Since we started RSR in 2015, the number of roasters of Specialty Coffee in the state of Iowa has really bloomed.

What makes Specialty Coffee special? It's an industry-wide system based on quality, not quantity. So in this list we're only focused on...

• Businesses in Iowa that are first and foremost coffee roasters
• The coffee they roast is exclusively Specialty Coffee
• Their sourcing practices favor close, multi-year relationships with producers

So without further ado, here is our totally biased list of the Best Specialty Coffee Roasters in our home state of Iowa.

Ross Street Roasting Co.

Surprise, surprise! - Of course we think our own company deserves top billing! :)

Since our founding, our mission has been to "Turn coffee drinkers into coffee lovers." We are located in a small rural community, where old church ladies and farmers are accustomed to drinking nostalgic big brands from the mid-20th century (that still have considerable market share in these parts), and we've developed our expansive product catalog to bring high-end coffees to "normal" coffee drinkers as well as "coffee snobs."

We consistently make new customers across the country, many times in small towns and rural areas, and we get feedback like "I usually have to add cream or sugar to my coffee, but this tastes so good I don't have to add anything!" That's music to our ears and it's an indicator to me that we're making good on our mission statement.

Windmill Coffee Roasters (Ames)

Windmill's website - From our home in Tama, drive west on US Highway 30 for an hour to Ames and you'll practically drive right to Windmill's front door. The family behind Windmill has been in the coffee game for decades and Windmill has established itself as a premier brand for Specialty Coffee serving commercial businesses, particularly independent Third Wave shops in and around Ames and Des Moines. 

Where RSR tends to focus more on at-home coffee drinkers, Windmill focuses more on commercial. But we source very similarly (including from some of the same producers) and we've become great coffee pals over the years. They're great. 

Honorable Mention

There are quite a few other Specialty Roasters that we've become acquainted with over the years. Check them out, too! In alphabetical order...

• Black Silo Roasters (Ankeny/Altoona)
• Capanna Coffee Roasters (North Liberty)
• Euphoria Coffee (West Union)
• Horizon Line Coffee (Des Moines)
• Iris Coffee (Pella)
• Kojo Roastery (Stacyville)
• Lightbrite Coffee Roasters (Grimes)
• Morning Bell Coffee Roasters (Ames)
• Pammel Park Coffee (Winterset)
• Sidecar Coffee (Waterloo)
• Stone Bru (Sioux City)
• Swed & Co. Coffee (Fort Madison)
• Wake Up Iowa (Des Moines)

Happy roasting, fellow Iowa roasters. And happy brewing, Coffee Friends!