One hot afternoon, Shane Bergmann stepped into the cool space of a local downtown Chico cafe and ordered a cup of Ethiopia Mocha Harrar.  He describes the experience as "mind blowing." He was fourteen. Senses awakened, Shane sought out local coffee houses wherever he traveled. In the decades that passed, he worked as a baker, brewer, and as a specialized finish contractor. In 2010, an ad for a one pound San Franciscan roaster posted on Craigslist caught his attention. With the purchase of this small SF1, he began exploring different coffees--discovering regions around the equator through the varietals that thrived in particular soils and at certain elevations. He experimented with different roasts and how the flavor of the coffees were enhanced, nuanced, and highlighted. Those notebooks sit stacked next to the little San Franciscan roaster. Their pages, now recorded to memory, are filled with times, temperatures, percentages of air, and how those relate to the cracking and color of the coffee varietals. Shane began giving samples to his family and to customers. During this time he developed several signature roasts that became the core of Rusty Roof offerings. In 2012 Shane visited San Franciscan Roaster Company in Fallon Nevada to speak with the owner, Bill, about a larger roaster. The result was a research and development project--the Golden Gate Roaster. Now able to roast 25 pounds at a time, he expanded into coffee houses and grocery all while keeping his 60 hour a week construction business running with his wife, Dolores, and brother Gage Wade.

Dolores was integral to Rusty Roof Coffee--labeling, bagging, and customer support. The expansion of the company came when Shane, Gage, and Dolores stepped away from the world of construction to focus solely on coffee. Shane's step father, Dennis Wade, invested in Rusty Roof Coffee by financing the purchase of two 75 pound US Roasters built in Oklahoma City. While the expansion is filled with stumbling blocks and learning curves, we are all incredibly grateful and excited to begin this next chapter.  Our commitment to producing exceptional coffee is the foundation of everything we do. We drink and roast coffee because we love it and we continue to explore, learn, and discover. We believe organic makes a difference. The coffees taste better and organic is better for the communities, farmers and people working closely with the crops. Shane's next goal for Rusty Roof Coffee is to have our facility certified organic.