Coffee with Tony

Understand what’s in your cup.

Origin-first since 2012. A clean, winey Kenya Nyeri sent Tony down the rabbit hole in 2013, and Coffee Like Wine began taking explicit shape in 2014.

01 · The cornerstone

Coffee, like wine.

Tony chooses coffee from the final cup. It has to be excellent, but it also has to bring something distinctive that the current lineup does not already offer. Place, variety, processing, roasting and brewing all shape its sweetness, brightness, body, texture, flavor and finish.

Start with Coffee Like Wine
Coffee and wine presented together to illustrate distinct flavor, body and finish

Continue the learning path

See what shapes the character.

Each guide takes one part of Coffee Like Wine and makes it practical—from what happens after harvest, to how Tony develops a roast, to what becomes easier to notice as a cup cools.

02 · Roasting

Why We Don’t Roast Dark

Tony starts with the sample roast, then the production roast rests, is cupped, adjusted and tasted again. The goal is sweetness, body and balance without roasting away what made the coffee worth choosing.

Read the roasting guide

03 · Processing

Washed, Honey & Natural

See how choices made after harvest can influence clarity, sweetness, fruit character, body and texture. Processing offers useful clues, but it does not guarantee a flavor or determine where a coffee belongs.

Explore the processing guide

04 · Grinding

Why We Don’t Recommend Pregrinding

Coffee loses aroma and flavor after grinding. Learn why grinding just before brewing helps preserve the distinctive character you paid for, and gives you more control over the cup you make at home.

Read the fresh-grinding guide

Then meet the coffees

Origin stories and individual coffees.

The articles below continue the story through particular farms, origins, processing choices, brewing questions and distinctive coffees Tony selected from the final cup.

Coffee with Tony

Roast-level gauge showing where Troubadour stops at light to light-plus
Why We Don’t Roast Dark
September 15, 2026
We roast to develop sweetness, balance, and body while keeping each coffee’s character present in the cup.

From reading to brewing

Find a coffee you’ll enjoy.

Start with the kind of character that sounds good to you. Explore our whole-bean coffees through brightness, sweetness, body, texture, and finish.

Tony places each coffee according to what he tastes in the finished cup. Processing is one clue; processing alone does not determine where a coffee belongs.

Bright & Lively

For crisp brightness, a lighter body, and fruit or floral character with a clean finish.

Explore coffees

Smooth & Balanced

For rounded sweetness, balanced brightness, and an approachable, composed texture.

Explore coffees

Rich & Full-Bodied

For substantial body, deeper sweetness, rich texture, and flavors that linger through the finish.

Explore coffees

Keep learning.

Brew Guides

Put what you’ve learned into practice at home.

Coffee Classes

Join Tony for hands-on brewing and espresso instruction at the roastery.