Canadian specialty coffee hatchling Kea Coffee Roasters has spread its wings in mountainous British Columbia, offering freshly roasted coffees guided by a spirit of curiosity.
Referencing an alpine parrot species native to the South Island of New Zealand, the coffee company that launched in April combines an appreciation for Kiwi coffee culture and a rotating line of coffee box sets under the name Explore.
“One of the things that excites me most about coffee is the huge range of flavor possibilities that are there to be explored,” Kea Coffee Roasters Founder and Roaster Matt Burns told Daily Coffee News. “We always want our roasts to highlight each coffee’s unique characteristics and qualities.”
Kea’s initial offerings are currently in flight to customers throughout Canada and the United States. The Explore series will continue to offer a set of three coffees hailing from a single country, region or farm, yet featuring notable distinctions in the cup. The inaugural Explore set includes three natural-process coffees from Ethiopia.
“There’s a lot of ways we could go with the Explore series and I’m excited to see how that evolves,” said Burns. “I really like the idea of one varietal from one farm, processed three different ways. Another one I’m really interested in doing is multiple varietals from one farm. It’s all about finding the right coffees, though, and the right producers.”
The Explore line will rotate every three months or so, depending on logistics and availability.
Burns comes to the coffee venture with a background in web design and marketing, plus some foodservice and barista experience in his earlier days.
“Kea Coffee Roasters really started as a hobby that got way out of hand,” said Burns, who spent years consuming YouTube and internet content created by reputable sources to learn the roasting craft. “I hope I can bring all of those experiences and lessons learned along the way, to help make Kea Coffee Roasters a fun, engaging and approachable company that prioritizes awesome coffee experiences and makes them easily accessible for everyone.”
For Burns, the fun began in New Zealand, the island nation that boasts impressively high per capita numbers of specialty cafes and roasteries.
“When we decided to set up a company to share the coffees we love with everyone, my mind just kept going back to where it all began,” said Burns. “It was New Zealand’s epic cafe culture that first got me into coffee.”
Now the wearer of all hats at Kea, Burns said he’s already hoping to relocate production into a larger facility by early next year. In the meantime, the focus is on growing the brand and piquing the curiosities of more new specialty coffee drinkers.
“We’ve got lots we want to do to help make the site even more useful and a fun place to come and learn about and explore coffee,” said Burns. “Alongside that, we’re also working on our wholesale program, to put Kea Coffee on shelves and brew bars where people can get a great sense of what we’re all about.”
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