Introducing the 2017 Roasters of the Year: Mudhouse Coffee Roasters and Thanksgiving Coffee Co.

Mudhouse co-founder Lynelle Lawrence cups coffee with production manager Phil Hobbes. Photo by Jack Looney.

Mudhouse Coffee Roasters and Thanksgiving Coffee Company have taken top honors in Roast magazine’s 13th annual Roaster of the Year competition. The two coffee roasting companies are featured in the magazine’s upcoming November/December 2016 issue.

Roast magazine’s Roaster of the Year awards recognize companies that roast coffees of superior quality, exemplify a dedication to sustainability, promote employee and community education, and demonstrate a strong commitment to the coffee industry, among other criteria. The magazine awards top honors in two categories: Micro Roaster of the Year, for companies roasting fewer than 100,000 pounds of coffee each year; and Macro Roaster of the Year, for companies roasting more than 100,000 pounds annually.

Both of this year’s winners were co-founded and are led by married couples — Lynelle and John Lawrence at Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, and Paul and Joan Katzeff at Thanksgiving Coffee Company.

Micro Roaster of the Year: Mudhouse Coffee Roasters

Members of the Mudhouse team. Seated (from left) are Nick Cardoni, Pinky Swiderski and Jennifer Tidwell; standing (from left) are Eric Stone, Phil Hobbes, Lynelle Lawrence, John Lawrence, Whitney Phaup and George Patterson. | Photo by Jack Looney/

Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, based in Charlottesville, Va., was named Roast’s 2017 Micro Roaster of the Year, with a total output of about 60,000 pounds of roasted coffee annually. Mudhouse’s dedication to community, focus on ongoing education and strong support of its employees, as well as its focus on sustainable practices at home and at origin, were major factors in the company being named Micro Roaster of the Year. Mudhouse’s recent entry into vertical integration with the launch of its new farm in Panama in partnership with Willem Boot and Kelly Hartmann also contributed to the selection.

Macro Roaster of the Year: Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Thanksgiving founders Paul and Joan Katzeff in 1972. Photo courtesy of Thanksgiving Coffee Co.

Thanksgiving Coffee Company, based in Fort Bragg, Calif., took the top prize for Macro Roaster of the Year, with an output of 550,000 pounds per year. Founded in 1972, Thanksgiving Coffee Company has been a pioneer in promoting quality and freshness in the specialty coffee industry for more than four decades. With its motto of “Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup,” the company also has been a leader in socially responsible business practices, “cause coffees” and community support since the mid-1980s.

The Thanksgiving Coffee Co. team today. Photo courtesy of Thanksgiving Coffee Co.

Look for more on both winning roasters in the November/December 2016 issue of Roast magazine.

Past ROY Winners

2005 winner—Counter Culture Coffee
2005 runnerup—Taylor Maid Farms

2006 winner—Stumptown Coffee Roasters
2006 runnerup—Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea
2006 runnerup—Dillanos Coffee Roasters

2007 winner—Micro—Metropolis Coffee Co.
2007 winner—Macro—Intelligentsia

2008 winner—Micro—Higher Ground Roasters
2008 winner—Macro—Zoka Coffee Roasters

2009 winner—Micro—Coffee Klatch
2009 winner—Macro—PT’s Coffee Roasting Co.

2010 winner—Micro—Kickapoo Coffee
2010 winner—Macro—Equator Estates Coffee

2011 winner—Micro—Conscious Coffees
2011 winner—Macro—Dillanos Coffee Roasters

2012 winner—Micro—Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
2012 winner—Macro—Portland Coffee Roasting

2013 winner—Micro—Olympia Coffee Roasting Company
2013 winner—Macro–Gimme! Coffee

2014 winner—Micro—Pilot Coffee Roasters
2014 winner—Macro—Coda Coffee Company

2015 winner—Micro—Portola Coffee Lab
2015 winner—Macro—Reunion Island Coffee Roasters

2016 winner—Micro—Propeller Coffee Co.
2016 winner—Macro—Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea