Kafiex Named Roast Magazine's 2026 Micro Roaster of the Year
We're honored to share that Kafiex Roasters has been named Roast Magazine's 2026 Micro Roaster of the Year — a recognition that means the world to us and to our hometown of Vancouver, WA (Roast Magazine).
From our beginnings at farmers markets to competing and teaching on international stages, our goal has always been simple: create meaningful connections through coffee. This award reflects not just our work, but the dedication of the producers, educators, and coffee lovers who've shaped our journey from day one.
What the Award Actually Means
Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year award is judged across two categories — Micro (roasters under 100,000 pounds per year) and Macro (over 100,000 pounds) — and evaluates far more than what's in the cup. Finalists are scored on company mission, commitment to sustainable practices, employee and educational programs, diversity, inclusion, and equity, involvement in the coffee industry, and innovation, alongside blind cupping scores from professional judges (Roast Magazine).
It's also a list with real history. Past Micro Roaster winners include Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia, Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, and Portola Coffee Lab — some of the most respected names in American specialty coffee (Roast Magazine). Being named alongside them is a genuinely big deal for a roastery that started at a farmers market stand.
A Win Rooted in Community
This recognition celebrates more than roasting — it honors the values that define Kafiex: education, sustainability, inclusion, and storytelling. Through every Coffee Club event, workshop, and café conversation, we've seen how coffee brings people together and bridges cultures.
It also highlights the producers and partners who make our work possible, including the women farmers of Café Femenino and innovators like the Bayter family at El Vergel Estate.
The Women of Café Femenino
Café Femenino began in 2003 when 464 women coffee farmers in northern Peru separated their production from the men's, creating their own product and income for the first time — a model that has since expanded to nine coffee-growing countries (Café Femenino). Roasters who work with the program pay women farmers a direct premium and contribute to the Café Femenino Foundation, which funds community projects the women themselves request and administer (Café Femenino).
The Bayter Family at El Vergel Estate
At El Vergel Estate in Fresno, Tolima, Colombia, the Bayter family has turned a former avocado farm into one of the country's most innovative coffee operations — known for pioneering techniques like Koji and mosto anaerobic fermentation that push flavor complexity further than traditional processing (Neighbourhood Coffee). Their coffee has shown up in Kafiex releases like our El Vergel Estate Mosto-Processed Coffee, a limited natural anaerobic lot with notes of tropical fruit, cacao, and molasses.
Crafted in Vancouver, Shared Everywhere
Our coffees are roasted weekly at the Coffee Lab and served at our Gastro Café on the Vancouver waterfront. With nationwide shipping, coffee lovers everywhere can now taste the blends and microlots that helped earn this year's title, including Vancouver Blend, one of the coffees featured in our award submission. Our current rotating lineup ships nationwide from kafiex.com.
This award belongs to everyone who's been part of our story: local regulars, students in our classes, and partners around the globe. We're proud to represent the Pacific Northwest's growing coffee community, and grateful to every customer who's supported us along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year award?
It's an annual award from Roast Magazine recognizing excellence across two categories — Micro (under 100,000 lbs roasted per year) and Macro (over 100,000 lbs) — based on company mission, sustainability, employee and educational practices, DEI commitment, industry involvement, innovation, and coffee quality (Roast Magazine).
Who else has won this award?
Past Micro Roaster of the Year winners include Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia, Portola Coffee Lab, and Olympia Coffee Roasting Company (Roast Magazine).
Can I order the coffees that helped Kafiex win?
Our current lineup of blends and microlots ships nationwide, and it draws on the same sourcing relationships and roasting approach that earned this award — check our shop for what's available now.
What is Café Femenino, and why does Kafiex source from it?
Café Femenino is a sourcing program that pays women coffee farmers directly and gives them decision-making power over their income, currently active in nine countries (Café Femenino). It reflects the sustainability and equity commitments Roast Magazine specifically evaluates for this award.
Ready to taste what earned us this recognition? Shop our award-winning coffee or visit us in Vancouver, WA.