, earthy, and robust. (Flavor profiles will differ based every person's palette).
How do you store roasted beans?
In a cool, dry place away from light, moisture and air. Tinted/opaque containers are best. Some may even vacuum seal in Mason jars, or store in the freezer.
What's the shelf life?
We think this is subjective and based on personal opinion/experience. Ground coffee will start to oxidize within 24-hrs, whereas Whole Bean coffee is much longer lasting. With that said, some believe it's anywhere from 4-6 weeks to 6-12 months (if properly stored). The longer coffee sits open to air, moisture, and/or light, it will go stale - even in the freezer, but it can last for quite some time, it just might not taste as good as it did when it was freshly roasted. Fresh roasted coffee peaks between 5-20 days and when it is best enjoyed.
Is your coffee mold-free?
We get this question A LOT. Being homesteaders and natural/holistic-minded, we did our research and asked our supplier about this before partnering with them.
"Mycotoxins, specifically Ochratoxin-A (OTA), results from poor post-harvest conditions: improper storage and/or drying practices. This is more common in conventional coffee, and not so much in specialty grade coffee. If producers dry the coffee properly, and store it in a dry space the presence of OTA is greatly reduced and hardly detectable. We don’t test for mold/mycotoxin, but we DO follow good agricultural and warehousing practices, e.g. we dry the coffee to 10-12%, store in a dry place, and ship in a proprietary liner.
Our parent company's extensive history in the importing industry has led to a number of producer relationships that extend multiple generations and have lasted for decades. Transparency regarding the conditions under which the coffee is grown, harvested, processed, and exported will result in a higher level of understanding of both intrinsic quality and the intangible value of knowing and trusting the names and faces involved in creating the product. We buy our coffees from our sister companies at origin where we also have Q-Graders trained to taste and identify any issues in the cup as the coffee is purchased from the producers. So through trusted relationships, practices and systems we take all appropriate measures to mitigate the presence of OTA in our coffees and everything we sell is specialty grade.
An independent lab can measure if any given coffee presents any level of Ochratoxin-A. We do not measure this level on a regular basis, because our sister companies take all appropriate measures to mitigate the presence of OTA in our coffees, and all of our coffees are specialty-grade, micro-lot. The crux of it is that mold in coffee would significantly and negatively affect its QUALITY CUPPING score, which means QC would reject it and we wouldn't buy it due to quality concerns."
Here is an article we find to be very informative and helpful to understanding the mold in coffee issue. Grab yourself a cup of Heritage Coffee and enjoy the read!
How do you make Cold Brew?
We use our Robusta Rooster Blend for making our Cold Brew using the Rumble Jar Filter. We also sell the Rumble Jar Filters on our site, which you can find here!