The best in the country.
Off the pedestal, on purpose.
Fair to the people who grow it.
Honestly traded, honestly roasted.
Two people, one standard, and everything that followed.
Two people, one standard.
Say the true thing. Be kind about it. Jess and Josh have led Square One together since 2007. Jess is a certified Q Grader and longtime coffee educator who understands the industry from farm to cup, and is willing to question the parts that need changing. Josh keeps the work moving from the roastery floor to the cup in your hand. They do not do it alone. But the way they lead still shapes the company: care about people, pay attention to the details, and keep moving forward.
A licensed Q Grader runs quality here.
Jess is a licensed Q Grader and a national coffee judge who chaired the SCA U.S. Competitions Committee, the body behind the national championships. The person who signs off on every roast in your bag is one of the people the industry trusts to judge everyone else's.
The farmer's name is on the bag.*
We pay premium prices for coffee, well above fair trade. For example, Carolina Posada grows our Colombia Mina Rica in Antioquia, three generations deep, and her family hand-delivers it to the roastery themselves. Direct trade isn't a slogan here. It's a delivery route.
*Whenever possible. Some of our coffees aren't traceable to a single farm, but represent the hard work of hundreds of smallholders.
Then the judges started agreeing.
Five Good Food Awards. Three Global Coffee Awards. Baristas who made the U.S. Barista Championship semi-finals. We never said we're the best. We just kept entering, and they kept saying it.
There's still a real counter behind all of it.
Our cafe at 145 N. Duke Street is where Square One comes to life. Taste what we roast, ask a question, or let a skilled barista make you the cup they'd make for themselves. A few blocks away, our roastery on Elizabeth Avenue is where we roast, taste, sort, and pack every coffee that goes out.
The kindest troublemakers in coffee.
Say the true thing. Be kind about it. Push back on gouging and gatekeeping, not on the people caught inside it. Make exceptional coffee, keep it welcoming, and never ask anyone to prove they belong. That's the trouble we're here to make.