Pittsburgh’s La Prima Espresso Gets Second Wind in Expanded Roastery

Inside La Prima Espresso Company’s roastery in Pittsburgh. All images courtesy of La Prima Espresso Company.

Pittsburgh-based La Prima Espresso Company is approaching its 38th anniversary with an expanded roastery, new retail packaging and a refined selection of seasonal and limited-release coffees.

The expanded 6,000-square-foot “Torrefazione La Prima” now includes additional office space and a new weigh-and-fill machine alongside the company’s Loring S35 Kestrel, helmed by La Prima Head Roaster Chuck Connors. The company has also introduced new branded hats, T-shirts, mugs and other merch.

“[Connors] has been with us for 25 years and continues to streamline our coffee program by maintaining relationships with farmers and selecting new coffees,” La Prima Espresso Marketing and PR Director Gigi Harris told Daily Coffee News. “The new space allows us to integrate the necessary tools we need to be more efficient and accurate.”

La Prima worked with Bootstrap Design Co. for the packaging redesign. Wide areas of solid color distinguish the new bags while reducing the need for manually applied stickers. The new fully printed bag is made with 60% compostable material while reflecting colors and other aesthetic elements of La Prima’s five cafes. 

“Our cafes consist of a concise color palette that ranges from white to varying shades of blue, including the signature La Prima blue,” Harris said. “Our new bags use the different shades to differentiate between espressos, single origins, decafs and drip coffees. This way it is easier for customers to find what they are looking for and creates consistent branding across our locations and products.”

La Prima has also narrowed its rotating single-origin lineup, focusing on fewer seasonal and limited-release coffees.

“A few months ago, we made the decision to scale back on what coffees we sold, going from around 10 single origins at any time to three or four,” La Prima Espresso Company Production Manager Robert Moeller told Daily Coffee News. “Instead of just offering whatever we had around and roasting coffee that was convenient, we would make every single-origin offering special.”

The smaller lineup is designed to reflect distinct coffee types and flavor characteristics, such as more robust natural-process coffees, clean washed-process coffees and chocolatey or fruit-forward examples. The coffee program also leans toward microlots, certified coffees and coffees reflecting close relationships with producers.

“We narrow it down more to something that provides unique benefits to both the farmers and our customers beyond just tasting really, really good,” Moeller said.

Sam Patti founded La Prima on Oct. 1, 1988, combining commercial espresso equipment sales and service with a public coffee bar in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Patti remains company president, contributing to creative decisions and customer relationships while also working weekend shifts behind the bar at the original cafe.

“Sam is a huge part of what makes La Prima so special, and we are beyond grateful to see him at the roaster every single day,” Harris said. “While Sam is an integral part of our company, succession planning discussions have started for when he eventually retires.”

La Prima plans to continue developing its roastery operations and rotating single-origin program while supporting its five cafes and wholesale business. The company has also ordered a second Loring S35 Kestrel that it expects to install within the next year.

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