Welcome to Coffee Works

Workingman’s Luxury

Coffee Works first opened its doors in 1982 – at the time the first specialty coffee roaster in town – with the idea that great coffee was a workingman’s luxury – not exclusively for the rich or privileged but available and affordable to everyone who took the time to find it.

Coffee Works remains at its core dedicated to serving that egalitarian rite.

This is not to say that we are not constantly on the quest for new and enticing tastes from an expanding universe of coffee origins, but that we also understand that most mornings we drink coffee not to be challenged or confounded but to be uplifted and comforted.

Which means the most important coffee is the coffee you drink every day.

As a morning ritual delicious coffee should be an uplifting ramp into sentience, a comforting welcome to a beautiful day.

At Coffee Works we have spent decades crafting a handful of house blends to perform that task. To satisfy the individual taste preferences of different people they range in degrees of roast, origin characteristics, and in the breadth of body and flavor intensity they encompass. Each aims to create a sum which is greater than its parts, in a flavor style which may be right for you. We invite you to try each of them and decide for yourself.

Helping you to discover and explore your coffee taste preferences, with uncompromising quality and consistency, is our calling.

In the Works – Service to the Community

In this section of our web site we want to introduce the various parts of our operation, and to the concept that motivates each.  Of course as epicureans, each is dedicated to providing refined products and tastes. However there is also something more.  That something more is how we try to meet the needs and challenges facing our customers, employees, local community; With good cheer and commitment to a more fair and just world, and to a more sustainable global environment.

Coffee Roaster First – Saving Planet by Doing

Coffee Works began and remains a coffee roaster first. Improving the quality of our roasted coffee has always been the core of our business purpose, technology and identity.  We feel privileged to be able to do this work that we love, while also recognizing that coffee has historically had a less glamorous side.

With over 120 countries producing coffee, including some of the poorest nations on earth, the coffee trade has also been exploitative of the lands and people who nurture the natural product we rely upon. Coffee Works believes coffee can play a constructive role in promoting greater prosperity for the world’s coffee producers and wiser use of the planet’s resources.

That is why we support efforts to promote sustainability and fairness for coffee farmers.  The two most important of which are the growth of organic coffee production methods and relationships, and the organization of farmer-owned producer cooperatives.

CW-ORGANIC-SEALAll Organic, All the time

As certified organic roasters, Coffee Works exclusively sources responsibly and organically produced coffees the world over.  As you can read about in our sections on sourcing, roasting, and blending, this places mutual responsibility for safety and wholesomeness of products on both us and the farmers who grow our coffees.

In 2003 Coffee Works began visiting some of the countries where coffees originate and observed the working and living conditions of the farmers families. It was on one of these visits that we became acquainted with the leaders of the ProdeCoop located in Esteli, Nicaragua, which is a cooperativa owned by coffee farmers to retain a greater share of the profit from their labor. Over the years we have been fortunate to have grown more closely involved with their efforts, and are proud to be organically roasting coffees for their local marketing effort, Pachamama Coffees.

From our beginnings in 1982 Coffee Works has also roasted for top quality organic grocers and cooperatives like the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op. We believe in supporting nonprofit community institutions like local public radio and television stations, public schools, and community cultural societies, like the Sacramento French Film Festival.

CW-interior_front-view

Jump Start Café and Bakery

In addition to our coffee roastery Coffee Works has an in-house bakery and café known as Jump Start Café, after our trademark house blend. The bakery is led (some say driven) by our experienced French pastry chef who creates delicious croissants, scones, muffins, and a full line of traditional desserts and Danishes. One of his specialties he brought from his native region of Bretagne, France, the Kouign Amann pastry, which is a light and buttery caramelized treat. But the favorite of many regulars for many years remains his signature fragrant strawberry/white chocolate scones.

Online Shopping – Keeping it Local Even When You’re So Far Away

With the growth of online retailing you don’t have to live in the neighborhood to enjoy Coffee Works coffee every day. One of our chief goals with this website is to provide a convenient virtual front door to make it practical for you to have delicious fresh-roasted coffee delivered promptly to your door, without going through the Walmarts of online shopping. We ship everywhere in the US. We have made it easy to set yourself up for home delivery and easier still to re-order once you do.

For the Socially Adept

If you are into social media, Coffee Works has a Facebook page where you can learn and follow more about what we’re up to on a day to day basis.

Of course, if you are in Sacramento nothing beats an in-person visit. There’s parking in the rear and a lovely metal sculpture bicycle rack near the front patio.

Thanks for reading along with us and for your kind support, without which doing what we do would not be possible.

The baked goods are made in-house by the Jump Start Cafe side of the biz. The spikey pain au lait looked interesting. Made with a milk and butter-enriched dough, the crumb was quite moist but not as rich as brioche, for example. Not sweetened, the soft roll was good for mopping up the foamy milk clinging to the inside of my cup. Coffee-wise, I had a one-shot cappuccino, $2. No latte-art here, just a bull’s eye blob. Normally, I add some sugar to a capp, but my first sip revealed an intense and sweet-tasting finish. This was quite a bit better than I expected to find. And if it’s wifi you need, there’s no password required here. The speed’s faster than most and several tables have wall outlets.

Cappuccino
Good foam, bold flavor notes, throaty and burnt finish.
Drip
Choice of dark, medium and light roasts; our medium had high acidity, good flavor… A neighborhood joint with lots of regulars who actually have conversations. Good pastries.

I LOVE their faces, smiles and the delicious cold brewed coffee they make and their delightful Americanos.

Every drink I’ve had here has been fantastic. Organic, wholesome, roasted onsite fresh coffee beans!! Oh how I love thee! Love love them.

The crew are what make my Monday mornings in particular because you know how Monday’s can be. They are the first people I get to see and speak to and I love it. Then I get that first sip and I’m off to take on the rest of Monday.

Thank you all – Wade, Brenn, Dede, Steve, John, Mercy, Reuben and anyone else I missed..It may be that I just don’t know your name yet!

Love the new baked goods too. The almond croissant is the best I’ve EVER had.

Thank you!!!! Much love!!

I’m glad you’re only a couple blocks away. Just wish I could stop by in the evenings when I’m having a craving for a drink. 🙂