Coffee Talk: Charleston Coffee Roasters Brings Global Flavor to the Local Level

By Denise K James

It’s late morning, mid-week, and I’m embarrassed by my coffee-drinking habits. No wonder – I’m on a Zoom conference with the founder of Charleston Coffee Roasters, Lowell Grosse, and I’ve just admitted that I like a splash of half-and-half in my morning cup. Clearly I need to switch to one of their varieties and become an impossibly cool black coffee drinker — and our discussion is even more, shall we say, fuel to my decision.

The history of Charleston Coffee Roasters is rooted not only in love for coffee but also love for the collective global efforts that make coffee possible. Grosse imported coffee for 17 years in a small family business, learning the ins and outs of the trade, then began Charleston Coffee Roasters in 2005 with the intent of importing high-quality coffee for at-home aficionados, wherever the consumer shops.”

Serious coffee drinkers know the sacred beans don’t grow without the right farming conditions and TLC, and Grosse and his team are diligent about their import process, which includes a variety of farms worldwide. Obviously, taste, smoothness and quality matter – but so do people. “

We look for coffees with great flavor attributes that are grown with sustainable farming practices,” Grosse points out. “We look all over the world: Indonesia, Africa, Rwanda, all of Central America, anywhere coffee grows.”

For not-so-serious coffee drinkers, perhaps you weren’t aware of how multifaceted a bean becomes, given the process. For all of the Charleston Coffee Roasters varieties, the “cup profile,” as it’s termed, can range from light to dark, citrusy to chocolatey. However, there’s a standard each one must meet: tasting good without cream, sweetener or heat! “Many coffees may taste great when hot, but when they get to room temperature, they exhibit harsh and sharp tastes,” Grosse remarks. “All the coffees we choose are cupped hot and then sit until room temperature. If the coffees don’t taste great cold, we will not use them.”

Great ideas often stem from a great cup of joe, and, for Grosse and his team, giving back to the community has been a fruitful plan. In addition to sustainable import practices, Charleston Coffee Roasters is known for its dedication to one of the Lowcountry’s beloved species: the loggerhead sea turtle. Even the company logo depicts what is known as the “Turtle Bean:” a coffee bean in the shape of a Loggerhead, cleverly representing the company’s philanthropy and commitment to conservation. “

When we started Charleston Coffee Roasters, we connected with local sea turtle patrol organizations for Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms, as well as the South Carolina Aquarium and their sea turtle rescue hospital,” Grosse says. “We’re the lead sponsor of the Nutritional Care Program at the South Carolina Aquarium, which supplies more than 200 pounds of food daily for nearly 5,000 resident animals and sea turtles undergoing rehabilitation.”

It’s all part of the bigger goal to improve the world through great coffee — from the farmers to the consumers to the needs of the community — and Grosse looks forward to growing both the company and the mission. “Being able to sip great coffee and travel the world is a fun part of what we do . . . but so is watching customers try something and say it’s good,” he concludes. “That’s when we know we’re doing our job.”