These coffee roasters in Wisconsin support farmers in other countries–their unique business models result in coffee that’s very popular around the state.

 Every state is home to a few coffee roasters, but what makes coffee roasters in Wisconsin special is the acute focus many have, from roasting on solar power to sourcing beans exclusively from one country. In addition, the branding and marketing games are strong, for example: Roasting on a farm (and leaning into the rural-agricultural setting) or delivering by canoe or in a vintage pick-up truck. A specialty coffee roaster will also partner with coffee farmers in a direct-trade relationship, which allows for deeper insight into the farming process. This collaboration results in the best cups of coffee you’ve ever had.

All eight of these roasters invite coffee sippers to geek out about their beans through visiting their cafés or by purchasing online or through local stores. Some also host opportunities to see the roasting in action, which is a definite bucket-list item for any serious coffee drinker.

1. Nordskov Coffee Roaster, Whitewater

As a nod to the Upper Midwest’s Nordic roots, this roaster’s name, Nordskov, is Danish for “Northwoods,” as a link to Wisconsin, and also the owners, Sheryl Rosa and Ryan Rouse, who both grew up in Northern Wisconsin. You can try their coffee at the Janesville Farmers Market on Saturday mornings between early May and late October—including their locally famous cold brew on tap—or, as of last month, at The Langholf, a Fort Atkinson café.

Later this summer, they’ll open a tasting-room-style café with opportunities to sip their popular coffee selections, including cold-brew coffee. This coffee roaster is only a few years old but growing fast. This summer marks their fourth season at the Janesville Farmers Market and three years of kegging and canning cold-brew coffee. In the summer months, they even offer canoe delivery (cold-brew cans or coffee beans) on Whitewater Lake. Beans can also be shipped, though just once per quarter, making them even more of a limited-edition addition to your pantry.

2. Wonderstate Coffee, Viroqua

In addition to being named 2025 Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine, what sets this 20-year-old coffee roaster apart is that all of its coffee beans are roasted on solar power at its Viroqua headquarters, which requires no fossil fuels and is a cleaner form of energy. In 2025, Wonderstate Coffee achieved this milestone.

There are two cafes where the beans are sold and coffee brewed: In Viroqua and downtown Madison. Both cafes are also adjacent to farmers’ markets held on Saturdays, further enriching the “buy local” mantra for visitors. For example, you can sample the coffee via a pop-up café at the Dane County Farmers’ Market in downtown Madison, which operates between April and November, and at the Viroqua Farmers Market, between May and October. Starting in May, there will be a monthly roastery tour and cupping at Viroqua’s roastery, which also hosts a cupping lab, with info published on the roaster’s events page.

3. Liberation Farmers, Almond

Sourcing its beans from coffee farms they have relationships with in Kenya and Oaxaca, Mexico, Liberation Farmers’ owners John Sheffy and Holly Petrillo roast coffee every Wednesday afternoon at Adelante Café. For more than a decade, Liberation Farmers has worked with these farmers, partnering with them to direct-trade coffee that cuts out the middleman in a traditional coffee-importing process. On harvest trips, they help pick and process the coffee they’ll buy.

Coffee geeks are more than welcome to watch the roasting process, but should contact the café ahead of time to arrange the visit. The café is open between July and October, and also serves farm-to-table tacos and pizza on Thursday evenings as a savory pairing. You can also purchase the farm’s meat, eggs, and vegetables here. Its coffee is also sold at the Stevens Point Farmers Market on Saturdays.

4. Barnwood Coffee Company, Two Rivers

As its name implies, this coffee roaster roasts its coffee on a farm—specifically, in an 1891 farmhouse that’s on a former dairy farm. Their technique is to roast in small batches, which helps to ensure high-quality beans. The product that owner Amy Haban buys is all Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified, meaning they are organic and harvested from farms invested in land conservation, where birds can thrive.

Coffee can be bought through the roaster’s website and shipped, although coffee fans might prefer to pick up their coffee beans in person at an upcoming pick-up date. These dates are published in the roaster’s online shop. There’s even a roast in ode to the farmhouse, called Barnwood 1891, honoring the farm’s founding year. In 2024, Haban traveled to Kona, Hawaii, to learn about the coffee growing and harvesting process there, which she documents on her website, including that year’s annual Kona Coffee Festival. She also purchased green coffee beans to roast back in Wisconsin for a limited-edition offering. 

5. Singing Rooster Coffee, Hager City

This roaster, with co-founder Molly Nicaise at the helm, is what you’d call a social-enterprise non-profit organization, as everything they do is about bettering the lives of Haitian farmers. While specializing in importing coffee beans directly from farmers in Haiti and then roasting them for sale, this roaster also retails other products from the country, including dark-chocolate bars, raw cacao, and metal art made out of recycled oil drums.

Singing Rooster Coffee is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, which ensures that the coffee and cacao farmers they buy from are paid a living wage. Many of their employees are on the ground in Haiti, too, and of Haitian origin, overseeing the processing facility as well as farm sourcing. Coffee lovers who want to roast their own beans at home may want to scoop up Haitian green coffee beans, available by the pound or a five-sample pack. Purchases can be made through the website or at select retailers in Wisconsin. 

6. Just Coffee Cooperative, Madison

Working with 15 coffee-grower cooperatives from around the world to import their beans through their cooperative (Cooperative Coffees), this coffee roaster has a robust and diverse coffee portfolio. Only organic beans are sourced, and the farmers are paid Fair Trade wages. The roaster was launched in 2001 by Mike Moon and Matt Earley, beginning with a partnership they established with coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. It continues to operate as a cooperative, meaning it’s worker-owned.

Their coffee can be bought through Just Coffee Cooperative’s website. It is also distributed widely throughout Wisconsin, mostly at grocers. For a fun twist on “Where does my coffee come from?” the Coffee Tracker is a tool on the roaster’s website where you can enter a code found on a package of coffee beans and learn more about its country of origin, roast type, roast date, and price-per-pound paid to the coffee farmer.

7. Finca Coffee, Madison

It’s rare to find a coffee roaster that offers coffee from only one country: In this case, it’s beans grown in El Salvador before they’re shipped to the U.S. They also arrive in small batches so that the coffee’s always fresh. Owner Silas Valle is a Salvadoran native and came to Wisconsin in 1989 to attend UW-Platteville. In 2019, he and a friend created Finca Coffee.

In addition to sipping Salvadoran coffee at the café or buying beans to brew at home, there’s a food menu featuring pupusas and quesadillas, if you want to try out both foods and drinks from this Central American nation. Finca means “farm” in Spanish, which is fitting given that the business’ mission is to support coffee farmers.

8. Ruby Coffee Roasters, Nelsonville

Since its 2013 debut, this coffee roaster has never slowed its penchant for innovation—the latest products are two limited-edition coffees in collaboration with musician Justin Vernon, known as the Grammy Award-winning Bon Iver, in celebration of his latest album release. Co-founder (with his wife, Deanna), Jared Linzmeier launched the coffee roastery in his parents’ garage on a 20-acre rural property in Portage, Wisconsin, after working at Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, as well as Caffe Ladro in Seattle.

Today, Ruby Coffee Roasters’ headquarters are in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse space in a town of only 200 people. The space also includes a café near the roastery that’s open Friday through Sunday only.